Heralds Digest

  “ And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. ” Jonah 1 : 9 - 10 KJV The understanding of God as someone who goes after the righteous for compliance and spare the wicked in their complicity is no doubt the story of Jonah. Unfortunately, this story is the foundation of fruitless fears exhibited by many believers today. Whereas, God is love who goes after both the righteous and wicked with compassion; and He does not delight in the destruction of any of His creatures. That we can safely disobey God and run away from His revealed counsels is nothing else but false and fruitless. Unfortunately, instead of delivering the message of repentance to the people of Ninevah, Jonah was staged to deliver the gospel message to the mariners enroute Tar...

  “ So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows .” Jonah 1 : 15 - 16 NKJV It is highly instructive that the same life’s experiences that brought foolish fear out of Jonah made fruitful fear out of the mariners enroute Tarshish (needless to underscore the prompt repentance of the city of Nineveh). And like most people are perpetually devoted to running away from the presence of the Lord, Jonah’s foolish fear recommended (1) disobedience to the commandment of the Lord; (2) soliciting the assistance of the mariners to commit suicide; (3) annoyance with the extension of the mercy of God to Ninevah; and (4) soliciting the assistance of God to commit suicide. He was probably thinking “ What else can I do to get emphasis on the POWER of God (i.e., presence, obedience, will, enterprise, and righteousness) out of my affairs? ”. Whereas, God is everywhere...

  “ So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish .”” Jonah 1 : 6 NKJV Like Jonah did, ignorance of the permanent presence or omnipresence of God is the cause of man’s slipping away or sleeping off from the inescapable reality. Whereas, the permanent presence of God was dominant throughout the ordeals in the Book of Jonah, including the voyage from Joppa to Tarshish, the ride in the belly of the whale, the speedy commute from the dry seaport to Ninevah, and the eventual delivery of the news in Ninevah. Unfortunately, whenever we engage in our sleepy escapades, even sinners and aliens to the commonwealth of mercy often cry out “ What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God “, because everyone gets severely punished for all wrongs against the permanent presence of God. Whereas, just the understanding and practice of the permanent presence of God is sufficient to li...