Some years ago, a Methodist Bishop of national reknown was asked to speak at an annual conference of that church. It so happened he had recently taken a strong stand on a very controversial issue and was being criticized rather widely among some of the brethren, not always with a lot of charity. So the Bishop spoke on the text of Jonah and the Great Fish. After acknowledging that others had a right to their own opinions on the issue so long as they were expressed in a Christian way, he then made this memorable observation: "I am willing to be consumed by a great fish. I am not willing to be nibbled to death by minnows."

This came to mind as we examined the subject text today. It appears that Isaiah was experiencing a lot of opposition in his work, not all of it by people of integrity. He …