JONAH PART 2

The Evil of Nineveh (Verses 1-2)

Discuss the wickedness of Assyria/Nineveh.

“The Assyrians were notorious for their cruelty that included cutting off hands, feet, ears, noses, gouging out eyes, lopping off heads, impaling bodies, and peeling the skin off living victims” — Walter A. Maier

Amos 5:27 “and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.”

Hosea 11:5 “They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.”

Hosea 13:16 “Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.”

Nahum 3:1 “Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!”

Nahum 3:19 “There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?”

Jonah Flees From the Lord (Verse 3)

Nineveh was about 550 miles northeast of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. It was located on the east bank of the Tigris River. It is located in modern day Mosul, Iraq. Tarshish is thought to be on the southern tip of Spain. So Jonah was going about 2500 miles in the opposite direction.

Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Psalm 139:7-12 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

Jeremiah 23:23-24 ““Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”

Psalm 94:7-9 “and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?”

Psalm 139:1-6 “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

Jonah’s Comfort in the Midst of the Storm and the Call to Wake Up (Verses 4-6)

Man is unique in creation. They are the only ones that say “No” when God commands.

Proverbs 8:29 “when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,”

Job 38:11 “and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?”

Are we refusing to obey the clear command that the Lord has given us?

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Mark 16:15-16 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Luke 24:46-48 “and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

John 20:21 “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.””

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Let us wake up from the slumber of disobedience.

“It is the policy of Satan, when by his temptations he has drawn men from God and their duty, to rock them asleep in carnal security, that they may not be sensible of their misery and danger. It concerns us all to watch therefore.” — Matthew Henry

“Thus the prophet, who was sent to rebuke the greatest monarch in the world, is himself rebuked by a shipmaster, and a Heathen man.” — John Gill

1 Corinthians 15:34 “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”

Romans 13:11 “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”

1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”