I was on this book of Jonah for the past few days and have been thinking about it for quite some time. It's not quite easy to believe that Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. However, Isn't Jesus' resurrection equally unbelievable and yet I believe and that forms the very basis of my belief in Christ? From first asking myself what my attitude toward Jonah's experience should be to now believing it, it's quite an amazing journey but my faith is definitely renewed and my trust in God affirmed. In fact, this is probably a good reminder of our faith in God.
From a guidebook, it has been pointed out that Jonah is a type of Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. And Jonah is a type of Israel in his disobedient to God, swallowed by nations of the world, but will yet give her up when Christ comes and be witnesses of God everywhere. Jesus also pointed out Jonah to the scribes and the Pharisees as the only sign (Matthew 12:38-40) when He was asked. A short book, yet significant! So is the Christian faith, concise yet profound!
PS At the end of the book, it was recorded that Jonah was angry that God was compassionate and gracious towards Nineveh. Jonah found it hard to love the city (Nineveh) of that hostile country (Assyria) to Israel (his own country). In the devotional material, it pointed out that God's love has a bit of irrationality in it, because it's across all creatures and all circumstances. I wonder whether this is consistent with the agape love in "The Four loves' written by C.S.Lewis. This agape love is unconditional, but I wouldn't link it to irrationality. On the other hand, Eros, is the type that most people associate with irrationality. Or is love in general irrational across the board ?
Anna
3 comments:
Oh my gosh... I got lost in the last part of this entry. But yes, Christ' resurrection requires as much faith to believe in as Jonah being trapped in a whale.
What abt God bringing every pair of animal on earth to Noah's ark in Genesis? The ark must have been pretty crowded. Maybe I will check what the study bible speaks of Jonah being in the fish, hopefully tt will give more insight.
Ruijie
Ha, which part are you lost at? Maybe I didn't put it as clearly as I would have intended. I think I need more sleep to function...You mean the second paragraph?
What I wanted to say was that this book is very important because it's really a book that tests our faith.
But if you are lost at the last paragraph, then let me put it in another way. Jonah did not think that Nineveh should be loved by God. He did not think it's justified. However, God loves, in fact God loves all creatures, even those we think the most undeserved. So God's love is irrational in a sense.
Have I made myself clear? Ha...
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. :)
What do you base your rationality on? Human logic? I am inclined to think that God's love is irrational at a human to human level... But it makes more sense from a creator to human level. God loves us because we are created by Him and he has created us in His image.
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