The Book of Jonah Small Prophet Chapter 4

 

The Book of Jonah

 Chapter

 

 4

 

¹ But this was very displeasing to Jonah and he became angry.

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 1)

Although the people of Nineveh had reacted positively to the warning given to them by Jonah in the name of God, Jonah became angry. One would question his behavior oh God my Father. We can never deny anybody the opportunity to be given the chance to listen to the Good News of the Bible even though they may be of another religion, for I do not know what plans for their salvation You have in mind. In the situation, I would have felt guilty instead of angry, for if I had not obeyed Your will the conversion of the people of Nineveh would never have taken place in the first place. I thank You, my God and Father, even for those situations when the outcome is not according to my plans Amen, for it is Your will that is of value and not my own Amen. Thank You, Jesus. 


² He prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning: for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 2)


Oh God my Father, Jonah teaches me an important lesson, in his anger his prayer was a conversation with You, he did not start praying by chanting the psalms or other prayers. This is how I wish my prayers to You to be. Amen. Even though he was feeling angry he still admitted that You are kind gracious and slow to anger he did not place the blame on You, even though he tried to explain his reasons.


³ And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 3)


Oh God my Father, on feeling the shadow of death near, or on making a direct experience of death or a similar situation, on sensing that there is no way out, we may start accepting this as an undeniable reality that we have to die, so much that we pray for it, however, our natural self, may hinder us from letting go, if we are strongly attached to the ways of the world. Amen. I pray that I am always ready to let go and renounce the world and its ways for You Amen. 


⁴ And the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 4)



Oh God, my Father, I do not feel angry but sad, so sad that I feel like giving up on everything and even on my life. Even though I am on medication I am still feeling down. I am placing what is left of my hope in You please take control. Amen.



⁵ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 5) 



Oh God, how good it is to take a time out of the situation when we feel that we are becoming angry, in order to calm down and reflect on the situation and even vent out my feelings in prayer or even in talking out the issues with You my God and Father.



⁶ The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from the discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 6)



Oh God, my Father, I am also like the grumbling Jonah. In my circumstances You provide me according to my needs, I appreciate, however, I do not always thank You for Your providence, my attitude is simply that of being happy, which is not the right attitude at all because even eating a hamburger can make me happy, but my happiness is to be sustained by praise, worship and most of all thanksgiving. Amen.


⁷ But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush so that it withered.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 7)



Oh God, my Father even though Jonah was happy with the bush and the shelter it gave him, he did not give thanks to You for having taken care of his well being and therefore the bush was taken away from him. Oh God, I pray that You give me an attitude of appreciation and thanksgiving even during moments of stress and anger Amen. Please help me to calm down and reflect on the situation and give thanks instead of jumping to hasty conclusions Amen.


⁸ When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to live."


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 8)


Oh God, my beloved Father, even though Jonah was aware that You were with him, he still complained and grumbled instead of giving thanks for all the positive things that You had helped him in such as in bringing to him to Nineveh and not letting him perish at sea. I pray that I be protected from falling into such a trap. I humbly admit that like Jonah in my worst times I preferred to die than to live, however, You, my God and Father always cared for me and showed me how much You love me Amen. 


⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes angry enough to die."


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 9)



Many times oh God my beloved Father, we are mad at You for taking something, or somebody, or a positive situation such as work or marriage, without ever thanking You for giving them to us in the first place. Therefore oh God my Father, I am to learn how to give thanks to You in every situation instead of becoming angry when things do not go my way and behave as an adult instead of letting the child in me have his way Amen.


¹⁰ "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 10)



Oh God You are telling me the same thing about my daughter, You are telling me that I am angry about not having access to my daughter, a creature that You gave me and that You have the right to take away from me and that is not a possession but an individual person with rights and wishes that cannot be denied Amen.


