Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, and go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry against it-- for their wickedness has come up before Me."
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
2 comments:
Nothing fishy about running away from the presence with an internal message like this. I can share this one here because it’s common knowledge among some of the churches and pastors on the Nevada side (Carson City). There’s a pastor down there who works with inmates in the state prison and I check in with him now and again. He told me that one of his parishioners died recently and her adult children and grandchildren found diary notes among her private things. She wrote to her diary that she felt a call to do missionary work in South America. Her diary entries repeated this claim with some emotion for something like 20 years. She told no one. The pastors in Carson knew and respected her. The revelation of her feelings of this kind of a calling came as news to them. No one asked her. She never told. I’m not sure whether Quaker processes (threshing-testing or advices) would have done any better to audit this kind of calling. And both church-going or meeting-going can act as surrogates for calls. I wonder how many of these callings go neglected while people stay in place rather than flee for the sea. I do know from my own experience that when I’m resisting a specific inward leading I do like to look busy!
This call to Jonah has immediate political overtones. The great city! And how many times we see appearances of “that great city.” So many incarnations.
Great reaading your blog post
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