Had another wonderful study on Jonah today. We spent a whole hour on only two verses. For such a little book, it sure packs a wallop!
Mention Jonah, and what's the first thing that comes to mind? Whale. Am I right? The Bible only calls it a "great fish". Today, many people want to focus only on the fish. They think the whole story is nonsense because "who in their right mind would think a fish would swallow a man, the man stays alive in the fish and the fish vomits him out"? Billy Graham was once asked how he could believe something so far-fetched. He said, "I believe the Bible to be God's word. If God says it happened, it happened. I would even believe the story even if it said that Jonah swallowed the fish."
Well, hours can be spent debating fact or fiction. What is true, however, is that the fish is NOT the main focus of this book. God is. The fish is only mentioned in two verses: Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:10. That's it...only two verses. And those were the two verses that we studied. Only two verses, but I sure learned a lot in just those two! And I thought about a lot of things as well.
I tried to imagine being tossed overboard. Into the sea! I can barely stand the thought! I remember when I would ski at our cottage. If I happened to fall, I would have to wait for what felt like an eternity for the boat to turn around and toss me the rope so I could get back up. If my skis happened to come off my feet, I would put them on as quickly as possible. I had this horrible feeling that some unknown sea creature was eye-balling my feet for a tasty snack. I guess I thought if I had my skis on, I was protected.
If I felt that way in the middle of a lake, I imagine Jonah must have REALLY felt like he was a goner! I mean, he was in the sea...no land in sight! And then a huge fish comes! What looks like destruction was actually his deliverance. Hmm...another life lesson. Not everything that looks horrible, is horrible.
Another neat thing I learned is that the fish verses are like a sandwich. There's a verse in chapter one and a verse in chapter two...those verses are like the slices of bread for a sandwich. The verses in between are Jonah's prayer to God. Those prayer verses are like the meat on the sandwich. And just like with a sandwich, the meat is the most important part. So in essence, this big fish thing in the book of Jonah shouldn't be the main focus. The book is much more about God's sovereignty over ALL things and also about God's covenantal love and faithfulness.
Today I got another student to teach...yeah! And I went to water aerobics AND Bill's sugar levels are finally coming down...hooray for that! Tomorrow we go to class with the nutritionist at the hospital. Day by day we learn a little bit more on how to handle things. I'm so thankful Bill is so patient and taking it in stride! Ok, time for this lady to call it a day.
Mention Jonah, and what's the first thing that comes to mind? Whale. Am I right? The Bible only calls it a "great fish". Today, many people want to focus only on the fish. They think the whole story is nonsense because "who in their right mind would think a fish would swallow a man, the man stays alive in the fish and the fish vomits him out"? Billy Graham was once asked how he could believe something so far-fetched. He said, "I believe the Bible to be God's word. If God says it happened, it happened. I would even believe the story even if it said that Jonah swallowed the fish."
Well, hours can be spent debating fact or fiction. What is true, however, is that the fish is NOT the main focus of this book. God is. The fish is only mentioned in two verses: Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:10. That's it...only two verses. And those were the two verses that we studied. Only two verses, but I sure learned a lot in just those two! And I thought about a lot of things as well.
I tried to imagine being tossed overboard. Into the sea! I can barely stand the thought! I remember when I would ski at our cottage. If I happened to fall, I would have to wait for what felt like an eternity for the boat to turn around and toss me the rope so I could get back up. If my skis happened to come off my feet, I would put them on as quickly as possible. I had this horrible feeling that some unknown sea creature was eye-balling my feet for a tasty snack. I guess I thought if I had my skis on, I was protected.
If I felt that way in the middle of a lake, I imagine Jonah must have REALLY felt like he was a goner! I mean, he was in the sea...no land in sight! And then a huge fish comes! What looks like destruction was actually his deliverance. Hmm...another life lesson. Not everything that looks horrible, is horrible.
Another neat thing I learned is that the fish verses are like a sandwich. There's a verse in chapter one and a verse in chapter two...those verses are like the slices of bread for a sandwich. The verses in between are Jonah's prayer to God. Those prayer verses are like the meat on the sandwich. And just like with a sandwich, the meat is the most important part. So in essence, this big fish thing in the book of Jonah shouldn't be the main focus. The book is much more about God's sovereignty over ALL things and also about God's covenantal love and faithfulness.
Today I got another student to teach...yeah! And I went to water aerobics AND Bill's sugar levels are finally coming down...hooray for that! Tomorrow we go to class with the nutritionist at the hospital. Day by day we learn a little bit more on how to handle things. I'm so thankful Bill is so patient and taking it in stride! Ok, time for this lady to call it a day.
1 comment:
Isn't it wonderful when you can continue to learn more from a Bible story we have heard all our lives!!Thanks for sharing it so we can all learn too!! Love you so much!! Cograts on your new student!!
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