¹¹ And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 verse 11)


Oh God my beloved Father, as humans at times we are selfish and tend to consider only our own ways, however, You see the big picture and consider all our ways and needs. I thank You for also including me in such a wide selection Amen.


Oh God my beloved Father, I would like to end this fourth and final chapter of the book of Jonah with the following prayer.


Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that as in the case of Jonah we learn how to obey Your ways instead of sticking to our ways. Moreover, I also pray that we be grateful for all the works that You perform in our lives, and most of all to accept and be always aware that You are our sole provider and that as You give You also have the right to take away Amen.




In order to move on to the next book that of the Prophet Micah please click on the following link:

The Book of the Prophet Micah




























 




 

 

 

The Book of Jonah Small Prophet Chapter 3

 

The Book of Jonah

 Chapter  3

 

 

 

¹ The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying. ² "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verses 1 to 2)

 

 Oh God my Father it is time for us as Christians to proclaim the Words of the Good News. Others such as Protestants are making a good job of both proclaiming and living the Word of God as in the Bible, however as adults there is more to be done, for we are living an alienated life, and when the time arrives, I fear that we will be found unprepared as in the time of Noah. I pray that in all the circles that we make part of we do the work of the prophet and raise the awareness that we need to turn back to You and have a relationship with You for our own good while You are still giving us the opportunity of doing so.

 

³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three day's walk across. 

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verse 3)

 

Many times oh God my beloved Father, we end up having to swallow our pride and going against our will in order to do what You want us to do, which is not always what I want to do. However, in practice, it is useless attempting to do it my way, when in truth I have doubts or am sure that what I wish or want to do is not according to Your will.

 

⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!". ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verses 4 to 5)

 

Oh God my Father it is never wise to deny anybody the opportunity to change, improve and be exposed to the Faith in You, even if they are atheists or of a different religion. I cannot say that that person or family will not benefit from that intervention, because that family or person may well benefit in its totality from the given opportunity. So it is best to give all their rightful opportunities, even though I may know that some may succeed and some due to their life chances may probably not, however I also beleive that You are in control of all that happens in my life and that You are able to change both people and their situaions Amen.

 

⁶ When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verse 6)

 

Oh God my beloved Father repentance is an opportunity that is given to all regardless of status or class. You give us all the opportunity to turn back from our ways and start fresh in our relationship with You. I pray that leaders as in the case of this king are positively influenced by the goodness or good and positive acts of their subjects or citizens in order to keep on fulfilling their roles according to Your ways Amen.

 

⁷ Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles; No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. ⁸ Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may relent and change his mind, he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish."

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verses 7 to 9)

 

Oh Godmy beloved Father, even though our intentions may not be out of faith but of fear that we will experience the negative consequences of our actions, You still care for us and intervene at the appointed time of our deliverance. I thank You for judging us not only on our actions but even on our intentions Amen.

 

¹⁰  When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them and he did not do it.

 

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 3 verse 10)

 

Oh God my Father, how strong is the power of praise repentance and abstenance. It seems to be so powerful that it was enough to encourage You to turn back from the decision that You had taken in relation to Nineveh. I pray that we are always persistent in our prayer life and relationship with You and that we never give up, even though the situation is becoming challenging Amen.

 

In light of the third chapter of the book of Jonah, I would like to end with the following reflection:

 

Oh brothers and sisters if we were told that the world is going to come to and end tomorrow, would we repent and change our ways or would we consider it as another practical joke and keep on living the life that we have been accustomed to living?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book of Jonah Small Prophet Chapter 2

The Book of Jonah

 Chapter 2

¹ Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, ² saying, "I called to the LORD out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 2 verses 1 to 2)

Even though Jonah was aware that he was to blame for all that had happened on the ship as a consequence of his disobedience, he still had the cheek to call You on Your hotline, that is by means of prayer. I pray oh God that if we lose all values as some are gradually doing we do not lose our sense of humility because if we become arrogant to You and to others we are totally lost and there remains no hope but Your mercy for us amen.





