Friday, April 7, 2006
Jonah 4:6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.
TREE OF SURVIVAL
For thousands of years, various plants which the Lord God made have extended their branches to shadow and shelter those who rest beneath them. The shade provided by a tree can mean everything to one seeking relief from the hot, burning sun of the day. It can mean survival itself.
So it was once for the prophet Jonah. By the terrific heat of the day he thought he was going to die. He was already discouraged about things that had happened to him, and he was ready to lie down and give up. But God had other plans. He caused a vine plant to grow with miraculous speed until it covered Jonah's shelter, giving him shade to ease his comfort and preserve his life.
The LORD indeed wants all people to be saved. Not just saved from physical trials, but more importantly from spiritual disaster. He does not want people to become as the Ninevites had before Jonah went to them. He does not want them to abandon their God and by their sins bring destruction upon their heads.
Therefore, He sent the shade tree of His own Son Jesus. It is the tree of the cross that becomes our "tree of survival." For it was Jesus Christ who was so concerned about our survival that He gave up His own. "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8)
"Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day"
(Elizabeth Clephane, 1868).
