Old Testament for January 21, 2024

A Note from Celeste:

One of Tom’s most requested sermons when he was appointed as a General Evangelist in the United Methodist Church was his Jonah sermon. I thought you might enjoy seeing/hearing it.

Here’s a link to a video of one of the last times Tom preached this sermon: Jonah sermon by Tom Letchworth on Vimeo (18 min. duration)

And now, back to the SOAR for this week’s Old Testament reading…

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Every child in Sunday School knows the story of Jonah and the big fish who swallowed him.  What they might miss is the strange paradox of Jonah — though he was one of the most successful prophets in all of Scripture, he detested his own success!

Naturally, we have to remember the context of these few verses that we read in Jonah.  We are not told where he is located, although we assume he is in Israel as the book begins.  Some commentators identify him with the Jonah mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam III (793-753 B.C.) of Israel (also known as The Northern Kingdom).  But in fact, we don’t know that for sure.

What we do know is that he is given a direct command from God to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of their wickedness.  Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and the fact is that Nineveh was a wicked city.  The Assyrian Empire was ruthless and brutal, and devised many cruel methods to strike terror into those whom they subjugated.  For example, a form of torture later familiar to all Christians — the cross — was a cruel invention by the Assyrians long before the Romans borrowed it. The closest parallel to Assyria today, other than the Nazis during World War II, might be the so-called (and hopefully soon to be extinct) caliphate of ISIS.

But here’s the rub — Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  He catches a boat headed in the opposite direction on the Mediterranean Sea sailing to Tarshish (modern day Spain).  This is the occasion of the storm on the sea, and the “big gulp” when the big fish swallows Jonah up for three days.

Jonah’s repentance and cry for deliverance while in the belly of the fish set the stage for his preaching to the Ninevites.  He has been chastened by God’s discipline, and now does what God asked him to do in the first place.

For such a simple message, the fruit is phenomenal.  All Jonah says is:

 In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!

This simple, direct message accomplishes its purpose. The Ninevites believe God, and as a sign of repentance they fast and put on sackcloth.

Then there is yet another irony — God also repents!

 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

When I suggest that God “repents” please understand that I mean that as a figure of speech.  Of course it is impossible for God to sin — but he “repents” in that he changes his mind, much as he does in Exodus when Moses intercedes for the sinful people of Israel and God chooses to spare them:

Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people. (Exodus 32:14).

So there is a change of heart on the part of Jonah, the Ninevites, and even God himself.  

This is a tale about a reluctant prophet who seeks to shirk his call. Despite his reluctance, he is successful at bringing the wicked to repentance!

APPLY:  

Most of us who take our faith seriously may have found ourselves in the position of Jonah.  God calls upon us to take on a task that we find unpleasant, or even repugnant to us.  We weigh the costs and the sacrifice, and we turn away from it.

Chances are very good that God will persist in calling us to his work. Let’s hope that our change of heart doesn’t require a big fish swallowing us up!   God may remind us through more gentle methods that he means to be obeyed.  And the truth is that only by remaining faithful to him and to his call can we possibly remain on dry land, as it were.

Can we think of someone that God is commanding us to love and to whom we should bear witness?  Someone who perhaps makes us uncomfortable morally, theologically, even ethnically or culturally?  We are reminded that if God loves them, then we are to love them as well.  And if God deems them worth saving, they are potentially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like them, we were once strangers to his love, and now are accepted for his sake.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of the poem, The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson.  The protagonist in the poem is fleeing from the pursuing God, and Thompson writes:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter…
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

Like many people who have encountered God and experienced a sense of call to repentance and to service, I have resisted the call.  But I thank God that he is patient and persistent.  And I thank God for the opportunity to serve even after my initial reluctance.

Lord, I too have often been a reluctant servant.  Thank you for your patience with me, and that you use me despite my reluctance.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Jonah” by Jim Forest is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for January 24, 2021

 

A Note from Celeste:

One of Tom’s most requested sermons when he was appointed as a General Evangelist in the United Methodist Church was his Jonah sermon. I thought you might enjoy seeing/hearing it.

Here’s a link to a video of one of the last times Tom preached this sermon: Jonah sermon by Tom Letchworth on Vimeo (18 min. duration)

And now, back to the SOAR for this week’s Old Testament reading…

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Every child in Sunday School knows the story of Jonah and the big fish who swallowed him.  What they might miss is the strange paradox of Jonah — though he was one of the most successful prophets in all of Scripture, he detested his own success!

Naturally, we have to remember the context of these few verses that we read in Jonah.  We are not told where he is located, although we assume he is in Israel as the book begins.  Some commentators identify him with the Jonah mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam III (793-753 B.C.) of Israel (also known as The Northern Kingdom).  But in fact, we don’t know that for sure.

