The sailors, captain, king, nobles, citizens of Nineveh responded to Gods mercy. 2 questions. Jonahs prayer was bitter: I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. I knew it. Whats also interesting is that many skeptics doubted the existence of Nineveh until its ruins were discovered in 1845. Amid the commotion, the captain finds Jonah, wakes him, and demands that he join the effort to save the ship by calling on his God. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? In despair, the men shouted, What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us (Jonah 1.11)? His remembering is not that He forgets but that he gives heed to something. Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. God caused the dice reveal Jonah as the problem.3The mariners demanded an accounting. Luke 16:19- reveals Abrahams bosom. The Book of Jonah is read in synagogue on the afternoon of Yom Kippur. 4 At this, I said, What is your country, and to what people do you belong? Jonah answered them, I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, How could you do such a thing? They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them. This time, Jonah obeyed. And boats are wrecked; true men and thieves, HOR. Jonah 1.1-2 should arrest ones attention. Jonah. A story about prophecy and repentancebut not in the way you think. Since the Assyrians did not record military defeats, Sennacherib did not record his failure to destroy Jerusalem or capture its king (Hezekiah). Thanks again for providing greater understanding to this book With appreciation, John. Did he fear that their redemption would make a mockery of his prophecy (that the city would be destroyed)? Jonah is a dangerand a cause of grief to others around him. Lazarus and the rich man both in the place of hell one on paradise side and one on torment side. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple (Jonah 2.4). So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. Tarshish is widely held to refer to the coastline of modern-day Spain. Jonah is now beginning to come to his senses, In effect, Jonah says to them, Kill me. He proclaimed the message that God gave him, " Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown!" (3:4). But God would not leave him alone. Implicit in Jonahs message was that God was displeased with their behavior. And Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus told the Twelve not to go to Gentiles it was because Israel had to repent first to comply with the kingdom blessings which were part of the Abrahamic Covenant. Jonah is a scientist who becomes a business theorist and helps Alex save his plant. 4 The God of heaven was a term known to Gentiles (cf. Jesus called this day the Tribulation (Matthew 24.21, 29). 8But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands (Jonah 3.7-8). Being a king, he understood authority and sovereignty (cf. Reading: Jonah 14. In the end, the men must hand Jonah over to the Lord. That attitude, rather than Jonah's outward disobedience, was what upset God the most. Jonah would rather die than go to Nineveh. 2 I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. God asked Jonah if he should really be angry about the plant, and Jonah said he should be angry, even to death. God prefers mercy to judgment. Gamble against God and youll lose. 8Then they said to him, Tell us, now! Summary- God appointed a worm to kill the plant that Jonah delighted in. Jonah 1:14-16witnesses that only reluctantly did the sailors cast Jonah overboard, as he had commanded them to do. Salvation is from the Lord.. What a wonderful explanation of the Book of Jonah. If we had Jonah's faith, our evangelistic efforts might be multiplied exponentially. And this is not to mention all of the Biblical prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and more than a dozen others who immediately act on Gods command. Jonah thought he would drown when thrown into the sea. Jonah knew he had lost. This is why He gave the order of ministry in Acts 1.8. To all this pain can be added many other sufferingscaused by our greed, addiction, lack of forgiveness, pride, impatience, and lack of charity. In sure you have touched a lot of lives.. Keep doing what youre doing. Turn back to God lest we all perish. We read: 7Each man said to his mate, Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. In response to Jonahs flight, God hurled () a storm onto the sea. Sign up for a special email series here. They were saved. The angel of the Lord killed his expeditionary force of 185,000 soldiers (2 Kings 19.32-6; Isaiah 37.36-37). Jonah is the great story of Gentile salvation in the Old Testament. b. We are all runaways. - with those thoughts in mind, let me invite you to turn to the closing verses in the book of Jonah. I cannot see where the text states Jonah actually died or not. His scoffing and defiance likely result from hatred or excessive nationalism. Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord" (comp. The word means fish but the scope of meaning of is unclear. To all this pain can be added many other sufferings. If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present. Theres an irony here that cant be seen in the English. The arks lid was called the mercy seat (Exodus 25.17-22; cf. If you want to experience spiritual growth, if you want to cultivate a heart more like God's, or if you want to better understand God's priorities, I . actions that supposedly dont hurt anyone. When I read the Biblical account, I see that Jonah actually dies and is resurrected. The text reads they feared the Lord greatly, offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows (Jonah 1.16). The lot falls to Jonah, and he is finally forced to go public. Of all the prophets, Jonah is perhaps the most reluctant; his struggle with sin is not hidden. Grace Receiver, Many have argued over this. Jonahs repentance is expressed in a long, strange, and beautiful poem that is spoken within the fishs belly, and the language indicates that he is ready to change direction: The bars of the earth closed upon me forever. Obviously, from their superstitious perspective, some god or gods are angry with somebody, and they are all suffering because of what this person has done. He went down into the heart of the earth as in Matthew 12 and brought back those saints that had died and took Paradise to heaven. These would be paid whatever was right. At noon and 3 p.m. he did the same thing. 6I descended to the roots of the mountains. He said, While I was fainting away,I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple (Jonah 2.7). The great majority of it. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not. - Jonah is a book about a man that was facing the exact same issue we are raising this morning. Hill had his arm out the window when the car flipped mid-joyride. Who could endure without them? They were further in.7 The last verse of the book provides additional information about Ninevehs size. And it has said, "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.". The centralandmost important piece of furniture in its design was the ark of the covenant. And He did not do it(Jonah 3.10). At the end of the day, 6 p.m., his foreman paid each man a denarius. Note that Jonahs defiance also endangers others. Such conditions may explain the phrase king of Nineveh rather than king of Assyria and the fact the kings decree was issued in concert with his nobles. That's where the word of the Lord came to Jonah a . God does not save us merely for our own sake, but also, for the sake of others with whom our life is intertwined. The power of Gods word is revealed by the peoples response. He realized he could not escape God and looked to Him for deliverance. 'sch. From what people are you? 9He said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land (Jonah 1.7-9). Maybe, just maybe, God would change His mind and destroy the city. He said, , nto Your holy temple (Jonah 2.7). For the hesitant or doubters, the king issued anexecutive order for fasting, dressing in sackcloth, prayer, and repentance. Kerry Malakosky, Weatherford, OK I also pastor Liberty Heights Chapel, Lawton, OK. LHC is listed as a Grace Church, How Big Was Nineveh? Such was the case of Peter who reluctantly went to Cornelius house (Acts 10.28). It reveals Gods greatness and mans pettiness. The Ninevites repented from wickedness to righteousness. Despite brevity, it is a powerful story of Gods grace to Gentiles and a reflective study into Gods character and mercy. Such objections impress only the weak minded. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; All Your breakers and billows passed over me. Einstein was wrong. Everyone from the street sweeper to the king heeded Jonahs warning. While all these storms (which he caused) are raging, Jonah is asleep. The message couldnt be clearer: Jonah is going in the wrong direction. Under normal population distribution, this would mean a population of about 3,000,000. Sigh. God sends a giant fish to swallow Jonah. Chapter 2 recounts Jonah in the belly of the sea monster where he prayed and gave thanks to God. The Lord was the first to be resurrected. First, I do not have an opinion on this right now; I have not studied it enough. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. They were aghast at Jonahs behavior in fleeing God (Jonah 1.10). On whose account has this calamitystruck us? Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm. It will begin after God completes His Church, the body of Christ. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days walk (Jonah 3.3). Godwould not let him die. But Jonah received more than a mere mention. Jonah slept. May Bob Pierece's prayer also be ours: "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." In those contexts, it strongly seemed as though God initially forgot.. Or were these just wrong use of language by the prophets or wrong presentation by the prophets because of their weak and limited understanding of God probably as a result of their spiritually dead nature. God not only plays dice, His dice are loadedand invisible. Do you have any idea how your behavior, your sins, are affecting the rest of us? Chapter 1 ends, And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1.17).6 This verse fits more appropriately as the beginning of chapter 2 which contains Jonahs prayer to God. Judges 7:13,14 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along, Isaiah 41:6,7 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage, Joshua 7:14-18 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man, Judges 20:9,10 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; , 1 Samuel 10:20,21 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken, Joshua 7:10,13 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? It presents two very different stories about repentance. But the plant wasnt an act of divine mercy it was part of a divine lesson. