people want a sign, but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. In
the same way that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the monster fish,
so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the depths of the earth.

At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise with this generation and condemn it, because
they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here there is greater than Jonah. At
the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the
ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here there is greater than Solomon.

Reflect

Someone I knew many years ago loved one of the lines in today’s reading from Exodus. God
ensured the people of Israel that he would fight for them. They only had to keep still.
Unfortunately, my acquaintance took that to mean that, as long as he trusted God, he didn’t
need to take any action on his own behalf. God would take care of everything. But my friend
didn’t continue reading the passage. Immediately after giving the Israelites this encouragement,
God tells them to go forward into the Red Sea! That’s not exactly standing still!

God is not calling us to inaction. God calls us to be missionary disciples, not passive puppets.
God calls us to be active, obeying his commandments and doing our part to make the world a
more just and loving place. The stillness to which God calls us is not lethargy or indifference,
but the quiet confidence that comes from complete trust that God will take care of his people
and bring us to live with him forever.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2023