What we do know is that he is given a direct command from God to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of their wickedness.  Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and the fact is that Nineveh was a wicked city.  The Assyrian Empire was ruthless and brutal, and devised many cruel methods to strike terror into those whom they subjugated.  For example, a form of torture later familiar to all Christians — the cross — was a cruel invention by the Assyrians long before the Romans borrowed it. The closest parallel to Assyria today, other than the Nazis during World War II, might be the so-called (and hopefully soon to be extinct) caliphate of ISIS.

But here’s the rub — Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  He catches a boat headed in the opposite direction on the Mediterranean Sea sailing to Tarshish (modern day Spain).  This is the occasion of the storm on the sea, and the “big gulp” when the big fish swallows Jonah up for three days.

Jonah’s repentance and cry for deliverance while in the belly of the fish set the stage for his preaching to the Ninevites.  He has been chastened by God’s discipline, and now does what God asked him to do in the first place.

For such a simple message, the fruit is phenomenal.  All Jonah says is:

 In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!

This simple, direct message accomplishes its purpose. The Ninevites believe God, and as a sign of repentance they fast and put on sackcloth.

Then there is yet another irony — God also repents!

 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

When I suggest that God “repents” please understand that I mean that as a figure of speech.  Of course it is impossible for God to sin — but he “repents” in that he changes his mind, much as he does in Exodus when Moses intercedes for the sinful people of Israel and God chooses to spare them:

Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people. (Exodus 32:14).

So there is a change of heart on the part of Jonah, the Ninevites, and even God himself.  

This is a tale about a reluctant prophet who seeks to shirk his call. Despite his reluctance, he is successful at bringing the wicked to repentance!

APPLY:  

Most of us who take our faith seriously may have found ourselves in the position of Jonah.  God calls upon us to take on a task that we find unpleasant, or even repugnant to us.  We weigh the costs and the sacrifice, and we turn away from it.

Chances are very good that God will persist in calling us to his work. Let’s hope that our change of heart doesn’t require a big fish swallowing us up!   God may remind us through more gentle methods that he means to be obeyed.  And the truth is that only by remaining faithful to him and to his call can we possibly remain on dry land, as it were.

Can we think of someone that God is commanding us to love and to whom we should bear witness?  Someone who perhaps makes us uncomfortable morally, theologically, even ethnically or culturally?  We are reminded that if God loves them, then we are to love them as well.  And if God deems them worth saving, they are potentially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like them, we were once strangers to his love, and now are accepted for his sake.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of the poem, The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson.  The protagonist in the poem is fleeing from the pursuing God, and Thompson writes:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter…
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

Like many people who have encountered God and experienced a sense of call to repentance and to service, I have resisted the call.  But I thank God that he is patient and persistent.  And I thank God for the opportunity to serve even after my initial reluctance.

Lord, I too have often been a reluctant servant.  Thank you for your patience with me, and that you use me despite my reluctance.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Jonah” by Jim Forest is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for January 21, 2018

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Every child in Sunday School knows the story of Jonah and the big fish who swallowed him.  What they might miss is the strange paradox of Jonah — though he was one of the most successful prophets in all of Scripture, he detested his own success!

Naturally, we have to remember the context of these few verses that we read in Jonah.  We are not told where he is located, although we assume he is in Israel as the book begins.  Some commentators identify him with the Jonah mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam III (793-753 B.C.) of Israel (also known as The Northern Kingdom).  But in fact, we don’t know that for sure.

What we do know is that he is given a direct command from God to go Nineveh and preach against it because of their wickedness.  Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and the fact is that Nineveh was a wicked city.  The Assyrian Empire was ruthless and brutal, and devised many cruel methods to strike terror into those whom they subjugated.  For example, a form of torture later familiar to all Christians — the cross — was a cruel invention by the Assyrians long before the Romans borrowed it. The closest parallel to Assyria today, other than the Nazis during World War II, might be the so-called (and hopefully soon to be extinct) caliphate of ISIS.

But here’s the rub: Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  He catches a boat headed in the opposite direction on the Mediterranean Sea sailing to Tarshish – modern day Spain.  This is the occasion of the storm on the sea, and the “big gulp” when the big fish swallows Jonah up for three days.

Jonah’s repentance and cry for deliverance while in the belly of the fish set the stage for his preaching to the Ninevites.  He has been chastened by God’s discipline, and now does what God asked him to do in the first place.

For such a simple message, the fruit is phenomenal.  All he says is:

 In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!

This simple, direct message accomplishes its purpose: the Ninevites believe God, and as a sign of repentance they fast and put on sackcloth.

Then there is yet another irony — God also repents!

 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

When I suggest that God “repents” please understand that I mean that as a figure of speech.  Of course it is impossible for God to sin – but he “repents” in that he changes his mind, much as he does in Exodus when Moses intercedes for the sinful people of Israel and God chooses to spare them:

Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people. (Exodus 32:14).