³ You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. ⁴ Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; how shall I look again upon your holy temple?



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 2 verses 3 to 4)



Oh God, my Father many times You permit me to experience desolations which are followed by consolations. The situation may appear to be out of control. We may feel surrounded by issues from all sides like waves breaking on to, our boat. In such situation I pray for Your deliverance, for repentance, but how will You accept me back? God smiles on to me and says do not worry my son, I realise that what you have done was not good or maybe could have been better or not at all, but I have paid the price for your redemption. Every lash of the whip that bit into my skin and ripped it apart, every nail that drove into veins skin and bone I endured for you. Come back and repent Amen.



⁵ The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head ⁶ at the roots of mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit. O LORD my God.



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 2 verses 5 to 6)



Oh God, my Father I also feel that I am entangled by the forces of evil, that are trying to harass me from every side. My family hates me, all I have left is You. I thank You for saving me every time from sinking into the miry pit of my sins. Although I do not have much hair left, You always find somewhere to grab me from in order to save me. Amen.



⁷ As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 2 verse 7) 
 


Oh God, this is a very sensitive time in our lives. At the point of death, many have renounced their old lives and confirmed their belief in You. I pray oh God my Father, that I do not wait for the crisis to happen before deciding to believe in You. Amen.


⁸ Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. ⁹ But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;  what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!" ¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land.



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 2 verses 8 to 10)



Oh God, my Father, on showing an act of faith in You, You ordered the whale to spit out Jonah of his situation and deliver him to a state of safety.



Oh God my beloved Father I would like to end this second chapter of the book of Jonah with the following prayer:-



Oh God my Father, I also wish to be delivered my state of chaos, to one of stability, You are aware of my situation. I have faith that at any moment You can give the command and the situation will change Amen. Thank You, Jesus. 

  
 

The Book of Jonah Small Prophet Chapter 1

The Book of Jonah

 Chapter 1

1. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Ammitai, saying, 2. Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me."

(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father nothing that we do can ever happen without Your knowledge and awareness. You know what is going on and even who is doing this and that form of evil, even if that nation is functioning behind the scenes meaning in the background until it is time to make one's appearance and show one's true colours. It would have been better for such people to never have been created. Amen.



Oh God my Father as You are fully aware I am referring to the recent event when the driver of a truck possibly the member of this terrorist group drove on to many people and causing the death of many people and injuring others as in the following link:-



Truck rams into crowd of people




3. But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.




(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 3)




Oh God my Father when and wherever can we escape Your presence. You are everywhere at any time. All the time You are aware of our actions and we can never escape from doing Your will even if we go far away as did Jonah, when the time comes You will soon put us back on track again to do Your will Amen.


4. But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 4)


Oh God my Father at times we are so obstinate that it literally requires outstanding action to place us back on track such as an accident that is so strong that it has the possibility of claiming our lives, or maybe a narrow escape or illness with the  possibility of being terminal. We are so hard headed. We have been bombarded with the need of repentance for ages but we still have not abandoned our ways.



5. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 5)




Oh God my Father, it is interesting that when we end up in trouble we refer to our 'gods'. For some of us our 'gods' or 'god' has become ourselves! However, in truth, You are our one and only God, however, if we do not empty ourselves of our sinful nature and worldly ties and treasures we cannot fill ourselves with You. As the sailors tried to empty the ship to make it lighter, we are to empty ourselves from all that is blocking our relationship with You. Amen.




6. The captain came and said to him, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish."



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 6)



Oh God my Father during times of trouble even if one is not convinced of Your existence, we all turn on You for help. Without admitting it in truth we all believe in You. I pray oh God my Father that we change our attitude and seek to believe in You during both the good times and even the not so good times Amen.


On reflecting on verse 6 I remembered when You were with the twelve, and while asleep a huge storm threatened to sink the boat. However, You were unaffected by the circumstances and rebuked the sea and the wind and restored order. Jonah on the other hand on being woken up by the captain may have become aware that it was his fault that the storm was raging. I could have imagined Jonah's reaction when the captain told him to pray to that same God that he had tried to escape by boarding the boat. 



