you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Who is your neighbour?
God created all human beings.
Every human being is your neighbour.
Love works no ill to his neighbour. Therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8-10)
And above all things have fervent love among yourselves ,
because love shall cover multitude of sins(1 Peter 4:8)
Love is expressed in action.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever believes in Him should not peish but
have everlasting life.
God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Little chilren , let us not love with word only, but in
deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18)
The commandment that Jesus gave to His disciples is that
they must love one another.
It is an old commandment in a new light.
You must love your neighbour as yourself.
(Lev 19:20 : Mark 12:29-31)
In the Old Testament , the men and women of God were
examples and models of the type of persons that God would
approve.
Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Sarah,Jacob, Daniel, Samuel, Moses ,
David, and the prophets of God were showing the people how
to love God, and how to love their neighbour as themselves.
But they were not the perfect models and examples.They come
short of the glory of God.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)
Christ Jesus is the only perfect man who has never sinned.
The Word was God. And the Word became flesh in he Person of
Christ Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the true
way to
love. We follow Him. In the brightness of Jesus we can see
how to love. We must love one another as our Lord has loved
us.
Our strong love for each other will prove to the world that
we are disciples of Christ.
Such love is a testimony to the world . Love glorifies God
because God is love.
Such love points and shows people to Christ. Such love
frees you from fear, anger, lust, greed, selfishness, and
sorrow.
Unsaved people will recognize the blessings of such love.
And they will be drawn unto Christ , when we with love lift
up Christ as our Lord.
Such love comes from the Lord because the Lord Jesus Christ
shines brightly in the darkness of the world.
Such love comes from the Lord because Christ frees the
destitutes by giving them hope and love.
Such love wins people to the Lord Jesus Christ because they
know that such love comes from God.
God has shown His love for us in that while we were sinners,
Christ doed for us. It is a love lavished upon us witout
thought of whether we are worthy to receive it or not.
Love is a gift of God.
We are saved by the grace of God through our faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ.You are saved through God's loving
kindness through your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not the result of your efforts .Your salvation
is not the results of your works. It is a gift from God, so
don't boast about your efforts.
Faith works by love. (Galatians 5:6)
Man's very best comes far short of God's lowest and least
requirements. No man can justify himself before God.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)
And the wages of sin is death.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to His mercy He saved us.(Titus 3:5)
Man can not save himself. Only God can save man. Man can
not save himself by his own efforts. This very important
lesson have still not been learned by many people.
They still seeking by their own works and their own
efforts to save themselves.They still trying to make
themselves righteous in the sight of God.
All our righteousness are filthy rags.(Isaiah 64:6)
Not only our bad habits and bad deeds are offensive to
God. But even what we consider our good human deeds and
thoughts offend God as well. They are but filthy rags
because by comparison with God's character they fall so
far short.
When man broke God's law, the justice of God demands full
payment of the penalty of death from man.
The wages of sin is death.(Romans 6:23)
But God loves man.
How can God justly forgive man and bring man back into
fellowship with Himself ?
How can God express His love, His righteousness, and His
justice toward man all at the same time and still require
the justly deserved debt of sin to be paid ?
How can God remain just and yet declare sinners forgiven
and righteous ?
The only solution is for God to become man.
Since it was Adam, the first man, who had sinned and fell
into the penalty of death, another man would have to be a
permanent substitute for the first man. It would have to be
someone of God's choosing. Then he could qualify to be a
permanent substitute.
This man would have to bear the punishment of God against
all sin that would ever be committed.
But in order for a person to qualify to in man's place of
judgment and be his sin-bearer, these things would be true
of him. This person would have to be truly and properly
man. This person must never have sinned. And this man is
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is truly and properly man. And the Lord Jesus
Christ is truly God.
The Lord Jesus Christ has by his suffering and death made
an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will
believe in him may be saved.
For what says the Scriptures ? Abraham believed God, and
it was counted for righteousness.(Romans 4:3)
The folks of Nineveh never heard of the name of the Lord,
but still responded to this prophet's God. And they were
saved from destruction.
The folks of Nineveh had faith in God. Their faith was the
same type of faith Abram had for the Lord. And thus a
parallel response by the Lord, counting it to them ,as
righteousness.
Gentiles , who do not have the law, do by nature things
required by the law. For when the Gentiles , who have
not the law, so by nature the things contained in the
law, these , having not the law, are a law unto themselves;
which show the work of the law written in their hearts,
their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the mean while accusing of excusing one another.
(Romans 2:14-15)
For there is no respect of person with God. For as many
as have sinned without the law shall also perish without
the law; and many as have sinned in the law shall be judged
by the law;
For not the hearers of the law ae just before God, but
the doers of the law shall be justified(Romans 2:11-13)
The folks of Nineveh believed God , and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them.(Jonah 3:6)
All Nineveh , from the greatest to the least
begun their acts of repentance.
