Jonah’s story challenges assumptions. Assumptions about what it means to be “chosen”… not a free ticket but a responsibility. Assumptions about the power of human freedom within the framework of prophecy and the will of God.
The account we have of Jonah sticks out as very unique within the 12 minor prophets. Putting Jonah among the 12 minor prophets asks us to consider it in relation to those books and their message. The story of Jonah questions overly simplistic ideas some people, may have about prophecy. Placement among the 12 minor prophets offers a thoughtful antidote to false assumptions held by people in 500 B.C. … the 1st century A.D. … even 2024 A.D.
l Particularism - the idea that God only cares about the people of Israel [in our day we might apply it to the Church of God].
l Determinism/Fatalism - the idea that outcomes cannot change. Which can lead to pessimism and apathy about the future.
Jonah 1:1 this verse allows us to find Jonah in 1 Kings 14:23-25. He came from a town in northern Israel on the south coast of the sea of Galilee near Nazareth. He appears to be a part of the company of prophets surrounding the king of the norther tribes… Jeroboam II. The time frame would be 780 BC.... about 50 years before northern Israel would fall to the Assyrians.
Why was Jonah giving Jeroboam II prophecies of victories at the same time Amos and Hosea were dishing out such hard criticism?
Teaching the holy spirit is a third person in a trinity causes confusion. What the bible actually reveals is a better, and more functional, explanation about how God is at work within you… of how you can and will be at one with God… how you can become like Him in mind and character… and how you can enter into the universe ruling God family.
The trinity teaching makes God more remote, self contained, and strange than actual scriptural teaching. The scriptural way in which God presents Himself is as a family. A family which achieves oneness through a unity of mind, will and purpose. A family that you can be part of… but if you do want to be part of it you have to change the way you think and behave.
You can join a family… you cannot join a trinity.
The roles of Father and Son clearly present God as a family. The inclusion of a holy spirit a third divine person doesn't fit... what is it? An eccentric uncle? A cousin? No, the holy spirit is not presented as part of any recognizable family member.
The family pattern also portrays the importance of authority and submission as the means whereby peace and harmony will be achieved (now and in eternity). The Father and the Son are easily understandable pictures of authority and submission balanced with love and respect
Including the Holy Spirit as a third person gets us off track. Not only does it not have a clear place in any family pattern... it does not fit any recognizable pattern of authority or submission.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 God wants us to know and understand Him... and He wants us to then pattern our lives after what we know. Because that is how we will get joy and pleasure from the gift of eternal life.
We know and understand Him through 1) what He does (hesed, exercises kindness, grace, mercy) and 2) what He says (guidelines for justice and righteousness).
What He Does: the record of Israel's history... is there to show YHWH in action… ready to bless with every good thing, but also ready to judge righteousness and justice, but with mercy. The Psalms & Prophets could be seen as reflections on what we come to know about God through His actions.
What He Says: God has given us a foundation of laws, statutes, and behavioral case studies. These are God's ideals for human interaction.
Then… God revealed Himself to us even more powerfully through the life and ministry of Jesus. God became a human being so that we might know God better (and visa versa).
However, most professing Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) insist that God must be understood in a very different manner... the trinity.
We proclaim the coming kingdom of God... like Jesus did, like the apostles did… and the early Church did. We know the rule of God on earth does not come about by human efforts or pretensions of progress... the rule of God on earth begins with the return of Christ preceded by clear signs and events foretold by Jesus and the prophets. Like the disciples we ask and wonder... when will it come?
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