Facing an assignment equivalent to being sent to warn notorious terrorists of God's anger with them, perhaps it was no wonder that Jonah ran away - certainly portrayed in Scripture as no "super saint", he avoided God and His call on his life. Yet God turned the situation around as pagan sailors encountered the living God who made the land and sea and the entire population of a city realised that although they deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth, there was a God of compassion and mercy who forgave them. God's mercy is greater than our failures and through adverse circumstances and pain, a character of Christ-like compassion is chiselled out.
Endorsements
"Here is a pastor reading the book of Jonah and finding a preacher who wants settled ministry, not challenges; who wants to see his enemies crushed, not converted; who longs for God's grace in his own life, but not in the lives of others; who knows how to speak God's words with faithfulness, but who wants to see only the component of judgment worked out in reality; a preacher who is angry and who wants God to be angry too; a man who wallows in self-pity and hates it when God exposes that self-pity for the idolatrous arrogance it is. It is not difficult to see the relevance of such portraits in our own day. And what does it say of God, that he keeps working away at Jonah as he keeps working away at the Ninevites?"
D. A. Carson Emeritus Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois
"Expect to be humbled, convicted, challenged, comforted and changed. The heart-warming, inescapable conclusion is that salvation truly comes from the Lord."
Jonathan Prime Pastoral Ministries Director, Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
"This outstanding book not only presents the exciting story of Jonah interestingly, it also applies the story so that God can speak into our personal lives through it."
Ajith Fernando Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka
No matter how well you think you know the story of Jonah, you will be blessed and enlightened by this book from a gifted pastor who has both a good grasp of Scripture and human nature. In these pages we see ourselves, running from God but always brought back by God's intervention and grace. In this helpful exposition we will recognize the same providence and patience of God in our lives as Jonah experienced. Read this book and share it with a friend.
Colin S. Smith is Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. His preaching ministry is shared through the daily radio program, Unlocking the Bible and through his website, UnlockingtheBible.org.
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