Sermon Tone Analysis

God is Faithful to His Plan for Our Repentance and His Glory.

In the book of Jonah, his plan is to show mercy to the people of Nineveh and a few unlikely others along the way.

The author of Jonah is unknown.

Most likely written from someone who heard an account of his story from him.

This chapter is not short of drama.

The ESV Study Bible calls Jonah a ‘literary masterpiece.’

Jonah Flees the Presence of the LORD

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.” 3 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.

4 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.

5 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.

6 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.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

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.

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

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

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.

PRAY

Jonah Runs in Disobedience

Who is Jonah?

When did he live?

Historians place Jonah as living and preaching under the reign of Jeroboam II.

We see this in 2 Kings 14.

24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

Here we see God using Jonah to speak his Word to the people of Israel who are wicked under the reign of Jeroboam II.

Where is Nineveh?

What/Where is Joppa?

Where is Tarsus?

Nineveh is in the Assyrian Empire (600-800 MILES EAST).

The Assyrians are currently ruling but they are occupied elsewhere so Israel is under no direct threat from the Assyrians.

Joppa is a port city on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

It is roughly 2,400 miles from the Israeli side of the Mediterranean, to the Spanish side of the Mediterranean… which is where Tarsus is.

Jonah Flees the Presence of the LORD

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.” 3 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.

Jonah is already preaching to the wicked people in Israel and seems to be perfectly comfortable doing it.

Then God calls him to preach redemption to people who are wicked somewhere else, he runs from God’s command.

He doesn’t just sit still or avoid Nineveh, he tries to go thousands of miles in the opposite direction out of blatant disobedience.

God Uses Jonah’s Disobedience to Save Pagan Sinners

4 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.

5 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.

6 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.”

The other men don’t worship Yahweh.

Praying to their gods is not working.

Earthly means (throwing cargo overboard) is not working.

While the other men are trying to survive, sound asleep in the heart of the storm.

But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

6 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.”

Naturally, the other men are displeased when they find Jonah being useless in the bottom of the ship.

They’re all trying to survive and the other guy isn’t even conscious.

It sounds like Jonah and I are similar types of sleepers.

As parents of an infant, my wife understands this very well.

But I would hope that if I was directly disobeying God, I would be a little less comfortable with my sin than Jonah is.

I would hope I wouldn’t be comfortable enough to sleep in the bottom of a ship in the middle of a nasty storm.

Now that Jonah is awake, the men do what pagans do when they don’t know what else to do.

Revert back to earthly means: casting lots.

A game of chance.

(Dice, Drawing Straws, Flipping a Coin, etc.)

God can use worldly means to work out his plan.

It wasn’t really a game of chance, the winner (or loser depending on how you look at it) has been chosen before they ever started the game.

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.

Once the lot falls upon Jonah, the men immediately begin questioning Jonah to find out how they can survive this storm.

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.

After they establish who Jonah was through the questions, they become fearful.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? THE GOD OF ISRAEL?!?”

They are fearful because they know who the God of the Hebrews is and what he has done.

Another place we see this is in the book of Joshua where Rahab hides the Israelite spies.