Sabbath: Eager to Forgive
Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1-4, Ps. 139:1-12, Isa. 42:5, Rev. 10:6, Matt. 12:39-41, 2 Chron. 36:15-17.
Memory Text: “‘But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord’” (Jonah 2:9, NIV).
Key Thought: The book of Jonah reveals, among other things, that God is more willing to forgive others than we often are.
The story of Jonah, this rather unusual messenger of God, is one of the best known in the Bible. The prophet had been sent by God to warn Nineveh of coming destruction. He suspected that these non-Hebrew people might repent of their sins and that God would forgive them. Being a true prophet, Jonah knew that God’s plan was to save Nineveh, not to destroy it. Maybe that is why he, at first, tried to run away. Due to forces beyond his control, however, Jonah changed his mind and obeyed God’s command.
In response to Jonah’s preaching, the entire city believed the message and repented in a way in which, unfortunately, Israel and Judah did not. Jonah, meanwhile, had a number of important lessons to learn. The story shows how God patiently was teaching His narrow and stubborn prophet what grace, mercy, and forgiveness are all about.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 11.
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I really appreciate and like this. It's quiet amazing on how the Lord,our God does what He has purposed according to His righteousness. He is Faithful!
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Yes, I believe that God whisper his voice but at some point we do our own thing , until we realize that God put everything for a reason and purpose. We need to seek him and put our trust on him.
God cares and loves us inspite of our weaknesses.
God's mercies are abundant and overflowing...i think forgiveness from a loving heart is the key to righteousness.let us as the body of Christ,arise,and preach more on mercy,love and forgiveness:it will make d world a better place
1.Considering how God is perennially inviting us into his ministry to no avail, I am keen to understand Jonah's motivation for fleeing and how it relates to modern "excuses".
2. God has superior arsenal at his disposal to perform the task of ministry, why does he waste time with unwilling mankind who are always giving unending excuses for not going. Given that he ca do a Jonah on all of "excuse givers", I find it interesting that he can still let us wallow in our excuses. Is it possible that a person intended to receive the message fails to receive the message (and will be lost eternally ) due to my unwillingness to "go"
I appreciate that God is so willing to forgive me. This reminder is good for me to more easily forgive others such as as my famiy, coworkers, everyone. Thank you.
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God is so good and loving that He does not want any to be lost., so he tell us to repent before He bring judgment on us. What a loving God we have. Let us repent and help others do the same, because the coming of the Lord is sooner then we think.
Philecia
Gladly I dont think that eternal destiny of peoples depend on our excuses. GOD will judge us. We will judge angels. To spare a city is not an evidence of eternal win for all citizens.
Oh what a wonderful and merciful saviour he is!By resisting to go and deliver a profetic message Jonah was simply saying to God I am supporting the ministry of the Devil,God why bother me?But thanks to the Almighty by demonstrating that he is the one in control and providing cicumstances that mor irresistible than Jonah's plans of escape,even the fish of the sea was more obidient than the called prophet
The last leg of Jonah's story is often left out, but is one I think is scariest. As Christians we want evil for sinners: maybe loved ones, colleagues, associates, enemies, church members. Our carnal attitude replaces forgiveness and mercy.
This is a hard pill for us to swallow, but we are no better than Jonah sitting in distance waiting for the destruction of someone who has hurt us.
Thank God he is not like us!
Thank God for this week lesson, that remind us that our God is eager and willing to forgive us all our sins, if only we will come to Him with a contrite, broken and repented heart, just as the people of Nineveh did. Some of us are self centered, we want to be save only, we don't want to enreach or extend the Salvation we recieve to others outside there, just as Jonah, knowing too well that they are going to repent from their sins and God will rather save Nineveh than destroying them. Let us stop running away from our duties and responsibilities and come back, out of our hiding place, to God and let us heed, respond, obey to God's instructions, His command to go to the world and make disciples of all nation, the duty which He entrusted and commissioned us to do. For He says, He will be with us and go with us wherever we go. Because we refuse to seek Him, that's why we fail to acknowledge His infinite mercies and grace towards us which are manifested in any situations, conditions or problems we find ourselves. May God help us in Jesus Name!
Has anyone else heard that King Nebuchadnezzar's ancestors were residing in Nineveh at the time Jonah was sent to preach against it? God had sent Jonah to Nineveh to save, among the people residing in that wicked city, the royal line of King Nebuchadnezzar. Otherwise, there would have been no King Neb, no Babylonian Captivity and no book of Daniel the prophet.
John C Williams, could you assist me with the source of this revelation. It could be very interesting.
God's plans cannot fail.we should always respond positively to God's call.We should learn from the consequences that befall Jonah when he tried to run away from the task he had been called upon to perform.so lets not try to run away from God .
God is of great plan for salvation to the humanity haven who have made up thier mind to return back to him even if you become stony hearted like did jona so let gear to bieng missionaries.
this is also a lesson to some of us adventists who think only to share the gospel among ourselves. Salvation is to who will believe when the message of salvation is received. Jonah had already condemned and judged the people of Ninivah.
But God does not destroy before he warns the people. However much we try to run away from His mission, His work of saving will still remain. However people may prejudge us, our salvation is assured when we turn away from our wicked ways and with contrite heart ask for forgiveness.
Our Lord is indeed eager to forgive all who erturn to Him sorrowfully. This is the reason He came to die for all humanity. Infact, His desire is to save all humanity serve our choices we make.
Let us encourage our friends who think have gone beyond forgivess that the Lord is still saving. The door of mercy is still open if only they could turn way from their evil ways and seek the Lord's saving grace.
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I also like the way God answers jonah. it goes to show that God meet his creation where it is and uplift it to high ground level of mind wise
Why would God force people to do His will? And yet he gave us free will to choose to do good or bad. After all we know the outcome in every choice we make. Is it a "contradiction"?
Truly God does forgive, remember what happened to Jonah. So amazing. God is so merciful, thank you all
Hebrews 12:6 , the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." It was the force of love that God used on Jonah to show Him the right path.