Four Questions for Jonah

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“…What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? ” (Jonah 1:8)

Part 1: Introduction

Now, before we put on our self-righteous robes let me be clear, every child of God has a bit of the Jonah attitude and rebellious spirit in him. It naturally flows from our Adamic nature. God’s people are notorious for their murmuring, complaining, and rebellion. If one is looking for perfection in the children of God, the only place it could possibly be located is where the King Jesus rules upon the throne of the new creature born out of the Spirit of God through the Lamb’s precious blood. We will not now or ever while in this sinful flesh banish the Jonah characteristics from afflicting us.

We, much like Jonah, seek to flee from the perfect will of God for our lives. When we do, we wreak havoc in our lives and the lives of others. Much of what makes us miserable creatures is our defiance of the clear purpose of God. Our carnality is selfish and self-serving, however, the spirit born out of God loathes the cravings of the flesh. The believer, nonetheless, frequently finds himself yielding to self-serving passions and reasoning to the ignoring of his responsibilities to his God and Master.

Jonah was confronted by some angry sailors over him being the cause of their grave situation, and rightly so. We have a tendency to put people’s lives at the least in chaos and at the worst in the valley of death, and all because we will not do what God has clearly commanded us. Jonah is now slapped in the face with four crucial questions that define Jonah the servant of the Lord God of Israel, and the cause of the storms and upheavals in his co-travelers’ lives. “Christians” make a critical error when they follow self-gratification that is seemingly the easiest and most convenient path to travel. The path of the obedient will not be traveled without its share of trials and sufferings, but it will end with a crown of glory.