Submitting to God's will is the ultimate example of agency. (Jonah, Micah)

1:3

Jonah doesn't want to preach in Nineveh. He wants to outrun the presence of God. "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." I find it hard to believe that Jonah truly believed that he could hide from the Lord.

I think perhaps it was that he might come upon another group that the Lord would want him to preach to...that wasn't Nineveh. He maybe thought that his proximity to an area might affect God's direction. That God might forget about Nineveh.

We mentally do this a lot. We receive a prompting but continue doing something else until the prompting leaves. We put off responding to promptings. Eventually, we may get distracted and think that God has also moved on. We should remember that God doesn't forget the person we were prompted to help.

He may not have us swallowed up in a big fish. He'll just use someone else as a tool in his hand.

1:6, 12-14, 16

I'm impressed that Jonah is willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of these mariners. "And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." He was willing to give up his life for these people whom he had just met. That definitely says a lot about his character.

It's also cool that the men didn't just toss him in. They attempted to work it out without sacrificing Jonah. "Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them." These are good men.

And also faithful men. They believed in God. Earlier, the captain had demonstrated faith in God. "So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not."

When they were out of options, they decided to throw Jonah overboard. But not before offering a prayer to the Lord. "Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee."

We can learn from these men. In the midst of their trial, they turned to God. It was going to be God that delivered them. They attempted to do everything that they could - they "rowed hard." But, once they had done all they could, they relied on God to save them.

After the sea calmed, they again turned towards God. "Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows." Sometimes, we turn to God during the trial but forget about him when the problem subsides. It's nice to see these men remembering God after they were saved.

2:2, 5

"And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." How many of us have felt like we are in the belly of hell? I personally haven't experienced this but have seen others that appear to be in this situation.

Often, the look in their eyes seems to be a look of despair. I don't see hope. Jonah felt this way. "The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head." This can happen to any of us.

The important thing is the ending to verse two. "...and thou heardest my voice." There is no pit deep enough that God can't hear you. You could be underwater in the belly of a fish and he is still very aware of you.

2:8

This is an interesting verse. It appears to be about going through the motions of worship but forsaking the important parts. "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." Lying vanities seems like hypocritical outward observance. Mercy is about having unconditional love for others...charity.

The main point in this life is learning to love God and have charity for others. Religious ceremonies are a means to that end. The ceremony shouldn't be more important than developing true charity. If we are lighting incense in a church to be seen but ignore the needy on the way out, what progress have we really made? We're wasting our time.

3:5-8

Jonah is obedient and returns to Nineveh. Their reaction is not what he expected. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." They believed.

Even the king believed. "For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water."

This wasn't only about putting on sackcloth and not eating. "But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands." This was about repenting.

How many of us keep our mouth closed because we don't think someone will ever change his or her ways and accept the gospel? I've done it. I've pre-judged and kept quiet. There are those in my own family that I believe will never return to the church in this life. This is something that I need to repent of.

Jonah had reason to doubt them. They were wicked and violent to anyone preaching. However, he and we should have faith that the Spirit can soften any heart. Miracles can happen and we should act in faith.

3:10

There are consequences to our actions. There is punishment tied to sin. However, through repentance, we can avoid the punishment. God doesn't want to show wrath. He desperately wants to forgive. "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." If we will simply turn from our evil ways and repent, God will quickly forgive and we can all move on. :)

4:2, 4

I think it is so interesting that Jonah KNEW that the Lord would forgive Nineveh. "And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." He was mad because the people 'deserved' to be punished. He didn't want them to repent and be forgiven.

We cannot be this way. We cannot look at our brothers and sisters and judge them and condemn them. We can't let a grudge replace our charity. If one of the purposes of life is to build unconditional love for others, we should forgive our enemies. Christ taught, "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." (Luke 6:27-28) Jonah was not practicing this.

The Lord's response is perfect! "Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?" What good does anger do us? I'll admit, I have struggles with getting angry at people. Usually for meaningless issues: driving, waiting in line, etc. Anger drives away the Spirit, is distracting, affects how we treat others - even loved ones. It isn't productive in any way. It is a natural man passion that we must strive to drive from our natures.

4:11

Jonah was sad about the death of a gourd. The Lord teaches a principal by comparing how Jonah feels about a gourd verses Nineveh. "Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

I can see myself being this way. I might have more compassion on a puppy than a person! That's not right. A human being is far more valuable than a puppy.

