Standing in God's way-Jonah and Romans 5

On their own, people do not change. Everyone is broken, riddled with sin and rebellion. Yet God wants to see mankind restored to a good relationship with Him. Sometimes His people stand in the way of His Will. Jonah did…or at least tried to.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. -Jonah 1:1-3

Jonah was not suffering from the Bugs Bunny syndrome! You know, always needing to take the left turn at Albuquerque. Jonah was running the other direction because he HATED the Assyrians. After all, Assyria was the most powerful nation at the time and constantly a thorn in Israel’s side. Jonah’s nationalism and hatred were getting in the way of his obedience to God. He even admits this to God after Ninevah repents!

He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” -Jonah 4:2

Through all the disobedience and rebellion, God still took care of His wayward prophet. First God provided a great fish to save Jonah from drowning. Then He provided a large plant for shade to keep Jonah from roasting.

God gives His people hard tasks today—talking to and serving people we do not deem worthy of His saving message. Doing God’s Will in these moments can make Christians uncomfortable (at the very least) or defiant. God has not changed. His Words to Jonah still echo today.

Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals? -Jonah 4:11

After all, God has gone to great measures to restore a relationship between mankind and Himself.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. -Romans 5:8-11

If God was willing to go to such lengths to save a sin-riddled, rebellious race, do His people have any right to stand in His way? Jonah thought so. It didn’t work out too well for him though!

God's Covenant Faithfulness- Psalm 136, 1 Timothy 6, John 1, Romans 6, and Philippians 3

The God worshiped in the Old Testament is the same God worshiped today.  Worshipping our Creator cannot be divorced from His identity and power.

In Psalm 136, the writer addresses God’s goodness (1), superiority (2-3, 26), creative power (4-9), deliverance (10-20), and provision (21-25).  The worship of our Creator is far too important for our checklists.  After all, the God that the psalmist lauds for His superiority is the same God who reigns today.

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. -1 Timothy 6:15b-16

The God that the psalmist lauded for His creative power and ability is the same God Christians worship today.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

-John 1:1-3

The God that was praised for His power to deliver His people is the same God who has delivered Christians from the bondage of sin.

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 6:22-23

The God exalted for His faithful providing is the same God providing Christians a home in Heaven and an eternal inheritance.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. -Philippians 3:20-21

Psalm 136 is often referred to as a “responsive” psalm. The speaker would read a line and the people would then respond with the preset line:

For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

Repeating this line caused the people to remember how God has worked throughout Israel’s life. The word translated “lovingkindness” is the Hebrew word Hesed which carries a meaning of “covenant faithfulness.” The people’s portion of the Psalm refocused them on the most crucial reason they had to praise God-His meticulous care in keeping His part of the bargain.

The God that the psalmist lauds is the same God who reigns today.  With a God like this, Christians truly have a reason to be thankful.  Yet, He is far too important simply to be checked off.  He deserves to be actively praised as we remember His covenant faithfulness even today.