Read the story

Pre-text

Psalm 119:162 “I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.”

Spoil

Great writers

Great storytellers!!

Opening Question: Favorite class in school?

anyone’s English?

When we read the story…

1. Identify questions

Jonah 1:1 “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,”

Who?

When?

Haggai 1:1 “In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:”

Who? ➡️ Haggai

When? ➡️ Second year…

To whom? ➡️ Zerubbabel…

This came out of nowhere

Jonah isn’t identified as a prophet here

1A. Find answers in parallels

Where is Jonah found elsewhere?

2 Kings 14.23—27

Much evil (time of Amos)

Jereboam was doing evil

Hosea 7.3

Amos 7.12—13

Where is this at?

Assyrians were brutal and wicked but Jonah was a national hero:

2 Kings 14:23–27 LEB

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, reigning forty-one years. But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin. He restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-Hamath up to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-Hepher. For Yahweh saw that the misery of Israel was very bitter, whether bond or free, but there was no helper for Israel. Yahweh did not decree to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.

Who are the characters?

Jonah

God

Jonah 1:2 ““Get up! Go to the great city Nineveh and cry out against her, because their evil has come up before me.””

What is being asked?

Action: 3 imperative verbs

Arise and Go (similar to 1 Kings (Elijah) and Jeremiah) and cry

Location: To Nineveh?!

Shock 1: God sends judgments and warnings to Israel, not other nations!

Shock 2: Nineveh?

Genesis 10.8—11 shows this is where Assyria was founded!

2. Get into the story

What is Jonah thinking?

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah set out to flee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.”

Jonah arose and went… away

From the presence of the Lord repeated…

Went down repeated…

Tarshish repeated…

3. Think about the plot

3A Setting

Map out

Jonah went in the opposite direction as far as he could… and paid what he needed to!

How far away?

Isaiah 66:19 LEB

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow; Tubal and Javan, the faraway coastlands that have not heard of my fame, and have not seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations,

Jonah 1:4 “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up.”

Great wind just like great city

3B Characters

Jonah 1:5 “Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep.”

New characters: afraid

They hurl the cargo

Prayer

Panic

Fear

Jonah goes down (physically and spiritually)

Isaiah 14.15 same language about going down to death

3C Conflict

Jonah 1:6 “The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.””

Arise! and call out

Jonah literally cannot get away from the words of God!

Jonah 1:7 “The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.”

Casting lots = common practice

Jonah 1:8 “Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?””

First time Jonah speaks:

Jonah 1:9 ““I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.””

I fear the Lord? does he?

Jonah 1:10 “Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.”

Men feared with a great fear

fleeing from the Lord (they could tell)

Jonah 1:11–12 “Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.””

pick me up and hurl me

Why does Jonah say this?

Jonah thinks he deserves death?

Jonah wants to die

Jonah 1:13 “Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.”

they want him to live more than he does!

Jonah 1:14 “Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.””

this is what Jonah should be doing!

Believing and praying to the God of Israel, not their gods they started with.

They are afraid they will die if they kill a prophet of the Lord

3D Climax and Resolution

Jonah 1:15 “So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.”

This is what disobedience to God leads!

How does this feel for you

How does this feel for those around you

Jonah 1:16 “Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”

feared with Lord with great fear!

Mark 4.41 the disciples are filled with great fear because of Him who controls the wind and the waves

Jonah is literally the anti-ministry

end of chapter 1:

Shockingly disobedient Israelite

Shockingly transformed gentiles

Takeaways/ moral of the story

What we learn about God

His wrath is real… but His mercy is relentless

The storm is severe, but God also shows severe mercy

What we learn about us

It is possible to have a faith in God without having true fear of God.

What we learn about the world

God will draw the nations to know and worship Him

Psalm 46:10 CSB

“Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

Revelation 7:9 CSB

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.