從上帝前面逃走並不是盜賊和殺人犯的「專利」，有時傳道人也會犯一樣的毛病！想想約拿的故事，上帝派遣這位先知前往以色列的頭號敵人亞述，宣講一份「最後通牒」(「悔改，否則滅亡」)，但約拿卻擅離職守，臨陣脫逃了！他找了一艘船往相反的方向－－他施去。上帝首先興起一陣狂風暴雨，隨後又派一條飢餓的大魚把他送回原地，向尼尼微走去。約拿傳講了只有一句話的信息之後，竟絕望的看著尼尼微全城－－徹徹底底的－－披麻蒙灰的悔改了!當上帝赦免以色列的敵人時；曾以熱風、遮陰的蓖麻及飢餓的蟲來教導約拿重要的一課，那就是上帝憐憫有罪的世人。

        約拿書中最有趣的一個發現是：人人都順服上帝，除了傳道人以外!暴風雨、籤條、水手、大魚、尼尼微人、東風、蓖麻、蟲子等等，每一個人、每一件事都順服上帝的命令，除了這位宣稱要跟隨上帝的人之外。
        反省一下自己。你的行為對自己是基督徒的宣告是支持還是否定？上帝常常給我們第二次順服的機會(和約拿一樣)，但第二次會比第一次更容易順服上帝，而且痛苦較少嗎？
        站在約拿的立場，任選一個下列的情況，以第一人稱寫一個短篇故事，重點是你會有什麽反應：在船上，在魚腹中，在城裡，或是在山上。你相信「尼尼微功課」是今天上帝要你學習的機會嗎？

        一個難以置信的故事－－可能發生嗎？真的發生嗎？
        「可能發生嗎？」請讀包士德的「大探險」(第四冊，一五一到一五四頁)，提到兩處文獻記錄有人曾被鯊魚或鯨魚吞吃－－後來活著講述這個經歷。至於「真的發生嗎;？』請查考馬太福音十二章卅九到四十節，證實這個故事是千真萬確，無從反駁的!

人生如棋，切記，走第一步是上帝，走最後一步也是祂！

English

        Running from God is not something reserved for thieves and murderers. Sometimes preachers get into the act as well! Consider the story of Jonah, a prophet commissioned by God to preach an ultimatum ("Shape up or ship out!") to Israel's archenemy, Assyria, Jonah quickly goes A.W.O.L (Absent With¬out Leave) and finds a ship headed in the opposite direction. Destination: Tarshish. God sends first a storm, then a hungry fish to turn Jonah around and head him back toward Nineveh. After delivering his one-sentence sermon, Jonah watches helplessly as the entire city of Nineveh—right down to the cattle—repents in sackcloth and ashes. When God spares Israel's enemies, it takes a hot wind, a shade-giving vine, and a hungry grub to teach Jonah a lesson about the mercy of God for sinful mankind.

        One of the most interesting discoveries about the book of Jonah is that everyone obeyed God except the preacher! The storm ... the dice ... the sailors ... the fish ... the Ninevites ... the east wind ... the gourd ... the worm ... everyone and everything obeyed God's command except the one who claimed to be a follower of God.
        Check up on yourself. Do your actions support or deny your claims of being a Christian? God often gives a second chance for obedience (as with Jonah), but wouldn't it be much simpler and less painful to obey Him the first time around?
        Put yourself in Jonah's sandals and write a short, first-person account of how you would have reacted in one of these situations: on the ship, in the fish, in the city, or on the hillside. Can you identify the "Nineveh assignment" that God is asking you to tackle today?

        A Fishy Story —Could It Happen? Did It Happen? —
        In answer to the question, "Could it happen?" read Baxter's Explore the Book (iv, 151-54) for two documented cases of men who were swallowed by sharks or whales—and then lived to tell about it. To answer the question, "Did it happen?" check Matthew 12:39-40 for confirmation of the story from an irrefutable source!

In the chess game of life, never forget that the first move is God's; and so also is the last.