Their repentance was sincere .They fasted. They were
humble before God by wearing sackcloth. They
prayed to God for mercy. And they made vows to
give up their evil ways. And God saw their works,
that they turned from their wicked ways. and
God evoked His sentence of punishment that
He had said that He would do to them.He did not
do it because He was comforted and eased
concerning them. Then the Lord said to Jonah,
What right have you to be angry ?
The Lord was questioning Jonah about his ungodly attitude.
Did not His servant know His love and concern for all
human beings ?
So Jonah went out of the city , and sat on the east side of
the city. And he made himself a booth and sat under it in
the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
And the Lord prepared a guard, and made it to come up over
Jonah,that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver
him from his grief. so Jonah was exceeding glad of the
guard.
A gourd is a plant.The Lord prepared the plant to come up
over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to
deliver himof his grief. The speed of the plant's growth
was an act of God.It was a miracle of God.
Th great fish that saved Jonah was a miracle of God. And
just as the great fish saved Jonah, the fast growing plant
saved Jonah from his discomfort.
The Lord saved Jonah from his evil situation of being
overheated, but he was not yet saved from his attitute
of unforgiving.
God dealt with Jonah the way Jonah would have deal with the
pagan nations. Because God saved Jonah from the evil of
discomfort, Jonah was exceedingly glad.
Jonah gladly accepted the forgiveness of the Lord for
Israel and himself. But Jonah did not want this forgiveness
to extend to the Gentiles and Nineveh.
When God saved Nineveh from the evil of destruction, Jonah
was angry.
The Lord had provided the vine as an instrument of
salvation. God had saved Jonah. But God prepared a worm
when the morning came the next day. And it smoke the guord
so that it withered.
At God's command , a worm attacked the plant, and it died.
Jonah was not without God's provision for salvation.
The blessing of the plant's shade was an act of God.
The worm destroying the plant was an act of God.
The destruction of the plant was also an act of God.
And it come to pass , when the sun did arise , that God
prepared a vehement east wind. And the sun beated upon the
head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to
die. Jonah said,
It is better for me to die than to live.
The Lord took away Jonah's earthly comfort, the cool shade.
The east wind brought with it the searing hot temperature.
When Jonah could not endure the heat, he cried out for his
life to be taken.
The first time Jonah wished for death because he was angry.
(Jonah 4:3)
This second time Jonah cried out to God because he could
not bear the heat any longer.Jonah was now in physical
distress. Jonah's words,
It is better for me to die than to live.
Those words were of Elijah (1 Kings 19:4)
Both prophets felt that they were defeated.
Elijah felt that he had won a victory against the false
prophets. But then he became afraid of Jezebel, when the
Lord took away His miracle power from Elijah. And Elijah
ran away to save his life. He ran because of his lack of
faith in the Lord.
As long as Elijah looked to the Lord for his strength, he
was strong. But when he looked at Jezebel's threat, Elijah
lost his faith and became afraid.
Elijah was a man of like passion with ourselves.
He had the same weakness where we are weak.
He was capable of failing
where we could fail.
Elijah , the man who could bring fire down from heaven, was
as human as we are.
When the Lord took away Elijah's miracle powers, Elijah
requested for himself that his life be taken away.
And he said,
It is enough; now O Lord , take my life, for I am not
better than my ancestors.(1 Kings 19:4)
The Lord had left Elijah to himself. without the
miracle powerof the Lord, would Elijah still have faith
in the Lord ? The Lord wanted to humble Elijah. The Lord
wanted Elijah to trust in Him, and not on the powers of
the miracles. Elijah learned that he was not any better
than the common folks.
Now Jonah would face almost the same situation. The Lord
had left Jonah to himself.
Jonah wanted God to follow him. Jonah wanted his prophecy
to come true. Jonah had only hatre for the people of
Nineveh and wanted the destruction of Nineveh.
Jonah was full of pride. He had elevated himself as a great
prophet. If his prophesy did not come true, there was a
possibility that his own people might stone him. False
prophets were stoned. Jonah felt God was responsible
for his predictament.
Jonah did not want to follow the Lord. Jonah was
self-centered. He thought only of himself. Jonah wanted
to be a great prophet.
Man's plan for salvation always fail. Man's plan of salvation
is based on the devil's lies.
God's plan for man's salvation is rested on the solid
foundation
of truth of God.
Jonah wanted to die when he saw that his mission of
announcing judgment on Nineveh had failed.
The Lord had shown to Jonah that Jonah was not any
better than common folks. The Lord made Jonah see that
Jonah was not any better than the folks of Nineveh.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God.
