| 約拿書雖然只有48節 （英文版大約1,300字），但它所記述的，卻是一個廣為人知的聖經人物故事。有人認為它是寓言、比喻或是歷史故事，耶穌基督曾數次講論約拿的事蹟，表明它是一個真實的故事。 書中對約拿本人描述不多，但所提到他的態度和經歷，我們可以對他有一個大致的瞭解。書中所表現的，是一個不大關心別人的人，以及一個時時看顧人的神。其中一個要旨是要表明，神的慈悲憐憫，絕不僅僅只臨在猶太民族。 神呼召約拿為祂傳遞信息的時候，約拿已經是個先知；他的事奉期大概是在以利沙時代或稍後（見王下十四25）。神曾透過約拿向以色列民說話，一直以憐憫對待他們。如今，神想差一個使者去到信奉異教的尼尼微城，警告他們審判即將臨到。 神的呼召似乎突如其來，但卻非常清晰：「你起來往尼尼微大城去，向其中的居民呼喊，因為……」（拿一1）呼召是如此清楚，目的地和內容都有了。聖經中沒有其他先知得到過如此清晰的呼召。我們的神知道如何用不同方式向各人說話，祂永不受規限。 約拿對神的回應，實在出人意表。他立即動身，卻趕往相反的方向──不是東北面的尼尼微城，而是往西。我們讀到：「約拿卻起來逃……去躲避耶和華。」（拿一3）我們真的能夠躲避神嗎？我們或許可以不再與神相交，卻永遠無法躲避神。 悖逆神也許只意味著我們失去與神同在的感覺，但神始終與我們同在；祂會用一切可能的方法引領我們回到祂的祝福裡。明天，我們將會看見神如何引領約拿回到祂的旨意中。 反思： 神的呼召顯明了祂的心意，讓我們知道該怎樣服侍祂。 |
Bible Reading: Jonah 1:1-5 1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. |
| Here is one of the most well known stories in the Bible, although it has only 48 verses - about 1,300 words. It has been called an allegory, a parable, or history. Christ spoke of Jonah as a true story on several occasions. We know only a little about Jonah but we are able to build up quite a lot about him from his attitude and experiences. It is the story of a man who didn't care very much about people but it is also a story about a caring God. One of its purposes was to show that God's mercy was not confined to the Jewish race. The man God called to speak for Him was already a prophet in Israel, possibly near or just after the time of Elisha. (See 2 Kings 14:25) God had spoken to Israel through Jonah and had dealt mercifully with them. Now God wanted a messenger to warn the heathen city of Ninevah of coming judgment. The call God gave seems sudden, almost abrupt, but at the same time very clear: 'Go to the great city of Ninevah and preach against it.' (v.1) It was a clear call that included both direction and details of the need. No other prophet we know of was called in the same way. But God is not limited and He knows how to speak to each one of us. The answer God received was not what we might expect. Jonah immediately left town and went in the opposite direction - west instead of north-east to Ninevah. Our reading says: 'But Jonah ran away from the Lord.' (v.3) Can you really do that? You can certainly get away from fellowship with the Lord but you cannot hide from God. Disobedience may mean we lose the sense of God's presence but He is still with us and will use every means possible to bring us back into blessing. Tomorrow we will see how God dealt with Jonah for just that very purpose. GOD'S CALL REVEALS GOD'S WILL FOR OUR SERVICE FOR HIM. |
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