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You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Jonah 3:10 10 And God [elohiym] saw [ra'ah] their works [ma`aseh], that they turned [shuwb] from their evil [ra] way [derek]; and God [elohiym] repented [nacham] of the evil [ra], that he had said [dabar] that he would do [asah] unto them; and he did [asah] it not. KJV-Interlinear 10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. NASB The Ninevites were evil. Jonah was to give them a warning concerning their evil ways. A warning is intended to avert disaster by means of obtaining some type of change. The people were currently pursuing their evil ways. They were anti-God. The warning is of their impending doom lest they change their pattern of thinking. Think doctrine rather than evil, lest your days will end up in extreme loss and misery. The people changed their minds and God relented in His decision to destroy them. Gods relenting is consistent with His policy of grace. He did not fail to foresee their evil. He did not fail to foresee their change of attitude. They could very well have ignored the warning and had Jonah executed. They could have just ignored all of the talk and in forty days they would be food for the vultures. In eternity past God looked down the tunnel of time and saw the Ninevites. He saw Jonah and his attitude. God saw that Jonah would go there (eventually) and with enthusiasm and pleasure and great vigor, warn them of their certain doom. And God knew the results. That the people of Nineveh would repent. Their repentance will give the city another 150 years or so of history before Nebuchadnezzar in the early 600's BC, would invade and destroy the city. That later generation would not be of a mind set to repent. Gods change of attitude is not really a change of Gods mind but rather language of accommodation wherein a characteristic of man is ascribed to God in order to explain His policy and decisions. God sent Jonah to them, told him what to proclaim to them, and opened the hearts of the vast population.. Jonah put his own gleeful energy into the mission. Grace always precedes judgment. In Noah's day, the population had 120 years of warning before the flood wiped out the world. All could have built their own boats and more could have been saved, but people thought Gods warning not worthy of their attention. Unfortunately today it is that way too. Likewise in our current day we have the scriptures to warn us of our own impending doom. Is the enemy massing on the horizon? No. But our attitude dictates Gods policy for or against us. We do not have to be invaded in order to feel the wrath of God. A simple disease or a fall in the shower can accomplish just as much pain, suffering, and loss in ones life. Gods grace can neither be earned nor deserved. It is a gift from Him to us. God does not change, but He issues threats such that man might change within himself and thus avoid bringing disaster upon himself. Jer. 18:7-10 7 'At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9 'Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. NASB Amos 7:3 3 The LORD changed His mind about this. 'It shall not be,' said the LORD. NASB Ezek. 33:8-9 8 'When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. 9 'But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your life. NASB We all have a responsibility in life, toward others. We are not all islands from which we can avoid getting involved in the circumstances of others. Jonah had to go to Nineveh. Ezekiel makes it clear as well. If we do not embrace our responsibilities in the world, then we become just as guilty as those who are evil in the world. This does not mean that we have the right to dictate behavior, but only warn of bad behavior through missionary or evangelistic or Bible study work, or by supporting them in some way. To avoid it means that you have been unfaithful to God in your responsibilities to others. To pursue your responsibilities, then absolves you of any wrong part in the thoughts and actions of others. They were warned. Likewise you have warning. You may be a faithful Bible student. But one cannot be an academic student only, all of ones life. Studying does not exempt you from responsibility. You have to apply what you learn to your daily life. Knowledge never used is worthless. Faith never used or tested is useless. We all have to be put to the fire to see if our faith and spiritual resources have been shaped into something useful or not. God will treat us accordingly. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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