I pray you may find true rest and restoration this Sabbath in the Word of our Lord.
It came to my attention one night in our Wednesday Bible Study that Jewish Synagogues read the book of Jonah in the afternoon on the Sabbath as an example of rest. I thought that was a great idea to start implementing in my own Sabbath reading along with The Sign of Jonah story of Jesus!
“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.””
Matthew 12:38-45
Let’s not be like that wicked and adulterous nation, and instead seek our Lord through His Word, resting from our works today so that we may reflect upon and worship His 🤍
If you have not read the full of book Jonah from the Bible recently, then I encourage you to take the time now to read the short book on your own before continuing with the rest of the post, as I am just posting the verses to which I have notes for discussion here.
““Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.””Jonah 1:2
God’s mercies are available for all nations - even those who do not yet know Him. Because He loves us and offered us mercy, we therefore need to love everyone else to offer others mercy as well. Salvation is available to all.
Who could you extend your forgiveness to this week?
“Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” Jonah 1:15 NIV
Whether we choose to obey the Lord in full submission or not, His will will be done.
Reflect on ways in which you could rest in the Lord’s commands this week to obey Him in ways that you might not regularly.
“Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17
Even when we go against His will, He still protects us from our fate of death because of His love for us.
Remember all of the ways that the Lord has protected you even when you’ve gone against His will. Make a list in your prayer journal today during your rest of His mercies and set a time daily to worship the Lord and praise Him for all that He has done for you based on that list. Continue to add to it as the years go by, and when you find affliction, may that list bring you peace of His unfailing love.
“You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.” Jonah 2:3
The Lord disciplines His children. If you are afflicted today, know that it is still within the will of the Lord so that you may rest solely on Him. He has not abandoned you nor forsaken you, He is in control and working on you! Meditate on this encouragement through the week, and know that we are all disciplined in different ways according to His will. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be legitimate sons and daughters at all.
“And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah 2:10 NIV
His will will always be done, no matter what.
Write down your worries or concerns you have, and then pray to the Lord and crumple up the paper and throw it away. No matter how much we worry or try to plan the future, we are never in control. This week, remember this Truth and find comfort in His plans for you.
When we live against the will of God, which is constantly, He commands us to rest and to sit and reflect so that we can listen to Him and return to His will. This is why we have the Sabbath.
“Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.””Jonah 3:4
Making friends is not the mission the Lord set out for him.
Evaluate the friendships, or lack thereof, in your life this week. It’s so easy for social media to make us feel down when we’re not invited to something, or make us feel like we’re “missing out” on something bigger. Write out a mission statement for your duty in Christ and keep it on you all week to read when you need the reminder. We are all on duty to spread the Gospel of Christ, and while that may mean extending hospitality and taking care of others, it also may be exposing a sin (in a loving way) and encouraging others to repent as Jonah was doing in our example here. At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reiterates this point to us.
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah 3:10
Our obedience to God’s will saves lives even when we dont intend it to. God’s will will always be done.
Is there a way that the Lord has been putting on your heart to show obedience to Him this week? Or have you felt down because you have not seen the fruit of your obedience, yet? There is always fruit, whether we intend there to be or not. In this case, Jonah saw fruit that he did not intend. In your case, you may pray for fruit in your children’s hearts or your husband’s, your church’s or your community’s daily and may wonder where it is. One thing is for certain - it will happen certainly one way or another. Rest in this hope today.
“Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”” Jonah 4:3
Everyone deserves mercy, just like He was given mercy when God saved Him in the fish. God loves all of us! This anger that Jonah exposed in the beginning of this chapter stems from pride. He was proud of his obedience to the Lord, so he thought others who were disobedient didn’t deserve the same protection that he was given. However, even his pride and anger made him a sinner. A sin is a sin regardless if we think it is big or small - they’re all the same to One sinned against. We are no better than any other sinner. The only one “good” is our God. Take time today to reflect on areas of pride, judgment, or anger in your life and pray to the Lord for forgiveness for those sins. Write them down if it helps, and write “forgiven” over those sins after you’ve prayed as a visual of the forgiveness of our Lord.
“But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.” Jonah 4:10
The Lord creates us and takes care of us. He works hard on us, which is why He’s so easy to forgive. He cares for us so deeply because He made us! If we get upset about frivolous things, how much more upset is the Lord when he loses one of His creations. We often are concerned with the wrong things. Home decor, clothing, classes, cooking, cleaning, image, education, housing, jobs, cars, etc. We need only be concerned with the Lord and His creations.
Evaluate what you are concerned with in your heart that does not need to be there and make the choice today to rid of it. Then, make a list of how you can care for His creation this week and serve others who are in your community.
“And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”” Jonah 4:11
The Lord is concerned with people and it makes no sense to to be concerned with anything else other than what the Lord is concerned with - people and animals. He will provide the rest without our concern.
Free yourself of your concerns today! How can you help those around you be freed from theirs as well?