Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

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How many of you have ever “ran away” from home? (Share) I have one vivid memory of “running away” from home because I didn’t want to live under my mom’s rules – I didn’t want to do what my mom wanted me to do – so I packed a little bag and ran away from home to have a go on my own.

I didn’t think it through, I didn’t have a plan, and so I initially made it to the alley behind my house.

I made a lean-to shelter out of some wood and thought I could camp out beside the trash can for the long haul.

That didn’t last too long because I eventually walked to by grandpa and grandma’s house because I was hungry.

When I got she gave me a snack and I told her I had ran away from home never thinking she would call me mom to let her know I was there – eventually my mom came and picked me up and that was the end of my running away from home.

In some states it’s against the law to run away from home.

Need

Our lives can be marked by “running” away– We run way from home, some run away to avoid a fight, some run away in the middle of a fight (go for a drive), some people run away from the scene of a crime, and some people run away from their problems (avoid) – and we try to run away from God and what He wants us to do.

· How many of you have run away from home?

· How many of you have run away from God?

The OT records a story of a man who ran way from God – his name of Jonah – it’s a compelling story that reveals the heart of God and the need for God’s people to have their hearts aligned with His! How many of you have read the story of JONAH in one sitting?

Great!

I know our time in this book is going to teach us more about the OT book of Jonah but more importantly it’s going to transform our lives!

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, turn to the OT book of Jonah.

Today we begin a new series through the OT book of Jonah – the prophet who ran from God – and in this series through Jonah we’re going to find the answers to these questions and so much more.

In this series through Jonah we’re going to encounter the heart of God and have our rebellious hearts exposed in the hopes of having them aligned with His.

One of the great things about God is that He is ultimately after our hearts, He wants to transform our hearts of stone to hearts of clay that He can mold and shape, He wants to love Him with all of our hearts and make us like Jesus.

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This is the essence of the Christian life.

The name “Christian” in one sense means that we should be “little Christ’s.”

We need our hearts exposed and then transformed so we can reflect the heart of God in this world!

And today we’re going to begin a new series through the book of Jonah that will reveal where our heart does not reflect God’s heart, prompting a radical transformation of our hearts in very specific areas, so that they will be more like His!

I) A REBELIOUS PROPHET - RUNNING FROM GOD

I suspect the mere mention of Jonah conjures up childhood memories for those of you who were raised in the church – perhaps you were taught the story of Jonah in Sunday School with someone armed with a flannel graph that had Jonah and the whale (like this one).

Interestingly, Jonah is one of the few OT stories that is deemed worthy and appropriate to teach young children.

We don’t teach the book of Joel (we should because we could have a flannel graph of locusts & the fires of judgment), we don’t teach the book of Hosea (it’s difficult to flannel-graph God called this prophet to marry a prostitute), we don’t teach Habakkuk to our kids (hard to talk about questioning God) and yet they all have wonderful messages of God’s judgment & grace.

There are only a few approved prophets to teach in Sunday school—Daniel & the Lion’s den, Jonah and the whale, and perhaps the parts of Isaiah that talk about the promises of Jesus’ birth at Christmas time.

If we’re honest much of the OT remains foreign to us as adults and we don’t spend a lot of quality time reading and learning from the prophets aside what we learned in Sunday School when you were eight years old.

Some of you were taught the story of Jonah through the VeggieTales DVD.

For some of you this will be the first time you’ve heard, read, or been taught the story of Jonah.

Regardless of our history with this book, it’s vital for us to understand the it’s message and application to our lives as followers of Jesus in the 21st century.

Most of the buzz about Jonah is centered on the fish—the fish has all too often become one main character (sole focus) of the story – it’s what people remember about the story because let’s be honest a man surviving being swallowed by a fish is fascinating and yet the fish is also why some people think Jonah is a myth (not historical) because it’s non-sense to the rational mind.

We’ll address that as we go.

The problem with the fish getting all the press is that we miss the true hero and the life-changing message of the story.

The fish is not the point of the story.

In fact, the fish is only mentioned 4 times in the book, in constrast the city of Nineveh is mentioned 9 times, the prophet Jonah is mentioned 18 times, and God is mentioned 38 times, just be repetition alone we see the appropriate emphasis of the book.

Bible teacher G. Campbell Morgan has uttered these wise words “Men have been looking so hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God.”

The real hero of the book is God! Jonah is a wonderful story, it’s about so much more than a guy being swallowed by a fish, for this story ultimately is about God’s heart towards sinners and the need for His people to possess the same compassionate heart for sinners as His.

Its message is relevant and practical for kids and adults alike and I’m excited about rediscovering the wonderful truths in this divine drama together so that our hearts will be changed for His glory!

Before we consider the shocking events highlighted in the opening section of his story let’s begin with the Introduction/Background of the book.

Author: God is the author of the book of want us to continually cling to the inspiration of the Scriptures—the Bible is God-breathed—He is the author who used men to record His truth ()

Penman: The story begins with no explicit reference that identifies the penman of the book.

The title of the book is Jonah, it’s certainly a story about him but we don’t know with absolute certainty if the story was written by him.

