It's Day 27 and we're in Jonah 3.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 5 - You never know who's ready to say, "Yes" to God.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Your Thoughts and Questions:
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"V. 7. Is there more to casting lots than we have recognized, or possibly utilized? After all, in Acts, it was used to select the servants of The Lord that would make sure the widows and orphans were fed. If my memory isn't in confusion, it seems there are other situations in which it was used or recommended.
V. 9. Jonah states that "and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.”
How much fear, or respect, did Jonah really have when he could blatantly ignore God's instructions by running away and sleeping so deeply that a violent storm could not awaken him?
V. 5 & 13. It seems to me that the sailors were good moral and ethical men. They were not so greedy that they had to keep their cargo at all cost, they sought relief from their gods, and they tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard. (This situation of the sailors recognizing God as superior reminds me of Paul's preaching about the "Unknown God".). Lesson to be learned- once again we are shown that being a good moral or ethical person is not enough.
V. 16 I wonder, did Jonah "run into" some of the same sailors at some later point? Or, did Go tell Jonah about the sailors' sacrifice and vows after he was thrown overboard?"
My answers:
- v. 7 - That's an interesting point. There are multiple places in the Scripture where casting lots is used. The main New Testament example is early in Acts where they "replace" Judas. I wonder if they were supposed to do that, though. It never says the Lord told them to cast lots. Obviously, as you look at Acts, the real "replacement" for Judas was Paul. I think the main thing we need to come back to is that nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded or even told it's permissible to make decisions by casting lots. There are times, though, where God used it in the Old Testament.
- v. 9 - Not enough, obviously.
- v. 5 and 13 - I'm not sure if they were moral and ethical or just "scared straight" in that moment.
- v. 16 - Good questions. No way to know, but interesting thoughts.
- "Like most of us I have read the account of Noah many times but until this morning and always wondered how Noah got those "wild" animals to come to him. Just assumed God rounded them up and sent them in but there it is in verse 2. But I still don't understand why Noah cursed Canaan when it was Ham who saw him naked. Am I missing something here?" -
My answers:
- My presumption would be that God just made the animals to come to that spot. That's the only way that makes sense.
- Noah cursing Canaan is not something that I think was God-honoring, nor was his drunkenness. We see throughout Genesis stories of "God's man" doing things that are less than noble and less than godly. They do have power that God has vested in that person, though, so the blessings and curses they speak have power. Kind of like how the words I speak, whether godly or selfish, reflect back on God.
