Jonah 3:1-10
1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah's message was simple, direct and filled with power. If he had tried to deliver those words on his own they would not have had the same impact. Those words had the impact they did because they came from the Lord. This reminds me of a story in the New Testament. Here it is:
Acts 19:13-16
13 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
Notice here that they were trying to use the name of Jesus, not because the Lord had commanded them to, but because they heard about the success of Paul. Here is what they were trying to imitate.
Acts 19:9b-12
So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. 12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
As you can see clearly that when the Lord directs you to do something, gives you the words to say and you are obedient to what you were told you then have success. When you try to do it on your own or try to use someone else's faith for something you may have success, but any success will be short lived and you will end up worse than when you started. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva.
I also recall an instance where someone, who had a call of God on their life, tried to move before he was instructed to and he ended up killing another person. Let's see where that is from.
Exodus 2:11-15a
11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
13 The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight.
14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
What we see here is that Moses knew he was to look out for the Jewish people, but he acted hastily and ended up hiding for the next 40 years in Midian. Thankfully when he listened to what God told him through the burning bush and in the many instances after that time he led one of the greatest escapes ever. Speaking of which, did you ever look at just how the tribes of Israel left Egypt? If you were to take a picture from above while they were walking through the desert you would have seen that they were walking in the shape of a cross. If you can see there are little boxes and each box represents 100 men of fighting age. Look at what is written in Numbers Chapter 2 to get the exact low down.
1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah's message was simple, direct and filled with power. If he had tried to deliver those words on his own they would not have had the same impact. Those words had the impact they did because they came from the Lord. This reminds me of a story in the New Testament. Here it is:
Acts 19:13-16
13 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
Notice here that they were trying to use the name of Jesus, not because the Lord had commanded them to, but because they heard about the success of Paul. Here is what they were trying to imitate.
Acts 19:9b-12
So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. 12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
As you can see clearly that when the Lord directs you to do something, gives you the words to say and you are obedient to what you were told you then have success. When you try to do it on your own or try to use someone else's faith for something you may have success, but any success will be short lived and you will end up worse than when you started. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva.
I also recall an instance where someone, who had a call of God on their life, tried to move before he was instructed to and he ended up killing another person. Let's see where that is from.
Exodus 2:11-15a
11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
13 The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight.
14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
What we see here is that Moses knew he was to look out for the Jewish people, but he acted hastily and ended up hiding for the next 40 years in Midian. Thankfully when he listened to what God told him through the burning bush and in the many instances after that time he led one of the greatest escapes ever. Speaking of which, did you ever look at just how the tribes of Israel left Egypt? If you were to take a picture from above while they were walking through the desert you would have seen that they were walking in the shape of a cross. If you can see there are little boxes and each box represents 100 men of fighting age. Look at what is written in Numbers Chapter 2 to get the exact low down.
What I learn when I study each of these cases is that it is better to be on God's side doing what He tells you to do when He tells you to do it, than it is to try and do it myself when I want to do it. I thank God that He cares enough about me to want to be that involved in my life. It is not just the big areas He wants to be involved in either, it is the everyday issues of my life down to the smallest detail. Praise God!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
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