Bible Recap Week 28

 Join Pastor Julie for this week's Bible Recap as we journey through the book of Jonah—a story that's about far more than a man and a great fish. Together, we'll discover God's relentless mercy, His heart for every nation, and what happens when we try to run from His calling. Jonah reminds us that God's grace reaches farther than we could ever imagine, and His plans are always better than our own. Whether you've read Jonah many times or are seeing it with fresh eyes, this episode will encourage you to trust God's purpose, embrace His compassion, and remember that no one is beyond His love. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Waterfit Bible Recap Podcast. This is Pastor Eric, and I'm really glad you're listening. This podcast is one of the tools that we're using this year as we read through the Bible together. It's a chance for us to think about last week's reading. What's standing out to you? What's confusing? What might God be saying to us along the way? One of the things that we are focused on in the reading is what does our reading to say about God? We call it God. How is it difficult to call God? I don't think relationships. So the more people to relate to the tip with God, the more you have got and the more is that a lot of people die. A war cap that builds muscle so you can live like Jesus. Love like Jesus. I love spending time in the Word with you like this. So let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Welcome back, friends, to the Water's Edge podcast as we continue walking through the Bible recap together. I'm so glad that you're here with us. I have really been enjoying this section of scripture. The prophets can be seen as some of the hardest books in the Bible, some of the hardest ones to understand, but reading through them together and listening to Terry Lee Koble's daily recap can really help us see the bigger picture. And I know it's helped me, so I'm hoping and praying that it is helping each one of you. This week we've entered the major prophets with Isaiah. And I just want to quickly remind you that when we talk about the major and minor prophets, minor does not mean less important. It simply refers to the length of the books. The message is just as significant. Last week we looked at Obadiah. And this week I love to spend a few minutes talking about Jonah because I absolutely love the message of the book of Jonah. The name Jonah means dove. We first meet him back in 2 Kings 14, verse 25, and this is a really good reminder that Jonah was a real historical prophet, not simply a fictional character. We'll even hear Jesus refer to Jonah later when we get to the Gospels. One interesting tradition I'll mention before we jump in, and it isn't stated directly in scripture, but many believe Jonah may have been the son of the widow of Zarephath, whose son was raised from the dead by Elijah in 1 Kings 17. That connection comes from Jonah's father being named Amitai. And while we can't say that with certainty, it is a fascinating possibility that reminds us how connected many of these biblical accounts are. So the story begins with God giving Jonah a very clear assignment, right? Go to Nineveh and preach against it. Jonah does not question whether he heard God correctly. He doesn't tell God that he isn't qualified like we've seen some others do. He simply decides he doesn't want to go. Instead of heading toward Nineveh, he heads the opposite direction as far away as he possibly can go. It is a reminder that knowing God's will and obeying God's will are not always the same thing. We can clearly hear God's direction and still choose to walk the other way. And how does God respond here? We see him respond by sending a violent storm. The pagan sailors are terrified. They begin crying out to every God that they know while throwing cargo overboard in an attempt to save themselves. Meanwhile, where is Jonah? He's asleep. At first glance, it almost reminds us of Jesus sleeping during the storm. We talked about that last Sunday. But the more I studied this passage, the more I realized that these couldn't be more different. Jesus slept because he completely trusted the Father. Jonah slept because he was running from the Father. Sin has a way of numbing us. It can lull us to sleep spiritually until we stop recognizing what God is doing around us and in us. So eventually the sailors wake Jonah up and they begin to question him, right? Jonah gives one of the greatest statements of truth in this entire book. He says, I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Do you hear the irony? Jonah knows exactly who God is. He knows, right? He's got that head knowledge. He knows God created the sea. Yet he somehow believed that he could escape across the sea from the God who made the sea. We've talked before about the difference between knowing something in your head and allowing it to transform your heart. Jonah knew the right theology, but at this point his heart was not aligned with it. So what does he do? He tells the sailors to throw him overboard. And at first glance, that almost sounds noble. But Jonah still hasn't repented. He very well could have cried out to God right then and there. He could have surrendered, he could have even jumped into the water himself. Instead, the sailors are forced to make the decision. And I love their response. These pagan sailors do everything that they can to save Jonah