JONAH'S DISOBEDIENCE & JONAH'S PRAYER

 

Shabbat Shalom!  Today, I am going to write about "Jonah's Disobedience".  Jonah is a small book in the Bible, and it has only 4 chapters.  It is very interesting how a small book, like Jonah's experience, made it into the Bible.  It must be a very important lesson God wants us to learn. 

Jonah was disobedient to God, and as a result, things did not turn out too well for Jonah.  I don't know about you, but I have struggled in life a lot, and for a long time.  We all have, in different ways.  Maybe, like Jonah, we were disobedient.  Disobedience is one of the ways satan finds access into our lives.  Disobedient is nothing less than sin.  Our world is not in the best of states, maybe, we, the children of the world, have disobeyed the Will of God for His Creation.  

In that token, I am going to list other words that means the same as disobedience.  Disobedience is a noun.  It means misbehavior; noncompliance with rules.  I don't know about you.  I am guilty.  I am much better now though, because I know better.  When you see misbehavior, you want to right away think children.  Poor kids!  I tell you something though, even adults have a disobedient spirit.  Yes, disobedience is a spirit. Infact, it is just not any spirit, it is a very dangerous one.  It is the spirit of disobedience that worked in satan to have the desire to rise above God causing him to be thrown down from his position in Heaven down to the earth {Isaiah 14:12-15}.  All of humanity is guilty of disobedience {I wonder why}.  Like many of the Patriots before us who were disobedient {King David, amongst others}, we still have the opportunity to recognize our disobedience, repent of it, ask for healing, and forsake our disobedience.  This is an act of deliverance.  

So, like I was saying, other words for disobedience are: defiance {that word made me laugh.  I am not like that anymore though.  Lol.  Oh God, I have grown quite a bit.  Thank you Jesus!}  The other words for "Disobedience" are rebellion {another spirit, works with disobedience}, riot, sabotage {oh boy}, stubbornness, transgression {sin}, unruliness, violation, insubmission, waywardness, et cetera.  The spirit of disobedience works with other strongmen, one of which is pride.  With the spirit of disobedience, it is very hard for one to find their way back to God.  It requires deliverance.

So, back to Jonah, Chapter 1:1-17.  This chapter is titled JONAH'S DISOBEDIENCE.  This is the NIV {New International Version} interpretation.

"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."  But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD" {you can't hide from God man}.

God talks to His people.  He talks to all of His creation, but most don't hear Him because they are preoccupied with worldly things.  His people hear Him, that is why Jesus said my sheep hears my voice {John 10:27}.  Was Jonah God's people?  Yes he was.  But sadly, even God's children do not obey Him.  There are several reasons for that, one of which is things standing in the way.  These things causes us to disobey God, opening the doorway to satan to do with us as he wills. 

THE STORM AT SEA

"But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and here was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up".

This is got to be God telling Jonah "My Way {Yah way} or no way.  And don't be fooled that these things don't happen to us today.  They do.  We just have lost the sense of who we are and whose we are.

"then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god {pagans},and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.  But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep."

This verse is very interesting.  It tells me that even the pagans {non believers} knew the act of God back in those times.  They first started to call to their Gods for help with no avail {no use}.  So they realized, there is more to it than that.

"So the captain came to him {Jonah}, and said to him, 'What do you mean, sleeper?  Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish".

They knew they could get into trouble.  They were hoping for God's mercy.

"And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble upon us".  So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.  Then they said to him, 'Please tell us!  For whose cause is this trouble upon us?  What is your occupation?  And where do you come from?  What is your country  And of what people are you?'

This is also a very interesting verse.  It tells me here, that based on Jonah's occupation was, and where he comes from, would determine the reason for the problem at hand.  That is why they asked him what his occupation was, and where he was coming from.

"So Jonah said to them, 'I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."  Oh yes, He owns it all!