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. It is too easy for us to wish to destroy those who have harmed us, returning crime for crime, sin for sin. Thanks for all. This familiar expression is found in many books of the Bible, occurring 92x (e.g., Genesis 15.1; 2 Samuel 7.4; 1 Kings 6.11, 16.1, etc.) Ask Jonah. They seem to fear God more than he does! I am not sure if I've ever heard the prophet Jonah held up as a model of faith, but that might warrant a second look. Thus, he said: 9Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3.9)? The last thing Jonah imagined was that God would bring a great sea creature to swallow him! Gods mercy trumps every time. Jonah is a story of contrasts. Jonah said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you.. Something was not right. God heard his prayer and delivered him. I have a question on your comment above: If Jonah did die, he was resuscitated, not resurrected. Yes, sin is usually very expensivebut many seem quite willing to pay the price. 1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,2Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. Like Jonah, though, many line up to pay the price and take the long, painful journey deeper into defiance and sin. Deor.,' 3:37). VI. God was gracious and Jonah peevish. Despair-They asked, What shall we do with you, that the sea may quiet down for us? For the sea was growing more and more turbulent. Jonah 4:7-11. The mariners, fearing for their lives, also lose wealth. Thanks again for sharing your study and research with us. Rather than trusting God, he brazenly disobeys, foolishly thinking that he can outrun God. Despite his sin, Jonah does not lose his dignity. This idiom indicates a child under the age of two. 4So I said, I have been expelled from Your sight. Every crew member was praying to his god for deliverance. If only we had the faith of Jonah, evangelism might leap forward into warp drive. He could have told the crew to turn the ship back to Joppa. 1 Samuel 10:20, etc. So, too, are we when we defiantly indulge sinfulness. (Conington's trans.). Some things must ultimately be left to God. ), and Herodotus (4th century B.C.) iii. By Msgr. He did not plant, water, or fertilize it. Resurrection involves receipt of an immortal body that is not subject to death. Yes, what are you doing? To lighten it, they began to toss cargo into the sea (Jonah 1.4-5). One section involves Jonah, those with whom he had contact, and God. And if swallowed, revive him? Extra-biblical sources such asDiodorus Siculus (1st century B.C. What is your country? The other suggestion is in the paragraph Salvation to the Gentiles, in your Conclusion. Fresco of Jonah being thrown into the sea - Catacombs of Priscilla, Rome. This is why God makes statements such as 2 Chronicles 7.14. In this case, He commissioned Jonah to address the evil of the Ninevites. He constructed a shelter and watched to see what would happen after 40 days (Jonah 4.5). that not everyone is willing or able to be corrected. Perhaps because he cannot see a way out of this hole of wrongdoing, and perhaps because he would probably die anyway, Jonah tells the crew that their only option is to throw him overboard an act that will supposedly appease God and save the ship from the storm. It is rife with wickedness. God planted this question in Jonahs mind to try and bring him to the divine viewpoint (Isaiah 55.8). All the while, they continue to ramble on about their right to do as they please. Waves roiled the ship, smashing into its sides and onto the deck. jonah has had lots of dti will attend to directions well PO Box 2732 Taren Point NSW Australia 2229 +612 9525 3181 info@hassonprojects.com.au jonah has had lots of dti will attend to directions well Monday-Friday: 8:30am to 5:30pm Copyright 2016 Hasson Projects - Design by secrets (tv show 2019) Oct 7, 2019. We read: So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of theLORD. The sailors wanted to return to land butJonah didnt.5. Except Jonah. 1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. As our defiance deepens, the headwinds become ever stronger and the destructive forces ever more powerful. Jonah 1.12, 4.3, 9). Jonah had appeared during a time of national distress and its rulers could ill afford divine wrath by aninvading army, famine, earthquake, epidemic, or flood. It represented Gods throne, where the Almighty sat, as the Tabernacle represented Gods throne complex. Jonah provides instructive lessons. Defiance also indicates a lack of faith because it comes from the Latin dis (against) and fidere (believe).
Michaela Russell Ears,
Lindsey Kurowski Family,
How Much Do Rock Bands Make Per Show,
Articles J