It sounds like the people of Nineveh were ignorant about the laws of God. We can't apply our morals to a group that doesn't know them. The lord considers ignorance when judging how righteous someone is. The scale is not the same for myself who grew up in the church vs. a person who was taught from his youth to be a terrorist. The point is that we cannot judge anyone. We don't know the full story about anyone.

We do know, for a fact, that everyone on earth is the offspring of God and that should mean everything in how we treat each other.

Micah

2:11

"If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people." If someone prophesies that people are great and are doing the right things and nothing is wrong, he will be well-received among people. If he lies and prophecies about upcoming events that the people look forward to, he is popular. People love hearing pleasant messages that make them feel comfortable.

We see this in mega-churches. I've watched some sermons and the message is very comforting and uplifting. The people likely leave feeling good, confident and that they are fine just the way they are. They are being true to themselves.

While we want to feel good about ourselves, we shouldn't let that hijack our progress. We should constantly be content with who we are but not satisfied with our current level of righteousness or commitment or discipleship. We should feel peace that we are on the right track but can always do better. We shouldn't live in a constant state of despair that we aren't perfect. It's a hard balance to be content but not satisfied.

I think that the Church members struggle with this balance. Local Church leaders struggle with this. It's challenging to inspire someone to improve while maintaining self-esteem. We want people to strive to be better but be at peace with who they are.

3:5

Fake people are the worst. I can tell when someone is being inauthentic to me and I don't like it. I especially don't like people who are kind to only those who they can benefit from. I love the stories where someone writes that they met someone on the street who was really rude to them and they end up interviewing that same rude person!

It sounds like the prophets at this time were this type of person. "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him."

We shouldn't be kind only to those who can benefit us - financially or socially. I shouldn't be kind to you because I want to be seen with you...or for what you can do for me.

4:1-2

In verse 1, we read the famous prophesy about Salt Lake City. "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it."

There is an interesting phrase in verse 2. "And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of HIS ways, and we will walk in HIS paths." The Lord teaches HIS ways. It's up to us to choose to walk in HIS paths. A goal of this life is to learn to let our will be swallowed up in his.

There are many people who are leaving the church that talk about how the Church is disallowing our agency. They suggest that the Church is attempting to control us. They say that the Church isn't respecting individuality. To them, the Church is unforgiving and unempathetic. If the Church doesn't fully accept all preferences of its members, then the Church is bigoted or misogynistic or close-minded or doesn't truly love everyone. Instead of being true to the gospel and the Lord's Church, they want to be true to themselves only. The goal should be to be true to something greater than ourselves - not simply being true to ourselves!

5:7

"And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass." Members of the Church will bless those around them. Grass needs water. People need the gospel. They may be spiritually dried up. Members of the Church will quench that thirst that all of us have to one degree or another. We should view ourselves as a tool in the hand of God in spreading his gospel.

6:7-8

What does the Lord want from us? "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" No amount of going through the motions is enough to satisfy the Lord. That type of sacrifice does not help us be like God. It doesn't represent a true change of heart. It is not about love.

What does God want? "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to:

• "Do justly..." We need to be obedient to God and fair with our fellow man.

• "...love mercy..." We should show others unconditional love through mercy. But, we shouldn't show mercy grudgingly. It shouldn't be a sacrifice to show mercy. We should love it. We should also appreciate the love and mercy that God has for us. We should constantly remind ourselves that we need his grace.

• ":...walk humbly with thy God." We must be teachable throughout our lives and for millennia. If we will remain teachable, God can do anything with us.

6:11

"Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?" If we are intentionally cheating others, we do not understand God and his plan of salvation. No amount of public worship will make deceit disappear. We can't artificially tip the scales by shallow displays of righteousness. God sees through our hypocrisy and sees the true measure of a man. God cannot count someone pure who is cheating. A cheat ultimately cheats himself.

7:6-8

Who can we trust completely? This prophecy suggests that we won't be able to trust those who are closest to us. "For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house." That's hard.

The goal is to put Christ at the center of our lives. We cannot put another human - not our families, children or spouse at the center. All of those people can die in an instant in a car accident. Only the Lord will never truly leave you. "Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." If the foundation of our lives is built on Jesus Christ, nothing can pull that foundation out from under us.

No trial is too great. "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." No depth is too deep for the Lord. No darkness can't be pierced by the Light of Christ. Again, Christ is the only sure foundation.

7:18

One thing that the Old Testament has taught me is that the Lord is forgiving. He has been disrespected and disobeyed. Yet, he continues to love and forgive. "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." He doesn't hold grudges. The moment we turn to him, he doesn't think about the sins and mistakes that we've made. His work and glory is for us to progress and he will do ANYTHING to help us WANT to progress.