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Jonah said "I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." (Jonah 1:9). This Jonah said while in the very act of disobedience and rebellion against God! However, right after that God showed him what the fear of the Lord REALLY is. And THEN Jonah obeyed God. And THAT is evidence of the fear of God. Obedience. It doesn't matter what people say. What are they actually doing? What are WE actually doing? “Let God be true and every man a liar...” (Romans 3:4). If a man says he fears God you will see it in his lifestyle. He will be striving. He will be pressing into Jesus and avoiding sin and evil.

Look at what the Lord did to Jonah:

“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,

2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.

7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

Jonah said "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever:"

Jonah experienced a true revelation of hell. And He received the revelation that God would absolutely send him there. THAT caused Jonah to repent with all his heart and then DO as God told him to do.

He repented, and God made a way for him. It was a miracle all around. God expects the same from us. He tells everyone to go and seek Him, study His word and then preach His gospel mesage. Which is forgiveness of ours sins AND the POWER to walk before the Lord blameless. Only by His holy Spirit living in us through faith in Christ.

Jesus spoke of Jonah.

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." Matthew 12

A greater than Jonah has been made manifest. And you and I BETTER listen to Him! (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18:18; Acts 3:22) Otherwise we will eventually be thrown into eternal hell. But a fish will not spit us out. We need to repent NOW. Judge yourself by God's Word. Read the Bible. And think on your ways in comparison to the word of God and turn your feet unto HIS testimonies (Psalm 119:59).