Jonah 3

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 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. 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. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly 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. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 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.

Ask: “What did God do in this story?”… “Why did God do what He did?”

Introduction to Jonah (8 Min.)

Jonah: Myth or History?

Jonah holds contextual evidence in scripture, mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 placing him in the early 8th century, and is referenced by Christ in Matthew 12

We will be reading Jonah with this lens: The account of Jonah is historical and holds symbolic themes

Jonah is a “Minor Prophet”

The “Minor Prophets”

A “Minor Prophet” is one of the 12 prophets recognized in the Jewish text called “The Book of the Twelve”. These twelve prophets are called “Minor Prophets” because of the length of the prophetic books in comparison to the longer prophetic texts we identify as “Major Prophets”.

Difference in Genre

We’ve been diving into “epistles” or letters to new testament churches for over a year now. Today, we are opening the book of Jonah which is unique in that it fits the genre of NARRATIVE and PROPHECY.

PROPHECY is a genre typically seen with the “Major Prophets” and the “Minor Prophets”. God uses a messenger to relay a particular message to a particular people, typically, God’s chosen people.

NARRATIVE is “telling a story”. There are people in particular places at certain times. About 40% of the Bible is made up of NARRATIVE. With NARRATIVE, we must discern what is Prescriptive vs Descriptive

Humpty Dumpty Example

Let’s do an exercise: Close your eyes, and imagine exactly what I say to you…

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Who imagined Humpty Dumpty as a big egg?

Describe woman’s issues with the Bible… Nativity scene, Noah’s Ark… All her imagination and cultural norms being introduced to her “interpretation” of scripture

If we are poor students of the Word,

we will be poor representatives of its Author

FCF: “We have been commissioned, we have disobeyed”…?

Can you imagine if God had sent us without the Helper?… if God was a passive player in salvation, sending us to reach the lost and estranged?

Theological Implications (Chapter 1)

Jonah 1:1–3 ESV

Map of Jonah’s Travels

Jonah sets out to travel the complete opposite direction of where God has called him

>> Do you know how hard travel was back then?? Jonah was ready to completely change his LIFE to avoid this calling!

Nineveh was an Assyrian City

The Assyrians were a fierce people… “Bad dudes”

(1) God calls Jonah to warn the Ninevites, and Jonah willfully disobeys (v. 1-3)

(a) Can we resist the “call” of the LORD? >> Of course! That’s what sin is! (“General Call”)

(b) Does God call us to do things we are unable to do? >> No, God creates us and calls us for His particular purposes, empowering us for great works

(c) Does God call us to do things we ought not do? >> No, God has purposes and plans for our lives for His Glory and the ultimate Good of ourselves and our neighbors

(2) God wills for Nineveh to be warned of the consequences of their rebellion (v. 2)

(a) Does God care about the rebellious peoples of the World? >> Of course! He has sent his Messenger on your behalf, hasn’t He?

(b) Does God punish righteous people? >> Only Christ on our behalf

(c) Does God withhold His wrath from unrighteous people? >> No, He doesn’t. That’s why those who are in Christ identify themselves so closely with Him! In Christ we share in His life, death, and resurrection

Jonah 1:4–15 ESV

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. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly 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. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

(3) God intervenes using natural means to thwart Jonah’s disobedience (fleeing) (v.4-15)

(a) Does God have power to make us do things? >> Of course! God is all powerful and does not know defeat. Even the cross of Christ, what some view as an ultimate moment of defeat, is Christ’s “Royal Coronation Ceremony” >> Christ is crowned, robed in purple, “high and lifted up”, proclaimed and labeled as “King of the Jews”, and completes this saying, “It is finished” (For more on this, see the book The Crucified King)

(b) Can we escape the presence of the LORD? >> Of course not! God is omnipresent

(c) Does our disobedience to God effect us solely? >> No, the sailors were surely as involved in the storm invoked by God as Jonah was. AND, the consequences of Jonah’s disobedience would have been led to their destruction!

Jonah 1:16 ESV

Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

(4) God converts the pagan sailors (v. 16)

(a) God uses every circumstance for His glory and our Good!… Have you ever been caught in the crossfire of God’s redeeming work?

Jonah 1:17 ESV

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.

(5) God sends the “great fish” to swallow Jonah (v. 17)

(a) Every story is pointing to the greater Story (Matthew 12:40, Luke 11:30)

(b) Again, God will not be thwarted.

Of course! God is all powerful and does not know defeat. Even the cross of Christ, what some view as an ultimate moment of defeat, is Christ’s “Royal Coronation Ceremony” >> Christ is crowned, robed in purple, “high and lifted up”, proclaimed and labeled as “King of the Jews”, and completes this saying, “It is finished” (For more on this, see the book The Crucified King)

What Good News it is, that God is merciful toward the disobedient, God cannot be thwarted, and God has sent his great prophet, Jesus, on our behalf

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