presence of the LORD

The Flight of Jonah

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There seems to be a few people, maybe many more than a few who do not believe the account of the book of Jonah. They say no one could be swallowed by a great fish and survive. I say since God can do whatever He desires, and if it says that God prepared  great fish to swallow Jonah, then that was a special fish made for Jonah.

Jesus said that Jonah was swallowed by  a great fish, “But He answered and said unto them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:39-41

Jonah is mentioned as a prophet in Second Kings 14:25. If you cannot believe the simplest account of Scripture then, you are going to have a problem accepting any of Scriptures.

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”  But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah 1:1-3

Now about “The Flight of Jonah” it crashed 🙂 . God called the prophet to go to a distant city, a Gentile city, because of the evil within that place. When Jonah heard the word of the LORD, he apparently says nothing, just packs a travel bag and goes out from the presence of the LORD. Every step he took was downward from that time until he prayed for deliverance.

He went down to Joppa. He went down into the ship going to Tarshish. When the LORD loved that generation of Gentiles in Nineveh so much that He was not finished with Jonah He sent a storm. Where was Jonah? Down in the lowest part of the ship. He was eventually thrown overboard, and went down into the belly of the fish.

Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of that prepared by God fish, which seems to have been specially prepared for Jonah.

God loves Jonah. He prays from the belly of the fish and despite his rebellion, and his hatred for these Gentiles whom God loves, God  delivers Jonah, by having the great fish vomit him out on the shore (2:10). Then the LORD calls Jonah again (3:1), and evidently with much angst he obeys the LORD reluctantly. When he arrives in Nineveh he warns them of approaching judgment from God, and the whole city repents, and the city is delivered for a few more years. About one generation was delivered from the judgment of the LORD, by His mercy and grace.

The flight of Jonah may have been his national hatred for the enemy nation. Jonah needed to learn love and compassion for others. I pray that he did, and that I do as well.

The love, mercy, and grace of God is clearly seen through the cross of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. There He took, willingly, our sins upon Himself to die for our sins; He was buried and He rose from the grave. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so was the Son of Man three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Do not take flight away from God, but flee from sin, to Jesus Christ, and live.

Exalting The Holy, Righteous, and Just GOD

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I leave no comments only to say, the following is a song of worshiping the One who created all things so He is worthy of our worship, honor, and praise.

The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.
A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship Him, all ye gods.
Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of Thy judgments, O LORD. For Thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: Thou art exalted far above all gods.
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

Psalm 97:1-12

Flesh and Bone, Resurrected Lord and Savior

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And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them,
“Peace unto you.”
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them,
“Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.”
And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet. Luke 24:36-40

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. Psalm 114:7-8

I, for one, am amazed at the nay sayers who try to argue against the fact  of the truth of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Some try and tell us that He was only raised in spirit. I say to that “Why does a spirit need raised?” Are spirits not alive  and never die? Jesus appearing to those folks above, “for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see Me have.”  Then forty days later ascended to glory in that same flesh and bone body in the presence of all those who were with Him. He is alive, because He is risen.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the bedrock foundation of the Christian faith. Without the death of Christ on the cross, His burial, and the proof of who He is by the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are still gravely in need (1 Corinthians 15).

Believe on the name of Jesus, our resurrected Lord and Savior, call on His name and He will give you everlasting life (John 3:16).

Tremble At The Presence Of The Lord

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“When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
The sea saw, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains, ye skipped like rams; ye little hills, like lambs?
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.”  Psalm 114:1-8  (KJB)

The Eyes of the LORD

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Proverbs 15:1-33

1. THE ALL-SEARCHING EYES OF THE LORD (vv. 1-7) focus 3).
He watches from a “lofty tower” or a very high place.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

22 times in the Old Testament is the “Eyes of the LORD” written and only once in the New Testament in 1 Peter 3:12
How John describes the eyes of the LORD – “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;” Revelation 1:14

2. THE SACRIFICE AND WAY THAT IS ABOMINATION TO THE LORD (vv. 8-10) focus 8-9).
Think of Cain’s sacrifice. Think of Saul’s sacrifice of disobedience (1 Samuel 15:22). God is not delighted by wicked sacrifice (Jeremiah 6:20).

3. THE INESCAPABLE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (vv. 10-24)focus v. 11).
Verse 11-

“If God knows the secrets of the world beyond the grave, much more does he know the secret thoughts of men on earth. The heart is the source of action. (see Mat_15:19, etc.)” Pulpit Commentary

4. THE DESTROYED HOUSE (v. 25).
The house of pride will be torn down, destroyed.
Psalm 52:1-5; 138:6; Isaiah 2:12; 1 Peter 5:5

“The proud, self-confident man, with his family and household and wealth, shall be rooted up. The heathen saw how retribution overtook the arrogant.” Pulpit Commentary

5. THE ABOMINATION AND THE PLEASANT WORDS (vv. 26-28)focus 26).
The righteous or good man or woman thinks before they speak. The tongue; a mighty force; will show the heart of an individual.

