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What is up Vertical! Today we will start a 2 week series on the book of Jonah! So I know that many of you are probably hyper aware of the story of Jonah, so I need a volunteer that can come up here and tell me as many details as they remember from the story of Jonah in 60 secs. Here is the catch, tell me as much as you can remember in 60 sec.

Can you tell me the story of Jonah in 60 sec?

Nice. Give it up. Well done.

However, my hope is that while you may be super familiar with this story, that you would still be challenged.

As I study over this lesson, there are few background elements I want you to be aware of

Jonah is one of the minor prophets (because of length)

This book is written with a hyperbolic/satire theme but a historical book.

Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

What sets Jonah apart from the other prophetic books is the way the author wrote Jonah’s story. We don’t know who wrote Jonah or when it took place, but the way the author wrote is very unique and intentional. There are details that are blown up and made to feel huge. There are also moments that are so ridiculous that are meant to make you laugh. These are all on purpose and really happened.

There are two references to Jonah in

2 Kings 14:23-25 “23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25 He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.”

Matthew 12:39-41 “39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.”

One of the major themes of this book is how unexpected the characters act.

In fact, while Jonah is the prophet of God- He is acts with the worst attitudes and in a way that is reversed to what is expected.

So as we get into Jonah chapter 1, here is the main point:

Main Point: God’s call upon our lives does not guarantee our surrender to His better plan.

Let’s read together

Jonah 1:1-3 “1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

Jonah 1:1 “1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:”

Anytime a book starts with, “The word of the Lord came,” that tells us that this is a prophetic book. The purpose behind prophetic books is to deliver a message to God’s people that shows they are living in a way that is cutting them off from God’s goodness and offers a plan to correct their living.

However, this book is not about what Jonah said but about how he acted. The story of Jonah is meant to expose our hearts as we read the story of Jonah.

As you read on about Jonah’s life, you’ll find yourself booing Jonah more than cheering him on. He was a terrible human being and an even worse prophet.

No one acts like the readers of Jonah would expect. The prophet didn’t act like a prophet, the heathen sailors didn’t act like heathens, and the barbarian nation of Nineveh didn’t live up to their reputation. Everyone was the reverse of expectations.

Jonah 1:2 “2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.””

This second line sets Jonah apart from the other prophetic books even more because Jonah was not being sent to God’s people, but God’s people’s enemies. This was clearly outside of Jonah’s job description as a prophet. He likely wondered why God was concerned for His people’s enemies.

The Ninevites were a brutal people. They were savage warriors that had conquered most of the region. This was the same group of people that destroyed 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel. They skinned the leaders alive in front of the people before sending them into exile. To say Israel had a grudge would be putting it mildly.

Jonah had a plan for how his life should work. He needed to care for his people and bless Israel. Yet, God invited Jonah into the most scandalous movement of revival history has ever seen. So, what did Jonah do? (UNO REVERSE CARD)

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Jonah 1:3 “3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

So, Jonah’s intent was to get as far from Nineveh as was possible. This would be like you moving to Antarctica to avoid having an awkward conversation. Cue the laugh track because this is ridiculous.

“When you go your way, you never reach your destination and you always pay the fare. When you go God’s way, you always get to your destination and He pays the fare.” Skip Heitzig

God gave Jonah a task to go and condemn his enemies, but Jonah ran away. Why?

You would think that Jonah ran aways because this was inconvenient or scary, but no

Jonah ran because if the people of Nineveh repented, God would spare them.

Just show of hands, who here loves Jonah and agrees with how he’s behaving? Hopefully no one. If you look at Jonah’s character, we can see that Jonah was hard hearted, stubborn, prideful, and judgmental. Was he a good prophet? No. He was short sighted and only cared for the people in his circle and he had the inability of growing spiritually. He refused to allow God’s blessing to reach where it needed to, and through his actions, he didn’t get to experience God’s goodness.

So far the story goes: God Said God, Jonah Said No & God said oh?

Jonah 1:4-8 “4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?””

Jonah 1:9-12 “9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.””

Jonah 1:13-17 “13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. 17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

It’s easy to look at Jonah’s character and hate him. It’s even easier to laugh at how ridiculously he acted. But remember, this is a prophetic book. Prophetic books are meant to be a message from God on how His people need to change the way they are living or else they will be destroyed. But what if God wasn’t only trying to change the hearts of Nineveh? What if God was trying to change the heart of the readers? What if you are Jonah?

Does that make you uncomfortable? You would never classify yourself as stubborn or prideful. You would never think you would be judgmental and exclusive. But when we read the book of Jonah it’s like holding up a mirror.

Challange:

Psalm 139:23-24 “23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”