An encouraging word from Jonah 1
Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours (BIMT) is all about teaching the Bible in the context of the land of Israel and other biblical countries (Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy). We teach the historical geography of the Bible as well as archaeology, customs and culture of the land. We aim to make connections between the Bible and the land in all that we do.
This is another session in the new series of teaching videos called “Devotions from Israel.” This brief five-minute devotional comes from Jonah 1. The setting for this narrative is the Mediterranean coastal city of Joppa.
About the Devotional
Almost everyone has heard of the Jonah. He was an eighth century BC prophet. His story about not heeding God’s direction for his life is well known. And this just isn’t some “fish” story! Life lessons can be learned from Jonah’s experience in the “great fish/whale.”
Joppa (Jaffa today) was an ancient port city located along the Mediterranean coastline. Here is how the first chapter of Jonah records the story happening here:
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But 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. 4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
“Jonah learned the hard way. Not following God’s will can lead us away from fulfilling God’s purpose for our life.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. 17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Truth is, God has a plan for all of us! We may try and run from it or avoid heeding the prompting of God’s Spirit. Yet when we yield to what God wants to accomplish in and through us, this is when the true joy of life is experienced.
Today, modern Jaffa is located just south of Tel Aviv. Both Israel Jews and Arabs share the city. While the port is quite modernized, the line of the ancient port, in part, is preserved in some areas. Prior to the time of Jonah, cedars from Lebanon were floated into this port for use in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
I hope you enjoy this video below. These five minute devotionals will be produced on a regular basis. We are sharing two devotionals per week this summer. As you are encouraged by the video, please consider sharing this post with others for their encouragement as well.