He Learned From His Mistakes

 

A Prophet From Galilee

When people think of a man Jonah, they often seem to focus on negative traits, such as his lapses into disobedience or even his hardheadedness .  But there was far more to the man than that.  Remember, Jonah was selected to serve as a prophet of Jehovah God.  Jehovah would not have picked him for such heavy responsibility had he been unfaithful or unrighteous.

The Bible reveals a little about Jonah's background. (Read 2 Kings 14:25.)  He was fro Gathhepher, just two and half miles (4 km) from Nazareth, the town where Jesus Christ would grow up some eight centuries later.  Jonah seved as a prophet during the reign of King Jeroboam II of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel.  The time of Elijah was long past; his successor, Elisha, had died during the reign of Jeroboam's father. Although, Jehovah had used t hose men to wipe out Baal worship. Israel was  willfully going astray again.  The land was now under the influence of a king who "continued to do what was bad in Jehovah's eyes." (2 Kings 14:24)  So Jonah's servuice could not have been easy or pleasant. Yet, he carried it out faithfully.  

One day, though, Jonah's life took a dramatic turn.  He received an assignment from Jehovah that he found to be extremely  difficult.  What was Jehovah asking him to do?

Next time: He Learned From His Mistakes - "Get Up, Go to Nineveh"

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