Obadiah & Jonah

Today's Reading - Obadiah & Jonah

Good Monday Morning! I hope that you have had a restful weekend. Today we are looking at two more prophets; Obadiah and Jonah. Obadiah is a short book that is aimed at the Edomites; a people who did not support Israel when they were being destroyed. You can find a list of the crimes against the Edomites in verses 11-14. The main theme of Obadiah is that GOD will punish those who refuse to live justly & right.

Jonah is a great book that is very easy to read. I would encourage you to take the time to read it. Jonah answers the question whether GOD blesses the wicked. It should be read as a parable. As you are reading watch for GOD's control over nature, and animals. Jesus makes reference to this story in Mathew 12:39-41

Jonah 4:5-11 ESV5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the
city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under
it in the shade, till he should see what would become
of the city. 6 Now the LORD God appointed a plant and
made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over
his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was
exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came
up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the
plant, so that it withered.....
8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind,
and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was
faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better
for me to die than to live." 9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you do
well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to
be angry, angry enough to die." 10 And the LORD said,
"You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did
you make it grow, which came into being in a night and
perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh,
that great city, in which there are more than 120,000
persons who do not know their right hand from their
left, and also much cattle?"

A Little of Jonah in All of Us
As I read the story of Jonah, I can see a little of Jonah (Well a lot) in myself. See if you can identify with Jonah's attitude.

Have you ever felt that GOD was calling you to HIM, or to do a certain task? You may be resisting HIS calling... maybe you feel that you are not ready, maybe you are not ready to make the commitment, maybe it is something that you are against. Whatever your feelings may be, you turn away from GOD's calling, like Jonah. In fact Jonah headed for Tarshish, the exact opposite direction of Nineveh.

After some time of fleeing or avoiding GOD's calling you have either come to know or will come to know that once Jesus has begun to work in your heart, you usually will submit to Jesus' love for you. His love is intriguing, once you feel a small part of it, you must experience more. So, now you are becoming committed to His task, so you feel that it is yours.

That is so common today, when we do our everyday tasks it is so easy to forget that we have Jesus helping us, I know that I feel a lot of times that I have to do it all, I forget I am the servant, He is my master. All He asks me is to do my best, the results are up to Him, and I have to be OK with whatever He decides to do. He is Christ, I am not.

This is where Jonah failed. He forgot that GOD is sovereign, HE is in control. Jonah was the servant, but he forgot this and became angry with GOD. GOD even gave Jonah a wonderful example with the vine for shade. Jonah did nothing to cultivate the vine (Nineveh) so it was not his to dictate what happens to the vine. Nineveh was GOD's. He had been at work there for some time, it was HIS, not Jonah's.

In your life there are going to be things that happen that you will not agree with. I know it is hard because we have feelings and we care about certain situations. But, we must always remember that GOD is sovereign, HE knows best. Always look to Him whether things are good or bad.

Bible Trivia
What made Jonah angry enough to die?
Hint: Jonah 4:6-9


September's Reading Schedule

Have a Blessed Day!