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Jonah 2:10-3:2 – Second Chance (April 20)
Hello and thanks for joining in on to today’s daily devotion. Today is Wednesday. April 20th. The 4th day of the Hebraic week.
Our verses today is Jonah 2:10-3:2.
And YHWH commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 3:1 Then the word of YHWH came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
You know, the thought of being vomited out of a big fish just doesn’t sound that appealing to me. In fact, it sounds down right disgusting. He probably had to go swimming in the ocean for an hour just to feel he was rinsed off. The thought of being in the stomach of a huge fish sounds disgusting in itself.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I was raised in church and I remember many of the Sunday School classes as a child on this story. Seeing all the pictures of Jonah in the belly of a huge whale. They made the belly look so big that Jonah could walk around. Some images even had a little fire going. I mean, really?
And then we hear the debates if it was whale or was it in fact a big fish that swallowed him. I don’t know, call me simple but, does it really matter? YHWH provided some kind of sea creature to keep Jonah from drowning. The whole point was that YHWH provided Jonah a second
chance.
Then the word of YHWH came to Jonah a second time:
He received a second chance. Granted, it was a dark and lonely three days in that belly. And I’m sure there was little to no wiggle room. The perfect situation to humble anyone back to seeing their need for YHWH. Plus, it was a free ride all the way to the shores of Nineveh. I pray none of us have to go through that kind of lesson. However, if we do, let’s make sure it’s a lesson that doesn’t need to be repeated.
Let this be a focus in your time of meditation throughout the day. Until tomorrow, shalom!
