ESOCS Devotional 6 September 2024 – God of Compassion
MEMORY VERSE: “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?” Jonah 4:11 KJV
TEXT: JONAH 4:1-11
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
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Our God is a compassionate God and those who worship Him are expected to be compassionate like Him (Col. 3:12). However, man often falls short of the level of compassion that God shows. Even when the ancient world was full of wickedness and violence, God sent a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), Noah. 1 Peter 3:20 says the patience of God kept waiting while the ark was being prepared. In Exodus 34:6-7, God introduced Himself to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth …”
The incidents unfolded in the book of Jonah are historical events (quoted by Jesus twice), depict the stark contrast between the human and divine characters. In Jonah 1:9, Jonah introduces himself as a Hebrew and relates himself to God Almighty. Yet, he failed to show this important godly character in himself. This is a type of many Christians these days. Though they claim to know God, they lack the godly nature of compassion (mercy).
The name Jonah – means ‘Dove’, which is often a symbol of peace. However, Jonah thought that God is only a God for the Hebrews and he failed to fathom the compassionate heart of God that is equally caring for others too, even animals. It is interesting to note that Jonah himself experienced the compassion of God, while he prayed as he was drowning in the sea. Chapter 2 is the reflection of Jonah’s thoughts. It is reasonable to say that Jonah literally died during the course of his traverse to the sea bottom. But God in His compassion brought him back from death and made him alive while in the whale’s stomach: “You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God” (Jonah 2:6).
However, Jonah waited to see the destruction of the city of Nineveh, as the Ninevites were one of the most hated of peoples, as far as the Hebrews were concerned. He could not understand how GOD could show compassion on these wicked people.
God appointed 4 elements in nature to teach Jonah certain lessons: the whale (Jonah 1:17), the vine (Jonah 4:6), the worm (Jonah 4:7) and the scorching east wind (Jonah 4:8). Deuteronomy 8:2 tells us that God allowed the Israelites the wilderness experience to humble them, to test and know what was in their heart. Similarly, each of these were tests for Jonah to see how he would respond. Yet Jonah failed to comprehend that he needed to show the same mercy he had received from the God of compassion.
- What is your attitude towards the many unsaved around you?
- O Lord, let me understand your mercy in my life and be a channel of your compassion.
Further Reading: Judges 16:23-31; Luke 10:25-37; Acts 28:16-35
ESOCS Devotional 6 September 2024
