April 1, 2020

Jonah

What is the first thing you think of when you think of the Book of Jonah?o Great fish?o World's worst Soul Winner?o A Racist's man?o A man fleeing from God?o A rebellious man?o Maybe, the greatest revival of all time?

I believe if you answered a great fish, then you failed Jonah 101. Jonah undoubtedly one of the most familiar of the Minor Prophets, due to his run-in with

a great fish, but this book holds much more. The fish is only mentioned in three verses; when Jonah was swallowed (1:17), while Jonah was in the fish’s belly (2:1), and when Jonah was vomited out (2:10). The history recording of Jonah is much more than a fish!

The book to Jonah describes a great revival of Gentile peopleo Even though the backslidden evangelist didn't want it to happen, God, not the

preacher, brought the revival.

“The story of Jonah is one of the clearest demonstrations of God’s love and mercy for all mankind in the entire Scriptures.” (The Open Bible, p. 916).

Introduction: :

Author:o Jonah was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel

Time:o 785-750 BCo Judah ministered during the reigns of Jeroboam II of Israel and Amaziah and Uzziah

of Judah (9th and 10th southern Kings)o He ministered just after Elisha and Joel, but very close to the times of Amos and

HoseaPurpose:

o To reveal God’s great compassion and mercy for all men.

Again, we should accept that God has the ability to write exactly what He means. We will study Jonah in the literal-historical approach. There is no reason to reject this book or take it as a parable; Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 and Jesus referred to Jonah as a historical person and accepted the story of the great fish (Matt. 12:39-41 and Luke 11:29-32).

April 1, 2020

Chapter 1: o V.1-2

God gives His servant an assignment Arise…go….cry against…Nineveh Jonah is getting soul-winning directions straight form God God commands action of His people.

Common throughout Scripture; God gives His children assignments and tasks. What is your assignment?

What do we know about Nineveh Great city of the Nation of Assyria Founded by Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-12)

Same man who built the city of Babel The Assyrians were known for their wickedness and cruelty

"Some of the victims were held down while one of the band of torturers, who are portrayed upon the monuments gloating fiendishly over their fearful work, inserts his hand into the victim's mouth, grips his tongue, and wrenches it out by the roots. In another spot, pegs were driven into the ground. To these, another victim's wrists are fixed with cords, his ankles are similarly made fast and the man is stretched out, unable to move a muscle. The executioner the applies himself to his task; and beginning at the accustomed spot, the sharp knife makes an incision, the skin is raised inch by inch till the man if flayed alive. These skins are then stretched out upon the city walls, or otherwise disposed of so as to terrify the people and leave behind long-enduring impressions of Assyrian vengeances. For others, long, sharp poles are prepared. The sufferer, taken like all the rest from the leading men of the city, is laid down; the sharped end of the pole is driven through the lower part of the chest; the pole is then raised, bearing the writhing victim aloft; it is planted in the hold dug for it and the man is left to die.""Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror; boys and girls were burnt alive or reserved for a worse fate; men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their hands and feet, or their ears and noses, while the women and children were carried into slavery, the captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and the trees in its neighborhood cut down." (Wilmington's Guide to the Bible, pp, 172-173)

o V.3i. Jonah's response -- "But" (always means a change of direction, 180 degree turn)

1. "rose up to flee, from the presence of the Lord"a. He vainly attempted to flee from the presence of the Lordb. Why the fleeing?

i. Fear

April 1, 2020

ii. Hate -- prejudice nationalism1. Would a Jew want to go and preach in Berlin in 1940?2. Assyrians and Israel were bitter enemies

c. It may be easy to cast stones at Jonah for fleeing, but what was our actions the last time God laid on our hearts to witness to someone?i. Would we be willing to go to Syria, inside the headquarters of

ISIS?2. Jonah wanted to flee to Tarshish

a. ~2,500 miles from Ninevehb. 3 year round-tripc. Modern day Spaind. Miracle he found a ship ready to go

e. Scripture doesn’t record any time gap with Jonah waiting for the ship. Simple statements in Scripture: Jonah found a ship…ship going to Tarshish…Jonah bought a ticket…boarded the ship. What are the odds that a ship that makes a 3-year round-trip was sitting there waiting to depart? I imagine no waiting in line for tickets

i. Just because we don't experience difficulties, doesn't mean our course of action is within God's perfect will.

Travels of Jonah (https://authorryanc.com/2018/09/19/how-far-did-jonah-run/)

April 1, 2020

o V.4i. God's response -- "But"

o V.5o Pagan mariners were afraid, looking for help, but the man of God was asleepo The men were calling upon their own gods, searching desperately for something

to help them Is this a chilling example of today?

a. The world is being cast forth in a mighty storm, looking for help, but God's people are asleep in our safe areas??

o V.9o Jonah's makes a proclamation that he is a man of God, but is he living the life?

