Overturned

The Book of Jonah is more than just a Sunday school story.

It’s more than just a story about a man who ran away from God.

I hear stories all the time about men running away from their calling, and I tend to think to myself “they had the ability to run???”

How does that work?

The book of Jonah isn’t about the fact that Jonah ran.

It’s about why he did.

It’s a story (a true story) about fear, injustice, sonship and sovereignty.

Hebrew scholar Robert Adler calls the book of Jonah “An enchanting story as well as the shaking up of the entire theological world.”

I’ve studied the book of Jonah since I was in 2nd grade and it has astonished me!

Out of all the prophets listed in the biblical cannon, Jonah is by far my favorite.

Why??? Let me show you!

Open up your Bibles to Jonah 3:1.

Jonah 3:1–4 ESV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 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. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

Let’s pray.

The Anomaly

Jonah was unique. He was unique because other prophets spoke oracles against foreign nations, but Jonah alone is sent to deliver a message in person.

He had no desire to. In fact, he would rather abandon his assignment all together if he had to, and he did.

God asked Jonah to deliver a message to a hostile nation!

It would be like sending a Jewish speaker to deliver moral exhortations to the germans in Berlin in 1936.

What God assigned Jonah to do was no easy task!

You see here’s the interesting things about prophets. They’re assigned!!!

They are chosen! (Elaborate)

Isaiah was sent. (Elaborate on Isaiah 6).

But Jonah didn’t want to be sent.

Here are three interesting aspects of the book of Jonah.

Jonah went overboard. Jonah 1:17.

Jonah preached that the Ninevites would be overthrown. Jonah 3:4.

But then God overturned Jonah’s Decree that he gave him?

Jonah was an anomaly....

“It is strange that such a good man as Jonah should fall into such a foolish state of mind. But God still has a great many unwise children. You can easily find one if you look in the right place—I mean, in a mirror. We are all foolish at times, and it should be remembered that although Jonah was foolish and wrong in certain respects, there is this redeeming trait in his character—we might never have known the story of his folly if he had not written it himself. It shows what a truehearted man the prophet was, that he unveiled his real character in this book. Biographies of men are seldom truthful because the writers cannot read the hearts of those whom they describe. But if they could read them, they would not like to print what they would see there. But here is a man, inspired of God to write his own biography, and he tells us of this sad piece of folly—and does not attempt in the least degree to mitigate the evil of it.” - Charles H. Spurgeon

Five Word Message

Jonah preached a five-word message to the Ninevites.

That’s literally it!

This message has generated discussion among scholars because of its ambiguous nature.

The ambiguity arises from the use of the Hebrew word haphakh.

Haphakh - translated as “overthrown” in most versions of Jonah 3:4, the word can also mean “turn around” or “reform.”

“Overthrown” is the same verb used for God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jonah 3:4) Evil and disaster in verse 10 are terms that both translates as “ra’ah” in Hebrew which correlates a close connection between human action and divine response.

Alexander (1988, 133–34) considers the message recounted in Jonah 3:4 to be a summary: “In all likelihood Jonah probably addressed those he encountered at greater length than this.” He notes that the verb haphakh, “overturn,” is also used to describe the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:25; Lam 4:6; Amos 4:11). It can mean “to overturn,” but it can also mean “to turn around” or “transform.” Given these different connotations, he considers the use of the word in Jonah’s message “hardly accidental.”

Jonah 3:4 ESV

4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

It was five words!!!!!!

There was no debate!

No debacle!

No Persecution!

No persuasion!

Not like Paul and King Agrippa!

He became the most successful prophet in history other than Jesus Christ!

Through God Jonah did the impossible and he didn’t even know it!

In fact, he didn’t even want to be there!

When God first gave him the task he ran!

Jonah 1:1–2 ESV

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Overboard

Here’s another thing about the prophet’s of God...

They have a duty!

Mackay (1998, 22) says the expression “the presence of Yahweh” was particularly associated with the land of promise. It was in Israel that Yahweh had revealed himself to his people, and “being there before the LORD was the place of the prophet’s duty.” By leaving Israel, Jonah may have hoped he was escaping his prophetic commission.

