Monday, June 13, 2016

People often say, “The God of the New Testament, as seen in the life of Jesus Christ, is different from the God of the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament is portrayed as rigid, hard and ruthless. Jesus is loving, kind and forgiving.” After studying the Book of Jonah God is seen as someone to fear since He sends Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim a message of impending judgment. The Ninevites feared the God who said He was going to judge them. The sailors were afraid of the storm God stirred up, and then they feared the God who miraculously calmed the waters when they threw Jonah overboard. But you also find that God is gracious in hearing their cry and responding to their sacrifices and vows. He was gracious in providing a fish to rescue Jonah by swallowing him. God was gracious in listening to Jonah cry out from the belly of the fish and causing the fish to vomit him out onto the shore in answer to his prayer. He was gracious in reassigning Jonah to take His message to Nineveh. God was gracious in responding to Nineveh’s faith and repentance as expressed in their drastic fast of no food or water by everyone, including children and animals. Listen to what Jonah said in his complaint: “O Lord…you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity!” This is not an isolated example of God’s grace and love in the Old Testament. He is and ever has been a gracious, loving God.