The untamed tongue is a special problem with the people of God. Yet, it is a sin that often goes unacknowledged. It is the saint’s dirty little secret and it is almost universal.
Surely the children of Israel will be thrilled to follow the One who loved them so much that He delivered them from the clutches of Egypt.
In this chapter, God gives Jonah a lesson in mercy. Jonah knew the evil Nineveh had done and probably knew of the evil Nineveh would do to Israel. As such, he wished that the city be destroyed and was angry when God had pity on the city.
Elijah had just enjoyed one of the greatest victories in the Bible record. He follows it up with a great defeat.
Perhaps the most prevalent sin of the Christian today is that of complaining. It is in our nature. How many things have we murmured or complained about today and we were not even conscious of it? In our heart we have strategically placed complaining as one of the smaller sins or perhaps not even sin at all. God, however, has a different outlook on the matter and we would do well to adopt God’s viewpoint versus our own. God tells us in His word “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content”, and in another place He says “and be ye thankful”. Complaining is not so. As such we ought to learn what the scriptures say about complaining and take heed to its warnings.
