Divine Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is an effective technique in quality film making.  It can take the form of subtle details included towards the beginning of the film which have relevance later.  These intentional clues suggest or point to a future event.  One example which comes to mind is the wedding in the movie The Deer Hunter:  if the bride and groom take a sip of wine and do not spill any, it means good luck.  When I saw the camera zoom in on a couple of drops hitting the white wedding dress, I knew things weren't going to go well.  The next sequence thrusts the viewer into a shocking sequence during the Vietnam War.

Whilst reading this week I came upon a Bible verse which foreshadows what God foreknew.  After Samson told Delilah God was the source of his miraculous strength, and if his hair was cut he would be weak as any other man, she had it done.  When she called out to Samson the Philistines were upon him, he expected to draw upon his supernatural strength at other times.  But he did not know the Holy Spirit had left him, and was easily overcome.  Judges 16:21 says, "Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison."  Samson was cast into darkness without hope, but the following verse gives a glimmer of hope:  "However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven."

In his affliction Samson would turn eyes of faith to God.  He was blinded, bound, and enslaved, but Samson's hair began to grow:  there was hope of restoration to fellowship with and strength from God to overcome his enemies.  Samson had been a judge in Israel for 20 years, but when he pressed on the supporting pillars of the house with all his might he killed more Philistines in one moment then he had in the 20 previous years combined.  The sun rising in the east reminds us of God's mercies which are new every morning, rainbows remind us of the covenant God has made to never again destroy the earth with water, and the regrowth of hair points to a new opportunity to seek God and His strength.

Revival and renewal is daily and seasonal in the world, and by God's grace a continual need in our lives He is faithful to meet.  Samson's hair was shaved and the covenant with God broken, but his hair began to grow again after it was shaved.  Even when we are guilty as sin, there is hope for us if we turn to God in humble repentance and faith.  All hope is not lost if we have God, for the joy of the LORD is our strength.  The resurrected Jesus Christ is awesome foreshadowing of people being raised to new life ultimately in glory for all who trust in Him.

Healthy and Growing

Months ago a large tree was removed from the parkway in front of our house, and a large bare spot was left filled with sand.  It was around that time our neighbour began to prep his lawn for the winter by fertilising it.  I toyed with the idea of feeding my lawn at the time but decided against it.  The area where the tree once stood was mounded and needed to be flattened before installing new turf, and winter wasn't the best time to lay sod (according to my lawn-expert neighbour).  I call him this because the results speak for themselves.  The turf is always green and never will you find a weed in it!

Today I decided to remove some of the dirt to prepare for new sod.  Because I had not fertilised the lawn before winter, every gap in the turf was amazingly filled with many varieties of weeds.  Weeds are most opportunistic.  This practical example demonstrated how the neglect of feeding led to an exponential increase of weeds, and this is true concerning the spiritual life.  The lack of available food caused the turf in my yard to go dormant, and this lack of growth provided an opportunity for weeds to sprout and take over.  When we do not feed often on the Word of God or lack Christian fellowship, our spiritual growth takes a hit.  The best defence for a lawn is a healthy, growing lawn where weeds have no room to take root.  In the same way, efforts to weed out sin without grass which grows leaves gaps weeds ultimately fill.

It is hard work pulling weeds in the hot sun, and unless the space is filled with desirable seed or plants guess what?  The weeds will be back!  If we desire to have a lawn free from weeds it must be fed in the right season, and reading God's Word is always in season for Christians.  Reading and gaining knowledge is not our ultimate end but hearing and obeying the Word of God.  Obedience to Jesus Christ is a key to exponential growth of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

God Hears Our Cries

"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly. ² And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice."

Jonah 2:1-2

The way God redeems affliction to lead people to seek God is a common theme lately in my Bible reading and study.  Jonah went from sleeping in the belly of a ship to crying out to God in the belly of a great fish.  The belly of the fish was nothing like the comical pictures in children's Bibles complete with a bed and table but a terrifying mixture of absolute darkness, stench, pressure, and inescapable heat.  Strangled by weeds, sweating in discomfort, and gasping for foul air, Jonah had discovered and was trapped in a living hell.

It was in the belly of the beast we read of Jonah praying to God for the first time as a result of his affliction.  He cried unto the LORD and was heard by the God who is gracious, merciful, compassionate, and delights to save.  In the darkness Jonah sought the LORD and his faith was buoyed.  Though he had been in the fish for days, he was convinced somehow, someway he would be released from the prison of flesh.  He said in Jonah 2:8-9, "Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. ⁹ But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD."  The idols of the sailors were incapable of salvation, but God who caused the wind to blow and the sea to rage could silence them.  The God who prepared the fish to swallow Jonah could release him at God's command.  God spoke to the fish and Jonah was vomited upon dry land. (Jonah 2:10)

On a side note, I never considered the large fish likely needed to beach itself to vomit Jonah onto dry land.  It may have provided the first decent view Jonah had of the great fish God prepared to swallow him.  I wonder if the fish just laid there and expired on the sand as Jonah watched, or if it slowly inched back into the water and swam off.  Based upon what happened next in the book I don't believe Jonah would have helped the creature but preferred to sit down to watch it die.  But the dying fish is a great picture of how God will someday destroy Sheol and Death and throw them into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:14).