JONAH THROWN INTO THE SEA

"Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, 'Why have you done this'?  For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.  Then they said to him, 'What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?'-- for the sea was growing more tempestuous'.

Wow!  These people, although they were not believers, or chosen, they were very well aware of the consequences of disobedience to God.  How times have changed.  

"And he said to them, 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you.  For I know that this great tempest is because of me'.

Even Jonah knew he was the cause of the trouble.  Wow!  Mankind has lost all of that ability.  What a shame.  Jonah knew just what to do to prevent the other people from suffering the consequences of his behavior.  How can we fix something if we don't even understand what it is.  Like having a cold.  We know the symptoms so therefore, we know the remedy.  I am not saying no body knows, but majority don't.

"Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.  Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, "We pray, O LORD, please do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You'.  So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.  Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows' {promises, pledge, oath, et cetera}.

I mean, come on.  This is what we would call trial and tribulation for Jonah.  Have you never, ever been in trial and tribulation?  Maybe not of this magnitude, or maybe of this magnitude.  Everybody's experience is different.

JONAH'S PRAYER AND DELIVERANCE

"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.  and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights".  Can you imagine being in the belly of a fish?

Jonah Chapter 2:1-10

"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly {God can talk to us no matter where we are}, and he said:"  

'I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me'.  

{When in trial and tribulation, the best thing to do is to talk to God our Father.  Most of the time, most people don't understand what we are going through unless if they have gone through it}. 

'Out of the belly of Sheol {hell} I {Jonah}cried, And You heard my voice.  For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; All Your billows {tides} and Your waves passed over me'.

"Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple' {wow, FAITH}.  The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;  The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head {struggles}.  I went down to the moorings {pier, wharf, marina, dock} of the mountains {mountains in the ocean};  The earth with its bars closed behind me forever{hopelessness; deep into tribulation; "weeping may endure in the night" moment}; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit {wow, victory; "joy cometh in the morning" moment}, O LORD, my God'.

'When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD {he lived to tell it}; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple'.  {God hears us no matter where we are.  Even if we cannot talk with our voice, [Jonah was in a fish's belly he could not use his voice to talk to God], God still heard him}.

'Those who regard worthless idols {manmade gods} Forsake their own Mercy [God forgives.  He is merciful].  But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving {gratitude}; I will pay what I have vowed.  Salvation is of the LORD'.

This verse is showing us how sinners forsake the mercy God has for them by not repenting of their sins.  And he ends that paragraph that only the LORD God can save.  Praise God hallelujah!!!

"So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land".  

God speaks to everything He has created.  He speaks to you, to me, to the fish, to the ocean, to pigs, to the fig tree, to the mountain, EVERYTHING.  I know the other creations do not have any problems hearing Him.  I really believe that.  I did not see that anywhere yet in the Bible, but based on this story and other Biblical stories of some of His creations, I know that they all do.  But when it comes to humans, only some of us do.  I know He talks to us every day, some of us just do not hear Him.  There was a time when I did not hear Him either.  And then sometimes He talks to us, but we think it is our own knowledge and wisdom.  

Sometimes we give God talking to us earthly names instead of "God just told me".  Some of those names are: insight, hunch, instinct, ESP, discernment {Biblical}, feeling, inspiration {Biblical?}, perception, premonition, gut reaction {gut feeling: SO WORLDLY}, intuitiveness {THIS ONE TOO}, second sight, sixth sense, et cetera.  

Anyways, I hope that this blog gave you something to think about.  All our trials and tribulations have solutions.  It is all in the Bible.  It is not an accident that the acronym for the Word Holy Bible confirms that.

H = He                                                                B = Basic

O = Only                                                             I = Instructions

L = Left                                                              B = Before

Y = You                                                              L = Leaving

                                                                           E = Earth

I hope this has been a blessing to you as it has been for me.  Please share and be a blessing to someone else and you be blessed, in the Mighty Name of Jesus!  pflb  © 12/12/20

SOURCE

Holy Bible

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