ESOCS Devotional 29 September 2022
TEXT: JONAH 4:1-11
MEMORY VERSE: “So he prayed, ‘Lord, didn’t I say before I left home that this is just what you would do? That’s why I did my best to run away to Spain! I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish.” Jonah 4:2 GNB
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
The Almighty God is ever gracious and merciful in His dealings with humanity. He always feels with mankind in our pains and need, and takes appropriate steps to help us. For instance, despite His frustration and anger against Adam and Eve, He quickly made coats with animal skins to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:21). He would not let them go naked because of their disobedience.
God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah, and not destroy them, if He had seen at least ten righteous persons in the whole nation of wicked people (Genesis 18:32). Within the Commonwealth of Israel, God’s pity and mercy, were especially expressed on to strangers amongst them, the poor and the needy (Deut. 24:17). Our Lord God responds to our suffering with a heart of compassion and deep love. And these move Him to step into our lives to save us from danger.
On the occasion of our text, God the merciful Father wanted the people of Nineveh to turn from their wickedness, so He would show them mercy. And when they responded to Jonah’s message, they were spared the calamity that God was going to bring on them within forty days.
In Jonah’s heart, he had already judged and condemned the people. However, his anger was based on his inability to separate the sinner from the acts of sin. Reasonably speaking, Jonah should have been angry with their sin, and not with the people themselves. But on His part, God wanted the people to repent. God also wanted an opportunity to bring the people into eternity. It was their sin that brought moral decay to their society. God hated the sin (Hab. 1:13), but He still loved the sinner (John 3:16).
In conclusion, we have come to understand that God would always think of mercy in His consideration of the affairs of humans. He is never willing that any should die or perish, but He wants everyone to repent (2 Peter 3:9). In other words, God is patient. He is longsuffering with His stubborn children. He remains faithful in spite of our unfaithfulness. So let’s stop judging one another. Instead let us reason like God; encourage one another, in order to win more souls into the Kingdom of God (Galatians 6:1).
CHALLENGES: Judge not, that ye be not judged. We should rather encourage one another in love. Do you agree?
PRAYER POINTS: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to exercise mercy and pardon on those who offend me.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Daniel 12: 1-13; Matthew 13:1-9; Revelation 12: 5-11.
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ESOCS Devotional 29 September 2022
