Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-04-26

the Almighty would question for an
instant the ability of God to prepare a
special fish, either at the moment or.
fcrel now ing JonaE's course, long in
advance The exceptional character Of
Jonahs experience constituted him a
type Of Jesus, who in death, was
swallowed up of the earth. as was Jo-
nah by the fish: and as our Lord was
liberated from ms prison-house, SO
WAS Jonah
Preaching to the Ninevites.
eur special lesson, however, is con-
neeted with Jenahs mission to the
Ninesites. Niueveh was u great city
outside the pale of Judaism and there
fore at that time outside the lines of
Divine favor; for from the giving OF
the law until three and :. half years
after the Cross, Gods favors were eX-
clu'ively confined to the Jewish nation
under the terms of the Law Covenant
Cornelius, the centurion being the
first Gentle to receive evidence of Di-
vine favor at the close of the period
of IsraeIs exclusive favor.
In the cases of the Sodarlites, Nine
Vites and Amalekites, Divine Justice
decreed that their inquiry had come to
the full, and that for them to live
longer would be unWise, and for them
to be cut off in death would not only
hinder them from further degradation.
but also furnish to mankind a general
lesson, To the effect that there is L
limit to the Divine permission of evil
The fact that these peoples were thus
condemned and cverthrown did not
signify that they had ever enjoyed
salvation, or even an offer of saliva
ton. Like all of Adams children.
these people were under the sentence
of death. Dying thou shalt die" AS
all in Adam die" They We're merely
cut oft from further life under present
conditions. Their opportunity for fu-
ture life by resurrection from the dead
was not interfered with. Neither they
nor others had Yet been redeemed.
Hence the future life secured by the
redemptive work of Jesus was in no
sense interfered with by the sentence
of death issued against them en-
lnasse. Indeed, the Jews were not
saved either The offer of salvation
made 10 them under the Law Cove
nant did not give them eternal life; as
st. Paul declares, by the deeds of
the Law shall no flesh be justified in
Gods sight" If the Jews were justi =
fled by the Law then Christ died in
vain
Jonahs preaching was that within
forty days God would destroy Nineveh.
Put the people, impressed by his mes
Sage, reEented of their sinful course
nd cf,1tOIt Divine
Jonah DispIeased.
We are. of course, to understand that
God knew the end from the beginning
that He knew that the Ninevitcs
would repent and that He would not
llot them out within forty days, in
accordance with Jonah's preaching.
Nlneveh did pass away utterly, great
city that il was, but not within forty
literal days Possibly the time meant
by the Almighty was what is some
times prophetic or symbolical time, u
| day for a year-forty days, forty
years.
The lesson shows us bow much
greater is the compassion of the AL
mighty than that of His imperfect SER
wants of human kind. God was pleased
to have the Ninev:tes turn from their
| sins to hearty repentance. He was
| pleased to grant them quite an extern
sion of life. But Jonah was displeased,
His argument was. There, God did
make fool Of me. He told me that
| this great city wcul6 be DESTROYED
within forty days. and / preached il.
But all the while He must have known
that it would not be destroyed within
forty days. God has brought dis.
credit upon me, and l am now to be
regarded as false prophet.
Jonah was more interested in him
self and his own reputation than in the
Nineyites and their interests. The
Lords servants must not do SOL
God Repented of the Evil.
The query arises in some minds
How can God repent and change His
mind if He knows the end from the
| be ginning The answer is that tho
word repent has a wider meaning thar
is generally appreciated. Humanit,
uses it only in respect to a change ~
| purpose But as modern dictionarie,
show. the word may mean either .
change of action or change of pur
pose, or both. Gods purposes do no
| change. He never repents of them
But lie does change His conduct.
Thus Israel, His favored people fol
centuries, were cut eff, and Gods deal
ings toward them charged But Cod
purposes never changed toward Israel
He foreknew and fcretoId their raiec
ton of them and how later they ,vnpl,
be regathered to their own land an,