What Mackay is referring to is the theological concept known as sacred space.

Jonah was no dummy!

He knew he couldn’t run away from God!

He was running away from his assignment, or better yet he was running away from himself.

Jonah 1:7–15 ESV

7 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. 8 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?” 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Was he lying in verse 9? Did he fear the Lord. The answer is yes. Here’s why.

Jonah wasn't afraid of the storm. He knew where it came from. Isn’t that interesting???

Also Jonah wasn’t afraid of the god’s like the mariners.

What About Free Willy?

Jonah 1:17 ESV

17 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.

What about free will one may ask?

Did Jonah have a free will?

Jonah had free will and he got free Willy.

Prophet’s can’t out run their destiny.

The bigger the fish the bigger the assignment.

Some translations, including the International Standard Version, use the phrase “large sea creature.” Children’s Bible stories say it was a whale—and some Bible commentators say Leviathan was a whale.

In fact, it is a great interest to commentators concerning the choice of a fish for the rescue and the significance of “three days and three nights” as the duration of Jonah’s time in the fish. The dominant view is that the great fish would have brought to mind the great sea monster Leviathan and Yahweh’s absolute control over the terrifying creature associated with chaos

Which leads us to this question?

“Who is Leviathan?

This spirit is mentioned in the Bible repeatedly and even made its way into the dictionary. Merriam-Webster defines Leviathan as “a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accounts; a large sea animal; the political state: a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy; something large or formidable.”

According to Eastman’s Bible Dictionary, leviathan is a transliterated Hebrew word (livyathan), meaning “twisted,” “coiled.” The dictionary reveals: “In Job 3:8, Revised Version, and marg. of Authorized Version, it denotes the dragon which, according to Eastern tradition, is an enemy of light; in 41:1 the crocodile is meant; in Psalms 104:26 it ‘denotes any large animal that moves by writhing or wriggling the body, the whale, the monsters of the deep.’”

Did Jonah open himself up to a Leviathan attack through his self-righteous pride and rebellion?”

“Someone who is under Leviathan’s influence sees him or herself as more discerning, more anointed, more eloquent, more revelatory, more important and, otherwise, well, more spiritual than you. Some of the ways spiritual pride manifests include self-righteousness, hypercritical attitudes, hypocrisy, scorning correction or guidance, putting on pretenses, and false humility.” - Jennifer Leclaire

Talk about Job.

Talk about Moby Dick.

Roop (2002, 125) says that since “three days and three nights” was how long it took to journey from the land of the living to the land of the dead, Jonah completes that journey when he is hurled overboard. God uses the fish to turn that journey around and take Jonah from the land of the dead to the land of the living.

Yet in his flight and disobedience, Jonah demonstrates how undeserving he is of Yahweh’s mercy and grace.

God uses Jonah, in his rebellion and eventual obedience, to show his compassion to others—first the sailors and then the Ninevites.

The fish itself is secondary, but it demonstrated to the prophet that God’s love is operative in a world under divine control.

Adulterous Generation

Matthew 12:38–41 (ESV)

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Adultery is widely used in the Bible as a metaphor for sin and unfaithfulness to God (e.g., Isa 57:3; Ezek 16:32; Hos 1–3; Jas 4:4).

Jonah’s rescue from the great fish was a sign that the prophet and his message were from God. Similarly, the ultimate sign validating Jesus would be His triumph over death (Matt 12:40).

Three days and three nights See note on Luke 24:1.

They repented at the proclamation of Jonah In contrast to many of Jesus’ contemporaries, the recipients of Jonah’s message—who were Assyrians, the enemy of God’s people—repented. See Jonah 3.

Hear, O Israel!

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

In 6:4, the affirmation of loyalty to Yahweh in this verse is traditionally called the “Shema” from this opening call to attention, which in Hebrew is shema’ yisra’el.

The Shema represents the greatest commandment of Judaism and Christianity, as it represents God’s expectation that God’s people will remain wholly loyal to him.

Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique The four Hebrew words used here represent the core confession of belief in Yahweh as the one true God. However, the syntactic relationship of these four Hebrew words—yhwh elohenu yhwh echad—presents a complicated translation issue.

These four words can be understood as a single clause or as two separate clauses.

In 6:5, the Hebrew terms levav (often translated “heart”) and nephesh (often translated “soul”) do not refer to separate components of the human person. Rather, the terms overlap in meaning, conveying the internal life, dispositions, emotions, and intellect.

The Hebrew word here is not a noun but an adverb meaning “exceedingly.” This description of love of Yahweh thus implies totality: as Yahweh is undivided unity and alone worthy of worship, so the Israelites must have undivided loyalty to Him.

This is the reason why Jonah hated Nineveh so much! They were disloyal, evil people.

They were underserving!

Jonah had no concept of mercy and grace. He though Yahweh had lost his mind!

I mean have you read Exodus!?

Have you read the accounts of Jeremiah or Nehemiah? Or Sodom and Gomorrah!? I mean these prophets pleaded and cried out to God and destruction still came! And then you Jonah!

Jonah stepped into the dispensation of grace (spiritually speaking) and didn’t even have a clue!

What God was doing was never seen before!

Jonah could’t even wrap his head around it!

Talk about Christ and the Cross!

That’s was Jonah Ran!

Was he rejecting Yahweh?

NO

Or was he just abandoning his assignment?

YES!

WHY!?

No matter what… Jonah was going to lose, and he didn’t know why.

He didn’t understand the kingdom realm and he didn’t under stand grace. It was a foreign element.

Jonah was a faithful son and only a son or daughter can know God in an intimate way.

Here’s the thing.

Jonah was either going to be looked upon as a false prophet if his prophecy failed to come to pass.

Or he would die at the hands of Israel’s enemies.

Or he would see a city filled with enemy’s of God get saved.

Either way Jonah lost.

And he was mad about it!

It was a no win situation.

It was an impossible task.

Jonah was at the end of himself.

The pagans got rid of their “evil” and God got rid of their “disaster.”

It got overturned!

Man! That can preach!

The Worm and the Plant.

Jonah 4:9–11 ESV

9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

God provided both.

Should we not be concerned when lost people do not even know they are lost?

Should we not be more concerned about such people than we are about our own comfort?

The Depth of God’s Love.

Many say he was unable or unwilling to reconcile his knowledge of who God is with who he thought he should be.

Conclusion: God didn’t use one man to save 120,000 people. God saved 120,000 people in order to save one man.

The Real Prophets!

Hebrews 11:32-38 (TPT)

32 And what more could I say to convince you? For there is not enough time to tell you of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

33 Through faith’s power they conquered kingdoms and established true justice. Their faith fastened onto their promises and pulled them into reality! It was faith that shut the mouth of lions,

34 put out the power of raging fire, and caused many to escape certain death by the sword. In their weakness their faith imparted power to make them strong! Faith sparked courage within them and they became mighty warriors in battle, pulling armies from another realm into battle array.

35 Faith-filled women saw their dead children raised in resurrection power.Yet it was faith that enabled others to endure great atrocities. They were stretched out on the wheel and tortured, and didn’t deny their faith in order to be freed, because they longed for a more honorable and glorious resurrection!

36 Others were mocked and experienced the most severe beating with whips; they were in chains and imprisoned.

37 Some of these faith champions were brutally killed by stoning, being sawn in two or slaughtered by the sword. These lived in faith as they went about wearing goatskins and sheepskins for clothing. They lost everything they possessed, they endured great afflictions, and they were cruelly mistreated.

38 They wandered the earth living in the desert wilderness, in caves, on barren mountains and in holes in the earth. Truly, the world was not even worthy of them, not realizing who they were.

The real prophet’s go unseen. Unnoticed.

Why because God get’s all the glory.

They are men and woman who forsake their former lives and reject every form of idolatry.

Jonah was not an Idolater!

He didn’t understand the heart of God.

The real prophet’s are found if they’re found at all. On their knee’s.