Verse of the Day: V7 “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.”
1. I Prayed (V1-6)
V1 “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,”
The Lord heard Prophet Jonah as he prayed and cried before Him in the fish’s belly. God preserved Jonah’s life in the fish’s belly when Jonah prayed and repented his sins and disobedience. God hears us when we pray to Him in sincerity, and truly repent of our sins.
V2 “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”
2. I Remembered (V7-8)
V7 “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.”
Jonah remembered the Lord when he fainted in the fish’s belly. Jonah must have remembered how the LORD miraculously saved him, how He had richly blessed his life, and how He had been so merciful, gracious and kind towards him. Though the Lord had been so merciful towards him time and again, yet he had not been merciful towards the people of Nineveh, and had refused to preach to them of God’s love and mercy, and their great need of salvation, and repentance of their sins. He realized that he could have been dead by now, but the loving and merciful God gave him a second chance to live for Him.
V8 “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”
3. I Paid (V9-10)
V9 “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”
Jonah prayed and promised to God that he would pay what was owing to God when the Lord delivered him out of the belly of the fish. He knew that he must now obey the Lord, and immediately go to Nineveh to preach to the people to repent of their sins and wickedness. Jonah was so thankful to God for giving him a second chance as he knew by faith in God that the Lord would save him. Indeed, after three days and three nights in the fish’s belly, God finally spoke to the great fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land.
V10 “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to always remember You for who You are and what You have done for me.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:26 pm
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Verse of the Day: V17 “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
1. A Great City (V1-3)
V2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”
Nineveh was a great city. The people of Nineveh were prosperous and wealthy, and they had all the material possessions, except they rejected God and His righteousness. Thus the righteous God found them guilty of wickedness, and commanded Prophet Jonah to preach to them to repent of their wickedness. However, Jonah disobeyed God, and bought a ticket to go to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. Jonah rationalised that God should punish the people of Nineveh instead of giving them the chance to repent of their wickedness.
V3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”
2. A Great Wind (V4-16)
V4 “But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.”
Jonah fled from the presence of the LORD, but he could never hide from His presence. As soon as Jonah boarded the ship, the LORD sent a great wind that nearly destroyed the ship. The mariners on board the ship were so fearful for their lives that they prayed and cried to the LORD to deliver them out of this great tempest. Finally, out of desperation, they acceded Jonah’s request, and threw him into the raging sea: and the sea became calm.
V12 “And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”
3. A Great Fish (V17)
V17 “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
Prophet Jonah could have been drown in the deep blue sea, but God prepared a great fish to swallow him up. Jonah survived in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. The LORD is a great God, a God of second chance. Even though Jonah did not deserve God’s grace, God still forgave his sin, and saved him through the belly of the great fish.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that You are great, the one and only great God.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:43 pm
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Verse of the Day: V17 “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
1. The Heart (V1-5)
V1 “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.”
God gave Prophet Obadiah a vision that He would humble Edom, because Edom had hardened his heart against God. Edom had refused to believe in the true God. Edom thought that he was god, and that God could never bring him down from his throne and power. Subsequently God humbled Edom, and brought him down. It is sad and tragic when man thinks that he is a self-made man, and refuses to acknowledge and believe his Creator, His God, His Maker, who makes him in His image, and gives him breath and life.
V3 “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?”
2. The Hidden (V6-16)
V6 “How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up!”
Esau thought that he could hide his pride from God. However, God not only saw his pride but his deceit and wickedness. We can never hide from the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God. God knows everything, and there is nothing hidden that He cannot see.
“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)
3. The Holiness (V17-21)
V17 “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
Though Edom (Esau) and Jacob were twin brothers, yet their lives were entirely different from each other. Edom’s life was one of pride and wickedness, while Jacob’s life was one of humility and holiness. This was why the holy God had to judge and punish Edom for his sin of pride, while He blessed Jacob with great possessions because of his holiness.
V21 “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to be holy as You are holy.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:18 am
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Verse of the Day: V8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.”
1. The Lord Stands (V1-2)
V1 “I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.”
Amos saw God standing before the altar of the people of Israel pronouncing judgment on them. Instead of worshipping the true God, they worshipped false gods. The people were so proud and sinful that they even built structures to climb up to heaven to be gods only to find God bringing them down. No one can ever reach heaven except God saves them.
V2 “Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:”
2. The Lord Searches (V3-7)
V3 “And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:”
The people of Israel thought they could run away, and hide themselves, from God, but they failed or refused to know that the Lord is omnipresent. Indeed, God is everywhere, and His eyes are searching and judging the people for their evil deeds and wickedness.
V4 “And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.”
3. The Lord Saves (V8-15)
V8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.”
Though the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom or people, yet He shall save those who trust and obey Him, and bless them with abundant land and everlasting life.
V15 “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You for saving me from the pits of hell to the portals of heaven.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 09:22 am
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Verse of the Day: V11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”
1. The Fruit (V1-10)
V2 “And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.”
God pronounced judgment on the people of Israel because of their sins and rebellion. God showed to Amos a basket of summer fruit to illustrate to him that like the basket of summer fruit which were the remaining fruits of the harvest, the people of Israel would also be spending their remaining days before the Lord send their enemies to destroy them.
V3 “And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.”
2. The Famine (V11-13)
V11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”
God told Amos that He would send a famine of the hearing of His words, in other words, He no longer send His prophets to plead with the people to repent of their sins. It was a severe punishment when God withdrew His prophets and words from the land of Israel.
V12 “And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”
3. The Fall (V14)
V14 “They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.”
Finally God completely destroyed the people of Israel. Instead of repenting their sins and calling upon the true God, they called their self made gods to help them. Indeed, let us desire and pant after God and His Word, the Bible, just like the deer pants after the water brooks, as only God and His Word can fulfil the deepest desire and need of our souls.
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
Psalms 42:1.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to desire You and Your precious Word.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:02 pm
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