9 March 2011

Psalm 32,143; Jonah 3:1-4:11; Heb. 12:1-14; Luke 18:9-14

Jonah’s message is received by the people of Nineveh and they repent in sackcloth and ashes. It seems they are more amenable to the prophets than Israel herself! The Babylonians had recently lost territory to their enemies for the first time since rising to prominence and there had recently been a total solar eclipse as well, which was interpreted as a sign of the god’s displeasure. A foreign prophet would, therefore, have received a hearing and Jonah’s message was at one with the omens so the city responded. Jonah must have known somehow that this was to be the result as he says he knew God would have mercy on them. His anger was against those who had persecuted his own nation and he finds himself not only opposed to Nineveh but also to his God who has had mercy on these people. The final sentence of the passage shows us that the Lord cares for all His creation, not only the chosen.

When we pray do we pray for mercy or do we presume on the Lord based on our election? When Jesus taught the disciples to pray he taught them a pattern that makes sense to me because it gets relationship right. We begin with exalting the name of the Lord and then move to recognizing His sovereignty in all things by asking for our daily bread before asking forgiveness for our sins. There is no presumption in the prayer, it expresses our utter dependence on Him in and for all things. The Pharisee sees himself as having reached a higher plane in his relationship with God, asking the Lord to regard him and comparing himself to other men and in the balance he finds himself as one who can stand before the Lord not in humility but in pride. The tax collector has no illusions about himself and pleads only for mercy in light of God’s holiness, the only comparison that matters. Jesus’ conclusion surely was shocking and offensive but undeniably true.

The Lord disciplines us as a Father, for our good. Jonah refused to accept the Lord’s discipline because of his pride. The Ninevites received the discipline of the Lord in true humility. Do we have the pride of the Pharisee or do we have the humility of the tax collector vis a vis the Lord? All bad things in our lives are not discipline but all are ultimately for our good if we are willing to give them to Him for His glory. Our participation in God’s plan requires humility. It requires us to endure all things without growing weary and it requires us to lay aside our own plans so that we do not spend our lives kicking against the goads but looking for the Lord in all the events of our lives.

Now my heart's desire is to know you more

To be found in you, and known as yours

To possess by faith what I could not earn

All surpassing gift of righteousness