21. A Man and a Fish

            Jonah 2.10     Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.  3.1  Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3  So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4  Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

We like to think of Jonah as a hero of the faith but oh, boy the book that bears his name tells a different story. But you know what? We can praise God that it’s in there.

What is quoted above is the arrival of Jonah in Nineveh. Think about it for a minute. Here is a man that has been in the belly of a fish for three days. With all those stomach type things going on. His clothes may have been partially digested. His skin and hair may have been bleached by the stomach acids. His skin probably was all pruned up from being in liquid for so long. And just in case you missed it. He is covered in fish vomit.

Now that is a messy sight. His arrival at Nineveh was messy. He proclaims a very short message to the people. Doesn’t even tell them how to repent and turn to God but that is exactly what they do and God saves them.

I don’t suppose any of us was exposed to that kind of sight when God saved us but I do know that the sin that God washed as white as snow the moment we were saved was much more severe.

And the Savior that came that first Christmas morning will come again to judge the living and the dead. He will sit upon the seat of judgement and separate the sheep and the goats. The sheep are those who have their sins forgiven in Christ. The goats are those who have rejected the offer of salvation.

We all arrive at the Cross completely messy. A goat. And by faith in Jesus, God makes us clean and one of the sheep of His pasture. A sheep that one day will stand before His throne where He will usher us into the Kingdom by saying, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

This Advent is there room for us to look towards the judgement seat of Christ and sing with fresh eyes, “What Child is this?”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPRFk8sLIPw