Jonah either penned this book or he was the source and it was recorded by someone else.

Let’s get to know Jonah.

· Jonah’s name means “dove.”

Jonah is “the son of Amittai – a prophet from “Gath-Hepher – a village located north of Galilee ().

Jonah predicted the expansion of Israel to its former borders during the reign of Jeroboam II.

The OT prophets were men and women called by God to communicate His message to His people and the surrounding nations.

We have prophets that ministered throughout the history of Israel.

Prophets are classified in two primary ways – Major or Minor prophet - not a reference to their value but in relation to the length of the books.

Secondly, OT prophets have been classified as Pre-exilic, exilic, or Post-exilic- defining the period of history they ministered in (before Israel’s exile, during Israel’s exile, or after Israel’s exile).

· Jonah’s ministry as prophet would have been looked on unfavorable by many.

God’s choice to use Jonah would have been offensive to some.

Jonah’s lineage and upbringing reveals that he was a prophet from the Northern Kingdom.

Remember at this time in history the nation of Israel had divided into two separate kingdoms, the northern Kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah).

The people in the southern Kingdom of Judah would have questioned God calling a prophet who had split off as a rebel state and cut itself off from Davidic rule.

· Jonah is one of the few prophets mentioned in the NT and by Jesus.

Jonah is mentioned three times in the Gospels (, ,, & ).

Jesus’ mention of Jonah adds credibility to the interpretation of this book as historical fact and not a mere myth.

Date: Jonah’s prophetic ministry took place during the reign of Jeroboam II, the events in the Book of Jonah occurred between 782-753 B.C. (Eighth Century) but it was written down at a later date.

Jonah ministered during the same as Amos and Hosea.

Purpose/Theme: To teach Israel of the Yahweh’s heart of compassion & towards all sinners and remind the nation of her missionary purpose of telling others to repent so they might experience His salvation.

Jonah will cause us to see the heart of God – His relentless pursuit of sinners and compassion for sinners who repent (Nineveh & Jonah), and this book will cause us to examine our own hearts to see if they align/reflect God’s compassion for those who are far from Him.

Now with that as a backdrop let’s dig in the opening section that sets the stage for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the story.

(READ ) In we find a rebellious prophet running away from God’s call to preach to the people of Nineveh.

The opening section of this story opens with “A Divine Commission” that results in “A Prophet’s Rebellion.”

A) A Divine Commission (1:1-2)

The book begins with Yahweh’s “Divine Commission” (1:1-2).

We jump right into the plot of this story with Yahweh speaking to His prophet—“the word of the Lord came to Jonah”—God spoke to Jonah in order to reveal His divine will.

This is a common phrase (“the word of the Lord came to”) used over 100x in the OT when God called a prophet to deliver His message.

It seems foreign to us.

In we read that “long ago in many times and in many ways” God spoke to the Jewish people through the prophets (1:1).

We are not told how God spoke to Jonah.

In the OT we discover that God chose to speak to prophets in different ways.

In the past God spoke to people audible, through dreams & visions, in a still small voice (), and even through natural events like a whirlwind or earthquake (). is still speaking today, primarily through His Son Jesus by the presence of the Holy Spirt and through His written Word (Holy Scriptures).

Jonah was one of the few prophets in the OT who received direct revelation from God that revealed His divine will.

This is not the first time Jonah had received a “word from the Lord.” 2 Kings reveals that Jonah had prophesied to King Jeroboam – Jonah called the king to strengthen the border of Israel that had been weakened during conflicts with Assyria – King Jeroboam strengthened the border in response to Jonah’s message.

Yahweh had given Jonah messages to preach in the past and he listened and obeying God’s call.

In we discover “what” Yahweh said to Jonah— “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me”—this is Yahweh’s “Divine Commission” revealed to Jonah the prophet.

The urgency of the Lord’s call is sadly lost in the NIV translation but captured in other English translations.

· “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it (NASB)

· “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and call out against it (ESV)

· “Go immediately to Nineveh, the large capital city, and announce judgment against its people (NET)

· “Get up and go to the great city Nineveh and announce my judgement against it (NLT)

· “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh!

Preach to them (Message)

There are three imperatives (commands) in the Hebrews text—“Arise (stand),” “Go (walk),” and “Call out” (announce)—God called Jonah to get up and get going on the way to Nineveh!

The call to “arise” doesn’t mean he was literally “sitting down” when he received the word from the Lord but rather highlights the need for an urgent and immediate response!

God called Jonah to leave the land of Israel and head to the great city of Nineveh!

MAP Jonah’s journey would be over 500 miles NE from the land of Israel to the land of Assyria.

When you think of Nineveh think of modern day Northern Iraq.

There are two important descriptions of Nineveh.

First it’s called a “great” city.

Nineveh was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and one of the principle cities of the ancient Assyrian empire.

Its greatness was connected to its population and significance.

Nineveh became an important city under King Sennacherib’s reign as he fortified this city and for at time made it the capital of Assyria.

The term “greatness” also highlights the cities self-exaltation.

Sennacherib, the leader of this nation called himself “the great king” and this nation stood for all that was an affront to God.