Sermon Tone Analysis

Leader Guide ESV, Unit 14, Session 1

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Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A., Jan. 2023.

Summary and Goal

The covenant that God made with Abraham had the nations in mind, not just Israel (Gen.

12:3).

The story of the prophet Jonah reveals the heartbeat of God for rebellious people, both those within the nation of Israel, who had received His law and promises, and also those who had not heard of Him and were engaged in idolatry and great evil.

God pursues the hearts of people from all tribes, tongues, and nations, and He delights to use His people—His sinful, rebellious, yet redeemed people—to do it.

In His perfect will, God uses former rebels to reach present rebels.

Session Outline

++God pursues (Compassion) a rebellious people and prophet (Jonah 1:1-4,17).

++God extends mercy (Compassion) to a rebellious people and prophet (Jonah 2:10–3:5,10).

++God reveals His patient love (Compassion) for a rebellious people and prophet (Jonah 4:1,8-11).

Background Passage: Jonah

According to 2 Kgs 14:25, Jonah was from Gath Hepher in the territory of Zebulun (cf.

Josh 19:13) in the Northern Kingdom, and he prophesied during or shortly before the time of Jeroboam II (793–753 B.C.).

Before that king’s reign, Israel was being tormented by the Syrians, whose successes against them were the result of Israel’s sins (cf. 2 Kgs 13:1–3).

Israel was protected from conquest, however, in response to the pleas of King Jehoahaz (814–798 B.C.) when God sent “a deliverer” (2 Kgs 13:5), whom many interpret to have been King Adad-nirari of Assyria (810–783).

The prophet Jonah, a successor of Elisha, then promised that these victories would continue for Jehoash’s son Jeroboam II, whom the Lord would enable to restore Israel’s ancient boundaries.

But Israel’s successes, the author of Kings explains, came not as a result of their faithful obedience but rather the Lord’s compassion (2 Kgs 13:4, 23; 14:26–27) in spite of Israel’s sin (2 Kgs 13:2, 6, 11; 14:24).

Session in a Sentence

God’s love and mercy extend to all people and are expressed through His sending of messengers to proclaim forgiveness and life through Him.

++In His perfect will, God uses former rebels to reach present rebels.

Christ Connection

Jonah was a prophet who rejected God’s call, ran from his enemies, and eventually obeyed grudgingly.

Jesus followed God’s call, loved His enemies, and obeyed joyfully (Heb.

12:2).

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Missional Application

Because we were enemies who received God’s grace and mercy, we break down walls and put to death our prejudices as we share the news that forgiveness is available through repentance and faith in Christ.

DDG (p.

48)

Perhaps you have heard the story about a man being swallowed up by a big fish and living to tell the tale.

Immediately this conjures up thoughts of fables and campfire stories.

So, what are we to make of this story?

Is the Book of Jonah just a fairy tale with a good moral, or is it more?

Can we really believe in extraordinary stories like this?

· Do we really believe that God sent a storm upon a boat and that the sailors were so desperate they tossed a man into the sea to stop it?

· Is it truly plausible that a giant fish came by at just the right time and swallowed this man up but somehow didn’t bite him or kill him with stomach acid?

And three days later spat him out on a beach?

The most miraculous part of Jonah’s story isn’t the fact that a large fish swallowed him and he somehow lived.

The part that should overwhelm us with awe, wonder, and shock is where a great and holy God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, has mercy on sinners, or even cares about us at all.

Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninevites—these were people God pursued, and God is intent on working in the hearts of rebels just like them and turning them into worshipers.

The covenant that God made with Abraham had the nations in mind, not just Israel (Gen.

12:3).

The story of the prophet Jonah reveals the heartbeat of God for rebellious people, both those within the nation of Israel, who had received His law and promises, and also those who had not heard of Him and were engaged in idolatry and great evil.

God pursues the hearts of people from all tribes, tongues, and nations, and He delights to use His people—His sinful, rebellious, yet redeemed people—to do it.

In His perfect will, God uses former rebels to pursue present rebels.

God calls everyone, no matter what walk of life you are from.

God uses everyone, no matter what kind of person you are.

God’s compassion is for all people, everywhere.