Jonah is not an example of an obedient servant of God He is not a blessing to others, but actually a burden

o V.10o We see experienced seamen, afraid and desperate for help

o V.12o Notice the Gospel in Scripture

One must die that all may liveo V.13

o Notice the compassion displayed by the sailorso Jonah had no compassion but pagans showed compassion on this disobedient

propheto V.16

o Despite the man of God's stubbornness to obey the Lord, the people turned to the one, True God.

o These pagan men, in v.5, were crying out to false gods, but by V.16, they were committing their lives to the one, true God.

1. God can make straight licks with crooked sticks. 2. Notice the fear they had for God, when Jonah displayed no fear

o V.17: Could a whale really swallow a person?ii. It may have been a whale. The Hebrew and Greek (Matt 12:40) words used in

Scripture simply means “great fish”. 1. Scripture says that “God prepared”.

a. Was this a whale whose species is still present today?b. Was it some, now-extinct, marine reptile which we would refer to

today as a sea monster?c. I wonder if this was a one-of-a-kind creature, prepared by God,

specifically for this one, singular purpose. One the purpose was complete (Jonah 2:10), then the creature simply swam away and died.

April 1, 2020

o Chapter 2: We see Jonah repents in the fisho While in the great fish, Jonah prayedo V.6 – notice that Jonah is describing the bottom of the ocean

o It was not after World War II, with the invention of sonar, that human knew that the oceans have mountains and valleys. God correctly describes the ocean floor 27 centuries before man made this discovery!

o V.9 -- "Salvation is of the Lord"o V.10 – at the time of Jonah’s repentance in v. 9, the Lord commands the great fish to

vomit Jonah out on dry land. Demonstrates again, that God was in control of the great fish; specially prepared for this task.

o Chapter 3: o V.2 – Assignment given…againo V.3 – “So Jonah arose…”

o Great citya. "Nineveh lay on the eastern side of the Tigris, and was one of the

greatest - if not the greatest - of the cities of antiquity. It had 1,200 towers, each 200 feet high, and its wall was over 100 feet high, and of such breadth that three chariots could drive on it abreast. It was 60 miles in circumference, and could, within its walls, grown corn enough for its population of 600,000. (Wilmington's Guide to the Bible, p. 174)

Ancient Gates of the City of Nineveh (https://authorryanc.com/2018/09/19/how-far-did-jonah-run/)

April 1, 2020

o V.4 o Jonah obeyed the commandment of the Lord and preached a very simple

sermon "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown"

o Repentance and Revival: V.5 - "Nineveh believed" -- faith

"fast", "sackcloth" -- mourning over sin, humility V.6 - notice the leadership also repented V.7 -- notice the unity V.8 -- "turn every one from his evil way" -- repentance V.8 -- "cry mightily" -- prayer to a Holy God

o Chapter 4: o V.2--reason why Jonah fled

He knew God was gracious but Jonah wasn't. Jonah wanted the people condemned. He had hatred in his heart

o Look closely at the final verses of chapter 4 V.6-11

a. God prepared a gourd to shade Jonah (v.6)b. God prepared a worm to kill the gourd (v.7)c. God prepared a wind to discomfort Jonah (v.8)d. God prepared to prophet to learn love (v.9-11)

o V.11 – “six score thousand persons what cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand”

This may be a reference to the “right” hand being considered clean and the left hand being “dirty”. People being ignorant of knowledge of right and wrong; not knowing what is considered clean and what is considered dirty.

I also believe this could reference innocent children too young to know their left hand from their right hand.

o God's message to Jonah was simple: Jonah, you had pity on a plant, should I not have pity on a city filled with 120,000 people ignorant of the right or wrong and innocent animals?

o Jonah where is your compassion? ______________________________________________________________________________

a. This question should be asked by us all -- where is our compassion?i. Are we prideful?ii. Are we rebellious against God's commandments?

iii. Are we focused on our own desires and wants while people are living with no Hope?

iv. Are we full of hatred towards other nationalities or cultures?

April 1, 2020

For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God:wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye -- Ezekiel 18:24

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance -- 2 Peter 3:9

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth - I Timothy 2:4

References:

Callahan, Ryan. How Far is Jonah Run? Internet Blog. https://authorryanc.com/2018/09/19/how-far- did-jonah-run/.

The Henry Morris Study Bible. King James Version. Annotations by Henry M. Morris. Master Books Edition. 2012

The Open Bible. King James Version. Thomas Nelson; 1st edition (September 10, 2012)

Wilmington, H.L., The Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Enlarged - Revised edition (November 1, 2011)

Yates, John T., Faith Bible Institute Commentary Series. Volume 2. Faith Bible Institute Press. Monroe, LA. 8th Edition 2010