"JONAH STUDY-WEEK FOUR"

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

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

>>>God gives Jonah same command as 1:1

*First time since then God has spoken.

*“Called out” is “proclaim”/“announce”

*Message God says is not made known.

JONAH 3:3 “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.”

>>> “So Jonah” means this time Jonah obeyed God’s commandment.

>>>His journey to Nineveh could have taken about a month on foot.

What is meant by the word “exceedingly”?

>>>“Exceedingly” is same word that is used for “God” or other deity. Also translated “a great city to God”. Even God noticed the size of the city.

*Size

*Power

NINEVEH WAS A GOD-SIZED PROBLEM.

>>>It would take three days-either length to walk it or how long it would take Jonah to preach.

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JONAH 3:4-5 “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”

>>>(v.4) Jonah only walked one day.

*Potential options: Lazy/half-hearted/Just began preaching/Took whole first day to preach.

>>>Message was Nineveh being overthrown in forty days.

*Forty days implies impending judgment.

What does the Bible say about impending (coming) judgment?

*ACTS 17:30-31 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.””

*ROMANS 2:5-9 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,”

*“Overthrown” can mean “overthrow to ruin” or “turn” as in change of heart.

NINEVEH COULD BE DESTROYED OR TRANSFORMED.

>>>This could have been God’s message all along.

*DEUTERONOMY 29:23 “the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath—”

*DEUTERONOMY 23:5 “But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.”

>>>Last time Jonah is mentioned for rest of chapter. There is also no other record of him preaching past this one day.

>>>(v.5) Nineveh believes in God/turns to Him. It essentially only took one day.

*Jonah’s message never mentions God, repentance, or sin, yet God still is somehow made known to them.

>>>The threat of being overthrown caused Nineveh to repent.

JUDGMENT CAN CAUSE REPENTANCE.

>>>Everyone from all walks of life put on sackcloth to mourn as they realize their need for God.

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JONAH 3:6-9 “The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.””

>>>The message “reached” the King of Nineveh

*“reached” means “strike”. This word is used many times referring to God’s divine affect on people. This message of judgment struck the heart of the king.

>>>The king fully humbled himself. The great city was literally on its knees.

>>>(v.7-8) The king called on the whole city-including the animals-to fast and call out to God.

*This is the same use of “call out” as the sailors turning to God.

*The word “mightily” meant “with intensity”.

*There was great remorse over sin.

What is different between the king’s response (v.7-8) and the people’s response (v. 5)?

>>>The king admits the sin of the people-evil and violent.

*People believed.

*King repented.

*These two are linked

REPENTANCE OF SIN IS FOLLOWED BY BELIEVING GOD.

*MARK 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””

>>>(v.9) There was belief that God could turn from His wrath and spare the city.

>>>Their evil was the cause of God’s wrath.

SIN DESERVES WRATH.

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JONAH 3:10 “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

>>>God saw Nineveh’s repentance and had mercy-sparing His wrath.

SIN CAN RECEIVE MERCY.

>>>Mercy is not receiving what is deserved.

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NO ONE IS BEYOND SAVING.

>>>God pursues all of us.

>>>He only “gives people up” when they continue to resist, but they are still offered the gift of salvation.

>>>Some of you are here under the mercy and grace of God-He’s pursuing you!

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What do you personally learn from Nineveh’s revival?