GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | 恩道堂

Scripture Reading        : Jonah 3-4

Theme                          : Repentance and Regret

1. Nineveh’s Repentance (3). After Nineveh hears God’s coming judgment, the whole city repents. The king’s dramatic actions and their fasting indicate the seriousness of their repentance. They also demonstrate humility by saying they do not think God is obligated to relent. They did not know whether God will relent. They deserve judgment. If God relents, it is because of His mercy, which He is not obligated to give. God’s forgiveness again demonstrates His amazing character to forgive sins even in the face of great evil (Ex. 34:6-7). Nineveh is known for its great cruelty and violence. But because they turn away from evil, God refrains from His judgment. This kind of mercy is displayed consistently in in the OT because this is His character.

2. Jonah’s Regret (4). Sadly, Jonah did not share God’s heart. Instead of rejoicing with God, he is sad because he wants and thinks Nineveh deserves to be judged. Ironically, the very same mercy that he wants to withhold from Nineveh is the same mercy that keeps him alive. In order to sanctify Jonah, God disciplines and trains him again. God demonstrates His love for mankind and animals by showing Jonah that if he can pity an insignificant plant, which he didn’t even grow, then God has even more reason to have compassion on all mankind, even evil Nineveh, who are made in His image. God’s compassion even extends to the animals (cf. Prov. 12:10). His compassion leads Him to sacrifice His beloved Son.

Praying the Scripture

1. When our heart is out of sync with God’s heart, then we will be disappointed with God, like Jonah (1 Tim. 2:4). He would rather see Nineveh judged instead of forgiven. He selfishly wants grace from God, but does not want Nineveh to have the same grace. Even a prophet of God can act like this. This clearly indicates the whole human race is broken and needs to be restored through the grace of Jesus. We pray that God will always keep us humble and keep our heart tender. May we not be hypocrites like Jonah. May we never desire anyone to be judged instead of forgiven. God judges, but we love.

2. Lord, thank you for your incredible grace of discipline and training. You are a faithful God who loves your children more than the love of the best father in the world (Matt. 7:11). Like Jonah, we are often blinded to our sinfulness and our spiritual poverty. Thank you for loving us by disciplining our sins and training us to strengthen our weaknesses. When we are disciplined or are trained by you, may we never doubt your love for us, which is so clearly and decisively demonstrated in through the suffering and death of Jesus (Rom. 8:32).

Scripture Reading        : Jonah 2

Theme                          : Jonah’s Repentance

1. Jonah’s Repentance (1-9). After God disciplines Jonah, he repents. In humble faith, he desires to restore his relationship with God, that’s what looking toward to the temple means (v. 4). This is what OT Jews was taught to do (2 Chron. 6:36–39). In his repentance, he sings a song of thanksgiving to God.

2. Jonah’s Deliverance (10). After Jonah repents, God graciously rescues Jonah. It may seem like Jonah’s repentance is not real, given his bitter response to Nineveh’s salvation in chapter 4. His repentance is real because he desires a renewed relationship with God and that desire manifested in obedience to preach to Nineveh. We are not saved by our works, but by God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Our obedience will always be imperfect until we see Jesus. Sin will continue to taint us. The essence of repentance is a desire to renew our relationship with God (cf. Hosea 14:1). God is gracious to continue to refine Jonah, and all of us after the relationship is renewed.

Praying the Scripture

1. God is gracious and patient to Jonah and to all of us. He knows we are but dust, weak and fallen (Ps. 103:14). His patience and grace is not an excuse for us to sin, but they are meant to draw us closer to a righteous yet gracious God. He is a God who has high standards, and yet is also gracious. A completely holy God who is not gracious is frightening. Graciousness without holiness is chaos and emptiness. But holiness, coupled with graciousness, is beautiful. This beauty is embodied in the person of Jesus, God’s ultimate revelation of His character. His grace is designed to help us to detest the ugliness of our unfaithfulness and to deny our sins (Titus 2:11-12). Grace is not designed to be taken advantage of.

2. Lord, we acknowledge that we are like Jonah: fickle. He responded bitterly toward Nineveh’s salvation even after his repentance. We know that sin is bigger than us and we dare not fight it without your power. We humbly acknowledge our fickleness, yet we confidently acknowledge that you are bigger than sin. Through the resources that you have provided: the Spirit, Bible and church, we are confident in your promise to give us victory over the dominating power of sin (Eph. 5:18, Col. 3:16, Gal. 5:16, 1 Cor. 10:13). Give us a greater love for you as we gaze upon your majesty as revealed in the Bible.

Scripture Reading        : Jonah 1

Theme                          : Jonah’s Backsliding

Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (ca. 793-753 B.C.). When Israel and Judah were prosperous and when Assyria was not dominate. This book is different from most prophetic books in that it is mostly narrative and focuses on the life of the prophet, not his message.

1. The Cause of Backsliding (1-3). Jonah quits his prophetic office when God commanded him to preach to Nineveh. He quits by running away. The cause of the backsliding is stated in 4:2. Jonah is so selfish and so self-righteous that he refuses to care about the people of Nineveh.

2. The Consequences of Backsliding (4-17). As result of his backsliding, he becomes spiritual weak and that weakness continues to deteriorate. He is so stubborn that God had to get his attention by throwing a storm in his path. While pagans are crying out to their gods and praying, Jonah is apathetic and is sleeping. God demonstrates his sovereignty by controlling the storm and even allowing, at that particular moment, a pagan’s superstitious use of lot casting to discipline Jonah.

Praying the Scripture

1. God is a sovereign God who will accomplish His good purposes no matter what humans do. God does not need Jonah to fulfil His purpose to save Nineveh. He pursued Jonah in order to discipline him and to correct his sinful thinking and actions for his own good (Heb. 12:11). Let us be thankful and rest in the comfort that God cares for His children and is gracious to His children at all times, even when He disciplines us for our sins. Let us remember that God does not need us to do things for Him, our proper service is God’s grace for our spiritual good (Acts 20:35). Compassionate service reflects the character of God. God’s laws, which are a reflection of His character, are designed to bless us because it is a guide to spiritual and physical well-being. Holiness produces true joy, just as God is holy and joyful (Neh. 8:10).

2. Jonah ran away from God because he didn’t share the character of God. God was grieved by Nineveh’s sins, just as He is grieved by all of the sins of the world (Gen. 6:6). This grief led God to action, not passive lament, by extending grace to sinners (cf. Mark 2:13-17). We pray that we will be like God, slow to anger and gracious. May we not be selfish, passionless, and graceless, but to grief over other’s sins and be zealous and gracious in helping others and sharing the gospel.

3. Sin makes us hypocrites and foolish. Even though Jonah believes that God controls the sea and wind, he still tries to run away from God. Beliefs do not always transfer to the heart. We pray that what we believe about the good news of Jesus will not just be in our head, but in our heart also, so that we may not sin against God, but to live for Him and celebrate His majesty (Ps. 119:11).