Our pastors have been preaching through the book of Jonah for the last 8 weeks. (They've been excellent messages, and are well worth the listen!) I've learned many things, but the biggest has been a new understanding of Jonah's attitude. I always thought that his attitude went like this: Chapter 1--Jonah didn't want to obey God (because the people of Ninevah were scary!); Chapter 2--Jonah repents of his sin (inside the belly of the fish); Chapter 3--Jonah obeys God (and goes to Ninevah); Chapter 4--Jonah relapses? Chapter 4 always confused me. It seems like Jonah goes from obeying God to being unhappy with God. Didn't he learn anything from the storm and the fish? Now, admittedly, I tend to yo-yo in my obedience as well (sometimes suffering victory and defeat all in the same day!), but the book still always seemed very disjointed to me. Through the last few weeks I've come to a better understanding of the book, and it makes a lot more sense now! Here are two things in particular that I've learned.