So there is a change of heart on the part of Jonah, the Ninevites, and even God himself.  

This is a tale about a reluctant prophet who seeks to shirk his call. Despite his reluctance, he is successful at bringing the wicked to repentance!

APPLY:  

Most of us who take our faith seriously may have found ourselves in the position of Jonah.  God calls upon us to take on a task that we find unpleasant, or even repugnant to us.  We weigh the costs and the sacrifice, and we turn away from it.

Chances are very good that God will persist in calling us to his work. Let’s hope that our change of heart doesn’t require a big fish swallowing us up!   God may remind us through more gentle methods that he means to be obeyed.  And the truth is that only by remaining faithful to him and to his call can we possibly remain on dry land, as it were.

Can we think of someone that God is commanding us to love and to whom we should bear witness?  Someone who perhaps makes us uncomfortable morally, theologically, even ethnically or culturally?  We are reminded that if God loves them, then we are to love them as well.  And if God deems them worth saving, they are potentially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like them, we were once strangers to his love, and now are accepted for his sake.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of the poem, The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson.  The protagonist in the poem is fleeing from the pursuing God, and Thompson writes:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter….
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

Like many people who have encountered God and experienced a sense of call to repentance and to service, I have resisted the call.  But I thank God that he is patient and persistent.  And I thank God for the opportunity to serve even after my initial reluctance.

Lord, I too have often been a reluctant servant.  Thank you for your patience with me, and that you use me despite my reluctance.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Jonah” by Jim Forest is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for Jan. 25, 2015

Start with Scripture:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Every child in Sunday School knows the story of Jonah and the big fish who swallowed him.  What they might miss though is the strange paradox of Jonah: though he was one of the most successful prophets in all of scripture, he detested his own success!

Naturally, we have to remember the context of these few verses that we read in Jonah.  We are not told where he is located, although we assume he is in Israel as the book begins.  Some commentators identify him with the Jonah mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam III of Israel aka The Northern Kingdom (793-753 B.C.).  But in fact, we don’t know that for sure.

What we do know is that he is given a direct command from God to go Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and preach against it because of their wickedness.  Again, the fact is that Nineveh was a wicked city.  The Assyrian Empire was ruthless and brutal, and devised many cruel methods to strike terror into those whom they subjugated.  For example, a form of torture later familiar to all Christians was a cruel invention by the Assyrians long before the Romans borrowed it: the cross. The closest parallel to Assyria today, other than the Nazis, might be the so-called ISIS.

But here’s the rub: Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.  He catches a boat headed in the opposite direction on the Mediterranean Sea sailing to Tarshish – modern day Spain.  This is the occasion of the storm on the sea, and the “big gulp” when the big fish swallows Jonah up for three days.

Jonah’s repentance and cry for deliverance while in the belly of the fish set the stage for his preaching to the Ninevites.  He has been chastened by God’s discipline, and now does what God asked him to do in the first place.

For such a simple message, the fruit is phenomenal.  All he says is “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” This simple, direct message accomplishes its purpose: the Ninevites believe God, and as a sign of repentance they fast and put on sackcloth.

Then there is yet another irony: God also  repents!  When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

When I suggest that God “repents” please understand that I mean that as a figure of speech.  Of course it is impossible for God to sin – but he “repents” in that he changes his mind, much as he does in Exodus when Moses intercedes for the sinful people of Israel and God chooses to spare them: And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people (Exodus 32:14).

So there is a change of heart on the part of Jonah, the Ninevites, and even God himself.  

This is a tale about a reluctant prophet who seeks to shirk his call and is successful at bringing the wicked to repentance despite himself!

APPLY:  

Most of us who take our faith seriously may have found ourselves in the position of Jonah.  God calls upon us to take on a task that we find unpleasant, or even repugnant to us.  We weigh the costs and the sacrifice, and we turn away from it.

Let’s hope that our change of heart doesn’t require a big fish swallowing us up!   God may remind us through more gentle methods that he means to be obeyed.  And the truth is that only by remaining faithful to him and to his call can we possibly remain on dry land, as it were.

Can we think of someone that God is commanding us to love and to whom we should bear witness?  Someone who perhaps makes us uncomfortable morally, theologically, even ethnically or culturally?  We are reminded that if God loves them, then we are to love them as well.  And if God deems them worth saving, they are potentially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as once we were strangers to his love, and now are accepted for his sake.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of the poem The Hound of Heaven, The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson.  The protagonist in the poem is fleeing from the pursuing God, and Thompson writes

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter….
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

Like many people who have encountered God and experienced a sense of call to repentance and to service I have resisted the call.  But I thank God that he is patient and persistent.

Lord, I too have often been a reluctant servant.  Thank you for your patience with me, and that you use me despite my reluctance.  Amen.