Get Me Outta Here!

Have you ever wondered, "What would I do if I got swallowed by a giant fish?"  That's one that not even the great Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide addresses.  Thankfully, however, the book of Jonah does… and the answer is simple: PRAY!  But that just leads to another question: "What would you pray?"  For me, that answer seems simple, too: "GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

As strange as it may seem, that's not what Jonah prayed.  In fact, he didn't even mention getting out of the fish.  Instead, he spoke to God as if he had already been rescued… as if he somehow recognized the fish as God's deliverance from death by drowning.  Here's what he said…

“I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me.  I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!  You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.  The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.  Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence.  Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’  “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me.  Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.  I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.  I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.  But you, O LORD my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!  As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.  Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.  But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows.  For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.”

Jonah's prayer reminds me of just how often I pray, "Lord, get me outta here!"  It's obviously our natural tendency to try to escape danger, trouble, pain and difficulty.  What's not natural (because it's spiritual) is to recognize those times and circumstances as God's tools for molding and moving us according to His will.

As they say, hindsight is 20-20, but I have learned looking back that sometimes the trouble I'm in actually spares me from the bigger trouble I could be in.  Or, in other words, it's God's fish to rescue me from the stormy sea.

So as I've spent the past month in Jonah, I've been challenged to thank God more readily for all that He has delivered me from… even when I may be waiting for Him to deliver me yet again.

Jehovah and the General Lee

Bo and Luke Duke fishtail around the turn, pedal to the metal, the General Lee kicking up a cloud of dirt road dust.  Behind them, trying desperately to keep up, is Hazzard County's finest, Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.  Ahead of them, just across the Chickasaw County line, waits Sheriff "Big Ed" Little.  It's decision time.  Aaaaand… cut to commercial!

Or, in this  case, commentary on the Minor Prophets.  While some liberal scholars put the story of Jonah in the same category of plausibility as the General Lee actually making all those canyon jumps, I'm interested in another connection between the reluctant prophet and the good ol' boys.  It comes out in verses like…

• "Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD" (1:3).

• "All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god" (1:5).

• "Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish" (1:6).

• "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" (1:8)

The comments of the sailors, as well as Jonah's attempt to escape the presence of Jehovah, reveal  a cultural setting of polytheism with a belief that the various deities operated much like local law enforcement.  Cross the county line and, for better or for worse, you're no longer in the jurisdiction of Dagon, Marduk, Baal or whatever god ruled the territory you just departed.

As the story unfolds, Jonah (who probably already knew better… see 1:9) and the sailors come to realize that Jehovah is neither bound in presence nor limited in power by geographical borders.  As David wrote in Psalm 139 - "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

It's unlikely that anyone reading this blog holds a polytheistic worldview built on the concept of regionalized deities.  But it's quite likely that many of us, despite the fact that we know better, still try to "run from God" or exclude Him from certain "locations" in our lives.  In fact, I recently heard someone make the comment, "Oops… I better not say that word in church.  It's God's house."  I asked them about saying "that word" in general and the response was, "He doesn't care what I say 'out there'."

It has been said that, "If God isn't Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all."  In reality, Jehovah God IS Lord of all, whether we acknowledge it or not.  We can't make a run for the border whenever we feel like living in a manner that displeases Him.  And if we do, the "God of heaven, who made the sea and the land" has global authority and infinite ability to use any number of speed traps, road blocks and detours to put us right back where He wants us.

Yeeeeehaaaww!

Anybody but the Phillies!

As a transplant to the vast Philadelphia suburb known as South Jersey, I've always been a Philly sports outsider.  In fact, I'm the worst of all evils in the mind of most Philly Phans.  I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan… a Dallas Cowboys fan… and an Atlanta Braves fan.  But wait!  It gets worse.  I'm still bitter over the 1993 NLCS.  And therefore, next to my Braves, the team I want to win most is… anybody but the Phillies!  (And there goes half my blog readership!)

So just call me Jonah.  I mean, after all, his outlook on life was "anybody but the Assyrians."  And given the brutality of the Assyrians, who could blame him?  Daniel Luckenbill's Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia describes pyramids of heads, flayed skin wall hangings and many other atrocities committed as Assyria rose to world power status.  In that historical context, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh (the capitol of Assyria) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me'." (1:1-2)

Now be honest.  Put yourself in Jonah's sandals.  Walking into Nineveh to "preach against it" was suicide.  So you can't help but feel somewhat sympathetic toward the reluctant prophet when he "ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD." (1:3)

But wait!  It gets worse.  Jonah's flight was not motivated solely by fear.  The real reason Jonah ran away isn't fully revealed until chapter four, after God has spared the Ninevites.  "Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.  He prayed to the LORD, 'O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity'." (4:2)

Jonah was not just afraid of the Ninevites.  He was bitter to the point of disgust when they repented and God relented.  Here was God's prophet wanting the very opposite of God's will.  Jonah's desire was Nineveh's destruction.  God's desire was Nineveh's deliverance (obviously conditioned upon their repentance).  And that battle of wills, as we'll see throughout the month, is really what the book of Jonah is all about.

Now, what if, "The word of the Lord came to Lee Martin and said, 'Go to the great city of Tehran and preach against it'."  Certainly I would be afraid.  But I must admit that a part of me would probably also say, "Why?  Those people torture and kill Christians.  Let them get what they deserve!"

