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(May 7, 2020) Jonah 4:9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Jonah, who had been forgiven so very much – who had intentionally been so disobedient – is now mad at God for showing the same mercy that he had already received. [...]

(May 6, 2020) Jonah 4:1 “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.” Let’s set the record straight: Once upon a time, the prophet Jonah was called by God. He disobeyed. He was swallowed by a fish. He almost died. God was gracious. Jonah lived. He preached. The people repent. Jonah is angry. He wanted them dead. THE END. [...]

(May 5, 2020) Jonah 3:8a “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.” One thing about Jonah’s story is extremely unusual, the fish notwithstanding: Jonah preaches on his first day (3:4), and it seems immediately everyone believes. Amazingly, everyone responds exactly how a prophet would hope they would respond, but never do. The King of Nineveh repented. He [...]

(May 4, 2020) Jonah 1:2; 3:2 “Arise, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach…” Seven Hebrew words are repeated twice verbatim; they are translated: “Arise, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach.” And consider how they are prefaced: Chapter 1:2: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” Chapter 3:2 “The word of the Lord [...]

(May 1, 2020) Jonah 1:17 “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” – There is one question that someone eventually asks about Jonah: “Did it happen?” That is, was Jonah literally swallowed by a fish, or is the story more like [...]

(April 30, 2020) Jonah 2:10 “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” We often have the tendency to sanitize the scriptures, or to take and lift out the verses that we like or make them say what we would like them to say. But here we come to one of the more colorful [...]