DCLM Daily Manna Friday 26 August 2022
TOPIC: Hiding From God
TEXT: Jonah 1:1-17
KEY VERSE:
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”
(Jonah 1:3).
DCLM Daily Manna Friday 26 August 2022 OUTLINE
In their fallen state, Adam and Eve thought the best thing they could do was to hide “themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Hundreds of years or perhaps thousands later, a prophet of God thought that the best way to avoid God and the task He gave him to do was “to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD”. Both parties were to later discover that no one could flee from God.
Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh at God’s command might not be unconnected with the fact that Nineveh was the capital of an “enemy nation”. He paid the fare and was on his way to Tarshish, but God sent a tempest into the sea that shook the mariners to their wit’s end. They did all they could but the storm persisted until Jonah was thrown into the sea. That action ended the tempest and the mariners feared greatly and gave glory to God. Meanwhile God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah who had to be in the whale’s belly for three days.
READ: Open Heaven Daily Devotional 26 August 2022 – Better Call Him Lord Now
Jonah’s unwillingness and subsequent fleeing to Tarshish is condemnable. Today, many Christians have abandoned Christ’s mandate to “go… and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and have fled to “Tarshish” of business, education or even idleness. The Lord is concerned about the salvation of all men. He wants us to “Occupy till [He] comes”. Abdicating the duty of preaching is sin.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Soul-winning is a wise spiritual enterprise.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Habakkuk 1 – 3