before throwing him overboard. And then what do they do after? They begin to worship Yahweh. These sailors that were calling out to all the wrong gods in the beginning and did not know who he was, now have the fear of the Lord, and they have committed and vowed to follow him. Isn't that amazing? Through Jonah's disobedience, God was still drawing people to himself. That's one of the beautiful themes throughout this entire book. God's purposes are never stopped by our failures. Amen. Then comes the famous part of the story. Everyone knows this part, right? God appoints this great fish, and the fish obeys God's commands. Jonah is swallowed by this fish. Inside that fish, Jonah finally, finally, he cries out to God. His circumstances change his direction, even though God still has more work to do in changing Jonah's heart. God hears his prayer. He shows mercy, and the fish spits Jonah out safely onto dry land. And he spits him out right in the area that he needs to be. That's God. And then comes one of my favorite moments in the book. Chapter three begins almost exactly the same way chapter one did. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. I love it. God doesn't give up on Jonah. His past failure didn't cancel God's calling. And I think that is a beautiful reminder for all of us. Because maybe you've walked away from something that God called you to. Right? We've all failed. Maybe you've run the other direction, just like Jonah did. Yet God is still a God of second chances. Jonah finally goes to Nineveh and he preaches exactly what God has told him to preach. And what happens? The people respond immediately. From the king all the way down, they humble themselves, they repent, they fast, and they turn toward God. And instead of destroying the city, what does God do? He shows mercy. That is exactly what Jonah didn't want. That's what he feared would happen. Chapter 4 reveals Jonah's heart to us. He is angry, right? He actually tells God, this is what and why I ran away in the first place. Right? He knew God would forgive them. He prays to the Lord. He says, Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? This is what I tried to forestall by fleeing. I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love. A God who relents from sending calamity. Oh. He knows this about God. And aren't we so grateful that this is God's character? Slow to anger, abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Hallelujah. So he knows that God is gonna forgive them. So Jonah didn't run because he doubted God's power. He ran because he knew God's character. He knew that if Nineveh repented, God's gonna show mercy. And that is not what Jonah wanted. If we're honest, this is exactly where the story begins to hit home. And maybe your Nineveh is not a whole city, maybe it's just a person, right? Someone that has deeply hurt you. Or maybe they've betrayed you. Someone that you honestly don't want God to give them grace. You don't think they deserve it. Jonah wanted justice more than he wanted mercy. But aren't we thankful that God didn't treat us that way? One reason Jonah struggled so much is that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel's enemy. Jonah likely understood that if God spared Nineveh, Assyria would one day become a threat to Israel. So his struggle wasn't just personal, it was national and political and deeply, deeply emotional. But even then, Jonah's view of God's mercy had become too small. He loved receiving God's grace. He just didn't like seeing someone else receive it, especially someone that he didn't think deserved it. Friends, we have to be careful that our hearts don't drift into that same place. And the book of Jonah ends with a question, right? God asked Jonah if he has any right to be angry. Which I think he's asking us the same question sometimes. And then the book simply ends. We're never told how Jonah responds, and that's not by accident, right? The book leaves us with the question because we're supposed to answer it ourselves. Will we celebrate God's mercy or resent it when it is shown to someone that we don't think deserves it? The truth is every one of us has received mercy that we didn't deserve. That same God, the same God who pursued Jonah pursued us. He pursues those who don't know him yet. The same God who loved Nineveh loves the people we struggle to love. So this week, let's ask the Lord to search our hearts. Let's surrender any bitterness or prejudice, any resentment or desire for revenge. You guys, let's pray for those that have hurt us. And then let's remember that if God's grace was big enough to reach us, it is big enough to reach anyone. Even those that you never think could be redeemed. The love of the Father has a way of reaching anyone. Thanks so much for joining me this week. I hope you'll continue reading through the Bible recap, and we'll see you back here next week as Pastor Eric takes us into the word that God has given him and discovering more of God's incredible story together. Have a blessed weekend, and we'll see you Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Thanks so much for listening to the Water's Edge Bible recap. I look forward every week to walking in the Word with you. You can find more information about Water's Edge Church at www.watersedge.ca. And you can listen to our weekly message on any platform under the Water's Edge website or by downloading the Water's Edge app.