"The Sovereign Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?" (Amos 3:8)
There is a sort of etiquette that demands our action when God speaks.
The etiquette of those called to be prophets is that they prophesy when God speaks.
God spoke to Amos; Amos was compelled to prophesy.
Like Amos, when God speaks we don't expect the hearer to ignore Him.
The book of Jonah begins with a conventional statement: "The Word of the Lord came to…" (Jonah 1:1) - a convention used over 100 times through the Old Testament to indicate that there has been divine communication to a prophet.
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| He won't find me under here! |
The Word of the Lord came to Samuel...
The Word of the Lord came to Nathan...
The Word of the Lord came to Solomon...
The Word of the Lord came to Elijah...
It goes on.
And each time the prophet moves into action, taking God's message to people and cities. Even the pagan prophet, Balaam, knew that it was foolish to snub God's word (Numbers 22:18).
When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can but prophesy?
Well, Jonah. Jonah's reaction is the exact opposite. God tells him to go five hundred miles east to Nineveh, but instead, Jonah ran away from the Lord, heading two thousand miles west towards Tarshish.
He is the only prophet who is recorded as having run away from God!