7. The sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8. Then they said to him, "Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verses 7 to 8)



Oh God my Father when disaster strikes it is always right an proper to consult You in order to discern Your will in the given circumstances and seek a course of action in order to deal with the issue or issues at hand Amen.



9. " I am a Hebrew," he replied, " I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 9)



Oh God my Father I pray that as in the case of Jonah when we are put to the test, we are not afraid of proclaiming in public that we believe in You, even if we risk being ridiculed or humiliated because we believe in You Amen.




10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done! For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD because he had told them so.



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 10)



Oh God Your name is so awesome that it breeds fear in those who know about You but do not actually believe in You. People of these times had Your fear in them, fearing in someone in whom they did not believe or know. However, during our times I am sorry to say there are many of us who know alot about You since the time of their childhood but in fact do not actually know You because they have never made a direct experience of You in their life, therefore their relationship with You is cold and distant. I pray that we believe more in You than in the ways and people of the world Amen.



11. Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 11)



Oh God, we may ask You the same question ourselves. What are we to do to obtain salvation? And the answer is always the same! Repent and turn back from our ways, and seek a relationship, with You my God and Father. Be baptised in the Holy Spirit again and seek a new life in the Spirit instead of in the flesh Amen.



12. He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you."


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 12) 



Oh God my Father in our hearts of hearts we are all aware of when our actions are justified to when they are not in obedience to Your holy will or to that of our superiors. As You know tomorrow I have an appointment at 10.am at the Policlinic, I forgot to inform my supervisor about it. At 9.am I have a meeting with her, even on thinking about it I feel the stress and the guilt of my error and will be a bit edgy till the ordeal is over. I pray oh God that You be with me and save me from the pit even though I do not deserve it Amen.


13. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 13) 



Oh God my Father, the more we try to go against Your ways the tougher it becomes, however on the other hand, the more we live according to Your ways the more spiritually healthy it becomes, however the evil one stops at nothing to make life difficult for us but You oh God my Father are in control. Amen.


14. Then they cried out to the LORD, "Please O LORD, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O LORD have done as it pleased you."



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 14) 



Oh God my Father at times we end up in a dilemma in relation to which is the best course of action as in the case of the sailors in killing Jonah by throwing him overboard would be a terrible sin, however, on the other hand, the sparing, of their lives was also an important issue. Therefore in order to feel at peace in relation to their decision they prayed to God so that he would put this great sin on their account because it was not according to their will that they were about to do it but in spite of the situation.

Oh God, I pray that You always enlighten us during such critical moments so that we are able to make the correct decisions that are according to Your will Amen.



15. So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.  16. Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.


(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verses 15 to 16) 


Oh God my Father on seeing that you had calmed the raging sea the sailors became more afraid because they witnessed Your power and control over the forces of nature. They might have thought that now You would turn against them for having committed a murder by throwing a prophet into the sea so in order to 'keep You happy and on their side', they offered sacrifices. Oh God my Father that when we obey You we do so out of faith and not as a consequence of fear Amen.



17. But the LORD provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah: and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 



(The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 17) 



Oh God my Father at times we may have an agenda that is different from Yours. As in the case of Jonah who wanted to lead his life according to his own plans, at time, we may also consider of living the 'I do it my way ' Frank Sinatra way. However, You love us so much that You create circumstances even in the natural sphere in order to save us from our own negative ways. Amen. I thank You for loving ,me so much. I thank You for permitting me to be a social worker when You decided that I was ready for it and not at the time when I was grumbling and insisting Amen. I pray that I always will what You will and that my will, will always be Yours Amen.



Oh God my Father I like to end this first chapter of the book of Jonah  with the following prayer:



I pray that I always will what You will and that my will, will always be Yours Amen.