Look Toward the Holy Temple

Jonah 2:4, 7 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple…When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Did Jonah turn his back on God? We do know that he refused to do what God wanted him to do. I believe Jonah wanted to do the right thing, but was caught up in his own fears and prejudices. Nineveh was a wicked city and it showed no tendency toward serving God. Weather Jonah sense that it was of no use, or if he feared what the people would do to him, he fled away from what God wanted him to do. He jumped from the fire pan into the fire when he decided to board the boat that would whisk him away. It was at sea, in the storm and eventually in the belly of the big fish that Jonah looked to God for help. He remembered what it was to be in the presence of God and to sense God’s glory. He realized that God would not forsake him. Even as Jonah fled, God was chasing him. To think that the God of the universe loves us so much that He pursues us in spite of ourselves. Like the prodigal son who remembered his home and looked to toward his father, Jonah looked back toward the holy temple, and remembered the goodness and mercy of God. It is never too late to turn to God. If we turn from our ways of disobedience and turn our hearts toward the holy temple, God will receive us.