AN UNWILLING PROPHET

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JONAH
Read Jonah 1–4

But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17 NIV

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 In this story, God commanded Jonah to do something no other Jewish prophet had been asked to do–to go to a pagan city to pronounce judgment. The city of Nineveh, Assyria, was founded by the infamous Nimrod who built the tower of Babel.

Earlier prophets, Amos and Hosea, had prophesied that Assyria would carry Israel off into captivity, so it is understandable that Jonah would balk at being asked to preach to Israel’s sworn enemy. But it seems that Jonah had no choice. God decided to offer mercy to a Gentile city and Jonah would be the messenger–willing or not.

Thousands of years later, both Jews and Gentiles (non–Jews) are recipients of this same mercy and grace. God truly cares about people of every nation and tongue who will repent and believe on Him.

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 Lord, thank you that You loved me before I even knew about You. Give me a love for other people and forgive me for any hesitancy in sharing my faith. I am so glad that someone took the time to share the gospel message with me.

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 ”Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left… Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:11 NIV

THE CRIME OF PRAYER

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DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN

Read Daniel 6

“Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel 6:20 NIV

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This is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible, along with stories like Noah’s Ark and David and Goliath–but it is far more than a children’s bedtime story. It’s the story of a man who served God continually from the time he was a teenager–taken into Babylonian captivity–until he was a very old man serving Darius, the king of the Medes and Persians.

No matter what the circumstance, Daniel was faithful to his God. His crime in this story was that he prayed and gave thanks before his God three times a day, as was his custom since early days. (6:10b)  Daniel–a man who seldom had control of his circumstances– served a God who was always in control of his circumstances. This is an amazing truth that most of us find hard to absorb.

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Lord, I am not likely to face a fiery furnace or hungry lions, but I still struggle to remember who controls my life and the lives of those I love. May it be said of us, like Daniel, “they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful;” (Daniel 6:4b NKJV)

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Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” Daniel 6:21–22 NIV

PRIDE AND ARROGANCE

FATHER AND SON

 Read Daniel 4–5

 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Daniel 4:37 NIV

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 This passage in Daniel tells the story of two kings– Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar.  They were both guilty of pride and arrogance, but Nebuchadnezzar repented of his pride and glorified the ‘King of heaven.’

Even though Belshazzar knew about his father’s experience, he chose to blaspheme God.  Daniel said to him, “You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven…You did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.” (5:22–23)

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 If there is a major theme in the book of Daniel it is that we have a sovereign God who is in charge of the events of history and the lives of men. What He says will surely come to pass.  Lord, how privileged I am that the sovereign God of the Bible is also my personal Savior. I praise You for all You have done in my life already and all you have planned for the future. May I never fail to give praise and honor to you.

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 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. Daniel 5:29–31 NIV