Although there are many lessons that could be taught from the book of Jonah, there is but one very important one that I want to bring to your attention today. You see from the record that I could move in My mighty power to force a disobedient servant to do what I wanted him to do. And you can see that having fulfilled that given task, he still bore within his heart a deep resentment and anger towards Me. While he could call out to Me from the belly of the fish and declared that he remembered Me in his extremity, and he could express thanksgiving and confess that salvation is of Me, yet in all of this, he did not have My heart. And you see that he was angry with Me over the repentance of Nineveh, and he was angry over the withering of the plant. And his anger was so strong that he expressed the desire to die. But what was the true goal of My dealings with My servant?

Surely it was to use him as an instrument to bring Nineveh to repentance because I chose to have mercy upon them. So you see that I chose sovereignly to use even an unwilling and disobedient servant to bring to pass My will. Do not be amazed! I say again, do not be amazed that I choose to use even those whose hearts are not right towards Me. You may think that I did this because I had no one else available. But that is far from why I did it. Does not My word declare that I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy and I will judge whom I choose to judge? But I want you to see something else. See how I continually dealt with the rebellious heart of My servant until I brought him to the place where he was forced to recognize what was in his own heart. And while the record does not declare that he changed, for the last of his words recorded his insistence that it was right for him to be angry, even if he remained that way unto death, but My appeal and My rebuke confronted him with how much more he cared about a plant that was used for his own protection from the sun than he cared about the many souls that were in the city of Nineveh. So then in the end he was confronted with the difference between that which was in his own heart and that, which was in My heart. For though I may work through even one who holds a disobedient and rebellious attitude in his heart, be well assured that My mercy will extend to that disobedient servant so that like Jonah he can be shown the difference between that which is in his own heart and that which is in My heart. For in the end, it was not only My desire to extend mercy and the gift of repentance to the wicked city of Nineveh, but it was My desire to extend mercy and the gift of repentance to My disobedient servant Jonah. And I proclaim this to you for two reasons. First of all, that you will not be amazed when I use those whose hearts are disobedient and not towards the things that are in My heart. And that I will not only work through them, but I will extend mercy towards them, even if I must deal with them severely so that they can repent and embrace what is truly in My heart. And the second reason that I bring this word to you is so that you may know and desire not only to perform My will, but that you may desire to possess My heart that will motivate you to do it for the reason that is in My heart to command it.

Tags: God's Heart, Mercy, Obedience, Repentance

I have before this drawn your attention to the fact that I am specifically mentioned only four times in this portion. And today I want you to look more closely at what is declared about Me in those four verses in which I am mentioned, for in the midst of all the contrasts between the righteous and the wicked, and between that which is pleasing to Me and that which is displeasing, I want you to observe that each of these four contain what is essentially a promise. And by embracing these, it is intended that one should be encouraged in the way of righteousness. But also I want you to recognize that there is mercy even for the wicked in as much as in three of these mentions the wicked is warned concerning the consequences of his way.

And for those who can receive the warning and can repent, there is encouragement that they too will inherit the blessings that are promised to the righteous. In the first instance there is the declaration that I will not allow the righteous soul to famish. In other places it declares this truth by stating that I will satisfy and fulfill the desire of the righteous. It is only when the desire of the soul strays away from My will, from that which pleases Me, that there can be a condition of hunger that is not satisfied. But it declares that the desire of the wicked is cast away. For even if the desire in any way addresses Me, it does not come from a heart that seeks to please Me. And if you should think that you see the desire of the wicked met, do not be deceived by what you see, for there is no lasting satisfaction when the wicked may seem to receive what they want. For the apparent satisfaction does not last, and that desire returns with greater insistence, for it is only the righteous whose true desire is satisfied. The second promise declares that My blessing makes one rich, and it is never the source or the occasion for sorrow. My Word speaks of the true riches, those that moth and rust cannot corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal. Thus this is not a promise of earthly material wealth, though I may bless you in such a manner, but it is a promise of the riches that make one eternally wealthy in all that cannot perish as earthly riches do. The third promise declares that the fear of Me will prolong one’s days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.

I know that you will think that this is contradicted by experience, for you see that some of the righteous are taken away early, while some of the wicked live long lives on the earth. But I have reminded you before, and I do so again, that the truth revealed in My Son makes known that the way I judge time is not according to the standard of men, for it declares in the word of My servant the prophet Isaiah that after My Son was sacrificed for the sins of mankind, that I will prolong his days, and this refers to resurrection life. Whereas it declares the years of the wicked will be shortened. By My reckoning it means that they will be denied that resurrection life. For their concern, the desire of their heart is devoid of both the desire to please Me and to have fellowship with Me. Therefore that which is prolonged for those who fear Me is true life of endless days.

And that which is shortened for the wicked is even that life which is limited to this earth and will not continue beyond it. For I have told you that being separated from My presence and My fellowship is the true death.

And being brought into My presence and My fellowship forever is true life.

The final promise declares that My way is strength for the upright. Does not my word declare that I am the strength of the life for those who walk uprightly, and that in Me there is everlasting strength? Is it not declared that the young will faint and grow weary, but that those who wait upon Me shall have new strength? So then, the strength that is promised here is that which results from walking in My way. It is the way of the righteous. And the strength is not merely physical, but moral and spiritual. And as it declares here, this strength is imparted to the upright, to those whose walk pleases Me and whose heart is towards Me. It also declares that destruction is the outcome of the workers of iniquity, for those who pit their will against Mine and who devise evil, have no claim upon My strength or My blessing. They have no protection from the consequences of their evil. And My judgment will be sure and unavoidable.

But you know that there is always in such a declaration as this a warning that also includes the promise of mercy for those who will receive and act upon the warning. And so it is with all the pronouncements in this portion and in all of My word against wickedness. Therefore, for every promise of blessing, there is also a warning to those who would seek their own way and turn from Mine. And each promise is intended to encourage the righteous.

And each warning is intended not only to declare the ultimate consequence of wickedness, but to provide the wicked with an opportunity to repent and turn back to Me. But in truth, though I am mentioned only in these four cases as the source of blessing, understand that I am truly the source of every other blessing that is mentioned, and I am also the source of all the judgments against the wicked, even though it may appear that I am not involved in their outcome. For you then who would take heed in your hearts and cleave to My ways, there is the promise of true satisfaction and nourishment, eternal riches, length of days, even unto eternity and strength for every contingency of life. And for those who would turn away from My ways, utter frustration, ultimate poverty, a shortening of days and eventual destruction.

Tags: Fruit, Mercy, Righteous, Wicked