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37 (KJB)

6. THE PRAYER THE LORD WILL HEAR (vv. 29-33)focus v. 29).
“A MAN”S NEARNESS TO GOD IS TO BE MEASURED BY HIS CHARACTER.” Pulpit Commentary. Long prayers are not a sign of one’s nearness to God, neither are big and impressive words.

God is impressed with the humble and contrite heart. See Psalm 51:17

Righteousness and Truth

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“ He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”  Psalm 15:1-2 (KJV)

Righteousness is a godly thing. As a matter of fact it is a GOD thing.  There is no righteousness apart from God; neither is there any truth apart from God.

People cry out for justice in our world, and for truth.  Many people do not like the pure and unvarnished truth is quite powerful, and often puts Adamkind in our rightful place – condemned, separated and apart from Holy God.  We are unrighteous, unjust, unholy, vile, evil, condemned, and headed to the eternal fires of Hell.  That is unless God in His grace has truly done something which is beyond our wildest imaginations.

A friend of mine shared something by email which I will share here with you…

“Justice is getting what we deserve.  Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what  we don’t deserve.

But wait a minute; grace is more than that! It is grace that gives at great cost to the giver. It is not cheap. Grace cost the life of God’s Son. Jesus gave freely of Himself in agony and blood.”

Pastor James McCullen  See his web site

Truth is what the good doctor comes and tells you when he discovers you have a cancer in your body, you need emergency surgery to remove it or you will die in a month.  Truth is the death rate is 100 percent.  Not pleasant to hear, but we need reminded of that from time to time.

Who shall abide in the LORD’S tabernacle?  Who will abide in the presence of the LORD?  The answers are given in the verses above.  No one of us can live a righteous, holy, and upright life and speak the truth in our hearts; except the LORD Himself give it to us.  He has done that in the cross – the death of His Son Jesus, His burial, and resurrection.  There is no righteousness or truth apart from Him.

…From the Presence of the LORD

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“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Jonah 1:1-3 (KJV)

In the presence of the LORD there is joy, peace, hope, and life.  Out of His presence there is fear, dread, and chaos.

Jonah was an actual man who lived during the reign of Jereboam 2 of the Northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 14:25).  He is also mentioned in a teaching by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 12:39-41), and Jesus was not referring to a parable, but using Jonah as factual history, and his being in the belly of a great fish/whale.

The central character of the book of Jonah is not Jonah.  It is God.

Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh.  It as a foreign nation which he knew did not believe in Jehovah/YHWH; and Jonah was a patriot of Israel; so he fled, and “went down to Joppa”  hoped on a ship going to Tarshish, paid his fare, and “went down into it.”

It is quite possible that Jonah sold all his possessions to flee.  He was leaving any family he may have had, friends, home, etc. behind to flee from God’s will for his life.

This was one time when this prophet had no intention of obeying God.  Did he know about God’s richness of mercy?  Most certainly he did.  It is probably why he chose to flee.  He did not want to see a hated enemy repent and experience the mercy of Jehovah God of Israel.

Notice the common thread of all who “flee from the presence of the LORD”.  The “presence of the LORD” is the only place of contentment, peace, rest, and fulfillment.  The “presence of the LORD” is the will of God for our lives (those who are in the faith of Jesus Christ).

Please notice the path of fleeing from the presence of God:  Every step is a downward step:

  1. “Went down to Joppa”  (v. 3);
  2. “Went down into it [the ship] (v. 3);
  3. “Was gone down into the sides of the ship…” (v. 5)

Twice in verse three its says, “…from the presence of the LORD”.  There is warning there for everyone who would step out of God’s will for any reason; no matter how reasonable it may seem.

It is shocking to find how easy it is to find the means to flee from God’s will for our lives.  A ship was at Joppa.  It is very possible that Jonah purchased the whole use of the vessel – he being the only passenger, and the other men being the captain and the crew.  We can always find means to flee, but we rarely find the means to do His will.

Did Jonah think he could go some place where God could not find Him? It is not likely.  For Jonah to flee was pure rebellion against the sovereignty of God in his life.  For any one who openly rebels against God’s will they flee “…from the presence of the LORD”.  We all must learn that where God calls us is going to be the place where we are content, at peace and joyous in the LORD.  That all begins by believing what God tells us about His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.  Call on Him and begin your life living in the presence of the LORD.

 

Day Three Hundred Forty and Eight

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What do I want for Christmas?

I want my family, friends and neighbors to be blessed, in peace, comfort and wealth; most of all to be blessed with the peace and presence of the Lord in their lives.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)