Contemplative Bible Reading

Jonah 3:10-4:1 (New Living Translation) 10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. 1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. Jonah was a reluctant but […]

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Jonah 3:10-4:1 (New Living Translation) 10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. 4:1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. This is one of those […]

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Jonah 3:7-8 (New Living Translation) 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from […]

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Jonah 2:10 (New Living Translation) Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. God speaks to a great fish. “Spit Jonah out onto the beach,” says God. The following verses indicated that the great fish listens and obeys God. Let’s consider that last phrase for a moment. A “stupid fish” […]

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Jonah 1:15-16 (New Living Translation) 15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Jonah, allowing the Lord to work through him, was […]

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Jonah 4:10-11 (New Living Translation) 10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” […]

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Jonah 3:5 (New International Version 2011) 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The […]

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Jonah 1:4-16 (New International Version 2011) 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the […]

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This contemplation is a little different. I have a friend who reads a lot of novels. Sometimes he reads one novel a day. One of the things he does to read so much is that he only reads where the characters are talking. He skips all the description of events that are not conversations. Here […]

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Jonah 1:7-16 (New International Version) 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do […]

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