In the darkness Jonah's eyes turned to God, the light of his salvation.  He was granted divine insight:  "Salvation is of the LORD."  How good it is to remember this in our affliction.  When things are prosperous we can forget about God, and when circumstances are hard we work frantically to change them.  But we are in the midst of affliction and there is no hope, eyes of faith seek the LORD.  We ask God to bless us, and there in the belly of a great fish was such a man:  he had an audience with the living God and realised "Salvation is of the LORD."  For days he choked and struggled within that living furnace and in due time God opened Jonah's eyes to the truth.  Praise the LORD He sees our affliction, hears our prayers, and answers with salvation.

A Personal Turn

Humans have a tendency to take things personally.  This leaning impacts our judgments and how we connect causes and effects with people.  For instance, when my child misbehaves in a public setting I might feel embarrassment or that his conduct reflects poorly upon me as a parent.  Since I take personally the responses of my child to discipline or am sensitive to the opinions of others, when I notice other people's kids misbehaving or throwing a tantrum what might I do?  Without thinking I put the same burden on other children as an honest reflection of their parents.  Our personal investment causes us to take things personally, good and bad.  Situations which have little or no bearing on us we have an ability to turn personal and speak presumptuously.

In the last couple weeks I heard of cases of a well-known Christian author and music writer who have publicly announced they have either left the Christian faith or are "losing" faith.  These sorts of stories are often circulated on websites and social media, and observing the response of readers has been interesting.  The vast amount of responses I have seen concerning the musician and song writer of a popular church have "made it personal," attributing the song writer's lost faith to the alleged watering-down of the scripture in teaching at the church he attends.  Perhaps people who are intimately acquainted with the church feel entitled to offer this opinion.  But from the outside it is nothing more than seeing bad behaviour in a child and blaming the parents for lack of discipline.  Could there be a connection?  Possibly.  At the same time among my online acquaintances there was no outcry against the church of the famous author who is now without faith:  he alone was the primary focus.

We must be very careful to avoid rushing to judgment in these matters, and even better not to judge at all.  If these ministers of God can drift from Him to a place of doubting, we who think we stand should take heed lest we fall.  Since only God fully knows the hearts of men, we risk wading into the error of speaking presumptuously concerning straying brothers or sisters.  Should we blame others for their own personal wrestling, doubts, and unbelief?  Can we blame parents, pastors, or church body for wayward children who do what is right in their own eyes?  That is like blaming a parent for their adult son's STI who moved away from home years ago.  On the flip side there are many godly young people whose parents are totally hostile and opposed to the things of God:  should we credit heathen parents for their child's desire and love for God?  Give credit to where credit is due, and only God is worthy.  To use the behaviour of children to discredit parents or the foibles of parents to slander their children is folly because each stand before the righteous God and Judge.

This morning I read the first chapter of Jonah and I find the provision, grace, and salvation of God towards this wayward prophet most encouraging.  The word of the LORD came to Jonah, but Jonah went his own way:  down to Joppa, down into the ship, and finally down into the belly of the great fish God had prepared.  Parents have been guilty of writing off their own children for their shameful conduct, but God didn't disown Jonah.  In fact, God determined to use Jonah to save the men on the ship, to deliver the wicked Ninevites from destruction, and to provide a sign to point to Jesus Christ as God and Saviour.  Matthew 12:38-41 reads, "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."

God didn't distance Himself from Jonah as if he reflected poorly upon His lordship.  Jonah was not an effective preacher because of years of study or cross-cultural missionary training but by the grace of God which was a sign that pointed to Jesus Christ the Saviour.  Jonah didn't head to Joppa because of bad parenting, nor did he determine to avoid Nineveh because his synagogue watered-down doctrine.  It's true parents make mistakes and the Word of God is not always handled honestly in pulpits, but the point of this post is this:  let us avoid speaking presumptuously about why the author of a book sold in Christian bookshops walked away from the faith or a worship pastor gives place to doubt.  Only God knows exactly what is at work behind the scenes and in their hearts and ours.  Instead of piling on or stoking flames of gossip we ought to show compassion and pray for those who are deceived, lost, or erring.  We ought to remember Jonah and how God used Him as a sign to unbelievers so people would believe and come to salvation through Jesus Christ.  Should people walk away from Christ it is easy to take it personally, but we don't have to:  they have turned from Christ, not us.