For by grace you are saved through faith ; and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God; not of works, lest any
man should boast .(Ephesians 2:8-9)
The Lord wanted Jonah to trust Him, and not on the powers
of miracles. And the Lord wants us to trust in Him, and not
on the power of miracles. The Lord had performed many great
miracles in Jonah's life. The Lord had caused great
miracles in Jonah's life .The Lord had caused a great storm
to rise up. The Lord had commanded the great fish to
swallow Jonah and to vomit Jonah upon the dry land.
As with Elijah , Jonah learned to trust in the Lord and not
in the miracle powers.
And , behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong
wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks
before the Lord . But the Lord was not in the wind. And
after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was
not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord
was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a
still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it.
(1 Kings 19)
Like Elijah , we may have done many great works. But we
should not be proud. We have to be humble before the Lord
because it is the Lord who has done these great works for
Lord.
Let the prophet not bost of his great powers. Let the
prophet see that all his miracle powers comes from the
Lord.
The Lord works the miracles. The Lord knows what He designs
us for, even though we do not know ourselves. The Lord knows
what services He wants us to do. The Lord knows what trials
are before us. Fear not . The Lord grace of God is sufficient
After Elijah had failed , the Lord gave Elijah another
chance.
The Lord gave Jonah many opportunities to return to Him.
The Lord is giving you another opportunity to return to Him.
The Lord is giving you another opportunity to return
to your appointed duty.
Go , Return.
Go. Return to your post that the Lord has appointed you.
The thought of the Lord is not as man's thoughts. The Lord
knows all the storms of disappointments and broken hopes
that are torturing the noble spirit of His servants. The
Lord does not love you less than when you stood so bravely
against wickedness.
The Lord still loved Jonah, even though Jonah had failed.
The Lord still loved Jonah , even though Jonah did not know
God's heart.
But God's love healed and restored His servant's soul to
health and joy.
Don't be discourage , if you have failed. You may have
failed , as Elijah and Jonah had failed, where everyone
expected you to stand. You may feel ashamed and wanted
to hide. You feel forsaken by everyone. Man may forsake
you , but the Lord has not forsaken you.
The Lord loves you and wants to restore you to health and
joy.
The Lord brought Jonah into sympathy with Himself. Jonah
saw God's light. Should I not have pity on Nineveh ?
The Lord loves man. Because God loved the human beings,
He had pity and compassion for the folks of Nineveh.
everything the Lord has done is the outcome of His love.
And the Lord made Jonah see His love for human beings.
He said to Jonah, You have pity on the gourd, for which
you have not
laboured , neither made it grow ; which came up in the
night,
and perished in the night, And should not I have pity on
Nineveh that great city; wherein are more than a hundred
and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between
their right hand and left hand and also much cattle ?
The Lord is God of mercy and love.
Should I not spare Nineveh ?
Out of that attitude of pity and mercy and love, all the
activities of the Lord proceed. God loves the sinner, but
God hates sin. God's standard of holiness is not lowered
when God has pity on the folks of Nineveh.
The Lord appealed to Jonah to fellowship of love. The
Lord wanted Jonah to love his neighbour and enemies. Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you. do good to them
that hate you. And pray for them that despitefully use you,
and
persecute you.
Your strong love for your enemies will defeat them.And they
will no longer be your enemies. Your love turns them into
your friends.
The Book of Jonah ends with a picture of Jonah still in
rebellion. But if Jonah had wrote the book, then the
Lord has won His victory and brought Jonah into sympathy
with Himself. The story that Jonah told reveals Jonah's
failure and folly, and Jonah's understanding why he had
failed.
Everything of significant value in the book of Jonah is
is emphasized in the Lord Jesus Christ. The sympathy of
God had for Nineveh is the same compassion that the Lord
had for Jerusalem when he wept for her. It is the same
sympathy and pity He has for Jerusalem and all the cities
of the world.
Think of the corrupted and evil cities of the world.
But God has pity on all of them. There are billions and
billions of souls in these awful cities.
Jonah had pity on the gourd. This plant grew up in one
night and perished the next. Jonah didn't do anything
to make it grow. Yet Jonah felt sorry for the withered
plant. How much more, then, should God have pity on
Nineveh and those other awful cities. After all they
have
so many folks who can't discern
between right and wrong.
The servants of Christ must come into that fellowship
of compassion, pity, and love.
Love is sympathetic towards others.
How can we love if we have not compassion towards other.
God is love.
We must love God with all our heart, with all our soul,
with all our mind, and with all our strength.
And we must love our neighbour as ourselves.
God's love is not aim at only a chosen few. God's love
is not exclusive. God loves all His creation.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
----------------------------------------------------------
Title : Jonah
Author : Anthony Ing
Publisher: Good News Publishing
paperback 1988 ISBN 10 0-921947-19-4
Digitized 2014 ISBN 10 0-921947-90-9 (html)
ISBN-13 978-0-921947-90-5(html)