God doesn’t need a certain kind of person out of the masses, He creates a certain kind of people out of the masses.

God doesn’t need leaders, He needs followers.

Point 1: God pursues (Compassion) a rebellious people and prophet (Jonah 1:1-4,17).

Read Jonah 1:1-4,17 (DDG p. 49).

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.

So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

.............................................

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

DDG (p.

49)

When the word of God came to Jonah to preach a message to Nineveh, he ran.

This command of God came to his ears and his heart’s response was rebellion.

What this revealed about Jonah was that he, like every Ninevite, was a sinner.

His status as an Israelite, his calling as a prophet, his previous acts of obedience—none of these things made it easy for him to obey this command.

He would rather leave his home and sail for the ends of the earth than obey God in this.

· The Ninevites: Nineveh was a prominent city in Assyria.

This nation never had the Mosaic law, the prophets, or any covenants from God given to them, so their disobedience, in some sense, was in ignorance (they were not wholly ignorant since God has made Himself known to His creation; see Rom. 1:18-25).

Yet God was aware of their evil and set to judge them for it.

They were sinners in need of a Savior.

· Jonah: As an Israelite, Jonah knew the God who had created the heavens and the earth.

He knew about God’s holiness and His promises to His people.

But nothing of what he knew—his precious theology that he carried in his mind—was enough to give him a heart that would trust and obey this command of God.

Jonah too was a sinner and in need of a Savior.

· Just as the Ninevites’ past ignorance of God’s laws didn’t exempt them from God’s present standard of righteousness, all of Jonah’s past obedience didn’t exempt him from God’s command for present obedience.

When it comes to rebelling against God, both Jonah and the Ninevites were guilty, and accordingly, both needed the pursuit of God’s grace.

Ask:

What are some reasons God’s commands may cause us to run and hide from His presence?

(they challenge our pride; they call us out of our comfort zone; they may require us to show love to our enemies; we don’t trust God; they prohibit what we desire; they highlight our sinfulness)

DDG (p.

49)

Jonah had faithfully served God as a prophet in Israel (2 Kings 14:25).

But suddenly, God’s message came and Jonah’s immediate response was to run from God’s presence, and not for the reason we might think.

Jonah feared going to Nineveh, but it wasn’t for his own life or the possibility that no one would repent in response to his preaching.

His fear was tied to believing that God could actually spare such evil people (Jonah 4:1-2).

· Nineveh was known for its vicious and violent ways against any who would oppose them, and they had already oppressed the Israelites in war and in tribute payments.

1 To obey God’s will in this situation would not only have been dangerous to Jonah’s well-being but to his reputation as a prophet of Israel as well.

What would the Israelites say if Jonah went to extend grace to these enemies?

Application: Every Christian, whether having recently come to the faith or faithfully walked with Jesus for decades, will likely encounter something sooner or later in God’s Word that will cause him or her to run rather than obey.

We may be able to point to many of God’s commands that we are wholeheartedly willing to obey and perhaps have for many years, but God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa.

55:8-9), and eventually, we too will come face to face with a command of God that we will find objectionable or scary.

Like Jonah, we don’t disobey God without reason; we will likely have lots of excuses and justifications for why we can’t obey.

But disobedience with “a good reason” is still disobedience.

Because God’s love for you is like God’s love for Jonah, He will not leave you in your disobedience.

When it comes to disobedience and our running away from God’s presence, the biggest thing we ought to fear is not a great storm but a calm and peaceful sea.

As long as there is a storm raging to bring us back to obedience and back to God’s presence, there is hope in the midst of our rebellion.

The discipline of Jonah continued until he confessed his sin and committed to obey the difficult command of God (Jonah 2:1-9).

Ask:

What must be true about God, when He pursues those who rebel against Him for reconciliation and obedience?

(He is love; He is gracious and kind; He is willing to forgive; He hates sin; He desires to use sinners to accomplish His will; He is patient; He desires peace between Himself and humanity; He has a plan to atone for the sins of sinners and to satisfy His wrath and judgment against sin)

Point 2: God extends mercy (Compassion) to a rebellious people and prophet (Jonah 2:10–3:5,10).

Read Jonah 2:10–3:5,10 (DDG p. 50).

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

3:1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.