Jonah 2:10 “And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

What beach did Jonah end up on? Near Tarshish? Near Joppa? I’m voting for Joppa. For one thing the ship didn’t get very far from its original berth before it encountered the storm. For another, it makes more sense for Jonah to be at the starting place when the command to go to Nineveh comes the second time. Call it a Groundhog Day experience if you want. Golfers would describe it as a mulligan. God followers would consider it a “second chance.” Our God is a big believer in second chances. If not, then Jonah would have died in the fish and some other prophet would have been sent. Jonah was not the only one who could have gone and preached salvation but he was surely one who needed to.

Vomit is not a common term in the scriptures, is it? Not associated with good things as a rule. Jesus talks about lukewarmness in a most unpleasant way and associated it with a rejection by God. Jonah’s behavior is unsatisfactory with God. The choice of vomiting is not accidental I don’t think. That’s where Jonah is at the moment. He is rejection material with a slight chance of redemption. Jonah was cold and has warmed up a little but he still is a far cry from hot. That puts him in the lukewarmness category.

Task for Today: Take your temperature three times a day. Beware of lukewarmness. Take a dim view of low temperatures but abhor somewhat warm. Hot or cold is promising but medium tedium is not in play. Stay away from the port. Answer the call. Heat up your engine, rev your RPMs.