So just call me Jonah… again.  I've found over my life that it is indeed a struggle to embrace and exhibit God's heart for those who are so antagonistic toward Him and His people.  But like Jonah, I need to realize that God delivered me when I didn't deserve it.  Though I was under His wrath, when I repented, He relented.  And if His compassion and mercy toward me doesn't soften my heart toward others, perhaps I need to read the book of Jonah a few more times!

Mayday! Mayday!

Yes, it's "May Day" - May 1, 2012 - which means it's time for a new minor prophet of the month.  And what better prophet for a day named after a maritime distress signal than... Jonah!

I just started reading Jonah and formulating some blog ideas today.  So while you wait for my first post with bated breath (sorry!), enjoy some music from one of my favorite bands.

I give you the Newsboys and "In the Belly of the Whale!"

Brotherly Shove

Thirty days… twenty-one verses… yes, I've been a little thin on blog material this month.  So I've been doing a little related supplemented reading, digging at the roots of Obadiah planted in Genesis chapters 25 & 27 and the well-known story of Jacob & Esau.

I'm always intrigued by fulfilled prophecy, and the historical events that both precede and follow the message of Obadiah fit the bill.  Let's take a look…

"Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah… Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.  The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.  The LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger'." (Genesis 25:20-23)

As the centuries passed, that prophecy was clearly fulfilled as the nation of Israel, descended from younger brother Jacob, clearly overshadowed the nation of Edom, descended from older brother Esau.  The fulfillment of that prophecy is a fascinating example of God's providence at work in spite of (or, dare I say, through) man's depravity.  Israel's superiority came as a direct result of Jacob's con games (Genesis 25 & 27) which turned the cultural norms upside down and landed him both the birthright and blessing due his older brother Esau.

After convincing his blind father that he was the firstborn Esau, Jacob received the following blessing, intended for his older brother:

"May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness – an abundance of grain and new wine.  May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed" (Genesis 27:28-29).

Upon realizing he had been duped, Isaac offered the following blessing - a disappointing consolation prize for sure - to the unfortunate Esau:

"Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.  You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck" (Genesis 27:39-40).

I suppose it could be debated whether a patriarchal blessing qualifies as a divine prophecy.  But in this case, given the lands eventually inhabited by the brothers' progeny, as well as the political and military superiority of Israel over Edom, there's no arguing that the predictions were accurate.

Ironically, the complete realization of Esau's blessing is what led to prophecies of Obadiah.  Edom did indeed grow restless and throw off the yoke of Israel.  But in doing so, by joining forces with Israel's foes, the Edomites not only fulfilled the prophetic blessing of Isaac but also incurred the wrath and judgment of God.

So what do I take away from this somewhat convoluted course of history?  It's not terribly profound, but… "God will accomplish His purposes."  It may take a looooong time, and it may even look at times like humanity has thwarted the plans of divinity.  But we would all do well to remember that the God who does not lie spoke these words through His prophet Obadiah: "The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

At least that's how the saying goes.  But as the single-chapter book of Obadiah demonstrates, it doesn't always hold true.  Obadiah is one of just two minor prophets who spoke exclusively to a nation other than Israel or Judah.  In this case, it was Edom, the Jews' next door neighbor to the east and cousin through Jacob's brother Esau.

In 586 BC, Babylon completed its conquest of Judah and deportation of her citizens.  Edom, due to family ties, should have come to Judah's military aid or, at the very least, welcomed her refugees crossing the western border.  Instead, the Edomites allied with the enemy and handed over the fleeing Israelites to the invading Babylonians.

In response, God said to Edom, through Obadiah, "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever" (v. 10)  Within about 100 years, Obadiah's prediction came true as the Edomites were driven from their homeland by the Nabataeans and never again occupied that territory.

The fulfillment of Obadiah's prophecy is just one example of how God's covenant promise with Abraham has held true throughout the centuries.  "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3).  The Edomites responsibility and culpability were surely increased by their blood relation to Israel, but the words "whoever curses you I will curse" should be enough to cause all nations to carefully consider their own relationship with God's chosen people.

Therein lies yet another reason I fear for the future of our own great nation.  Since the reestablishment of the Jewish state in 1947, the US has been a great blessing to Israel, and I believe has received God's blessing in return.  However, as the years go by, it seems our support for Israel is waning.  I can't help but wonder at what point we go from blessing them to cursing them and, as a result, go from being blessed by God to being cursed by Him.

Furthermore, like the Edomites, those who have trusted in Christ have a special family relationship with Israel (see Romans 11 & Ephesians 2).  My prayer is that Americans in general, Christians in general, and American Christians in particular will rise up to bless Israel and, in turn, be blessed by the God of Israel.  After all, when He makes a promise, He keeps it.

My First Singing Blog Post

Well, for my last post this month and to wrap up the book of Amos, I thought I'd do something different.  So here goes...

Every time I read Amos 5:24 - "Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream" - I thought, "There's a song in that verse!"  One day, as I sat down to write some thoughts for a blog post, I just couldn't get anything to come out right.  So I decided to divert and play around with some musical ideas for that verse.  Sure enough, less than 48 hours later, I had this song written and a demo recorded.

"Let Justice Roll Down Like Water"

• Listen to the mp3

• See the Lead Sheet

My creativity was spurred along by some teens from a friend's church who are going to Haiti on a missions trip soon.  So with thanks and a prayer that God will use them greatly on this trip, I'm dedicating this song to the youth group and youth leaders of Hope Community Church in Mt Joy, PA.  I hope they like it, and I hope you do, too!

See you in a few days for Obadiah!