Its a pretty bad day for a prophet when those whom he is supposed to address, must turn and call, First there comes the pointed question, What are you doing asleep?. Being a king, he understood authority and sovereignty (cf. The great majority of it. The power of Gods word is revealed by the peoples response. Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish. Some things must ultimately be left to God. The Psalmist wrote God founded the earth upon the seas (Psalm 24.1-2). - Jonah is a book about a man that was facing the exact same issue we are raising this morning. if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. The city of Nineveh is represented in Cuneiform by a symbol of a fish within a house. After his whale of a ride, a ride in which he must experience the full depths and acidic truth of his sinfulness, Jonah is finally delivered by God right back to the shore of Joppa where it all began. Instead, he told them to throw him into the sea. His scoffing and defiance likely result from hatred or excessive nationalism. The Lord upbraided their lack of faith (Mark 4.40; Luke 8.25) but Jonahs sailors became believers. It is a prayer well worth careful study. It reveals Gods greatness and mans pettiness. They seem to fear God more than he does! 4So I said, I have been expelled from Your sight. The Lord then taught Jonah about His love for the people of Nineveh. He is the God of the second chance. It may be that he is trying to die again (first time by drowning, now by dehydration). The belief that temporal calamities are often connected with the . 10God prepared () a fish (Jonah 1.17), a gourd (Jonah 4.6), a worm (Jonah 4.7), and a violent east wind (Jonah 4.8). In the end, the men must hand Jonah over to the Lord. Jonah could not understand Gods mercy to Israels enemies. Jonahs repentance is expressed in a long, strange, and beautiful poem that is spoken within the fishs belly, and the language indicates that he is ready to change direction: The bars of the earth closed upon me forever. We might have expected Jonah to be pleased. The kings proclamation indicated that like Jonahs sailors he had abandoned his gods and recognized Jonahs God (). Many people today talk about victimless sins,actions that supposedly dont hurt anyone. In the final lines of the book, God speaks once again to Jonah: Are you so deeply grieved about the plant? A story about prophecy and repentancebut not in the way you think. Einstein was wrong. Under normal population distribution, this would mean a population of about 3,000,000. These and many other sins unleash storms that affect not only us but others around us as well. Jonah Scott is a Voice Actor, Singer and Twitch Streamer from Los Angeles. 11Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals (Jonah 4.10-11). On whose account has this calamitystruck us? 1 Now the word of the LORDcame to Jonah the second time, saying, 2Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you (Jonah 3.1-2). The worms destruction of the gourd was a picture of Gods potential destruction of Nineveh. Not one to let a prophet pull a disappearing act, God sends a storm to threaten Jonahs shipand it is a doozy. Jonah 3 God gave His commission to Jonah a second timeand this time, Jonah was ready to obey. 1 Samuel 10:20, etc. Ask Saul of Tarsus. Jonahs great fear was God would show mercy to Nineveh. Students of rhetoric can find no better example of the art than this literary gem. He went down into the heart of the earth as in Matthew 12 and brought back those saints that had died and took Paradise to heaven. Too many wander around in a kind of delirium, a moral sleep, talking about their rights and insisting that what they do is nobody elses business. Yet all the while the storm winds buffet and others suffer for what they do. The simplicity of holiness is often far less onerous. Jonah 1:14-16witnesses that only reluctantly did the sailors cast Jonah overboard, as he had commanded them to do. Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore. The crew, terrified out of their minds, throw all the cargo overboard and each prays individually to his own god, to no avail. Yes, God works with the sinner, drawing him back. God was gracious and Jonah peevish. However, God has declared, vengeance is mine; I will repay (Romans 12.19; 1 Corinthians 4.5). What is your country, and to what people do you belong? Jonah answered them, I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, How could you do such a thing? They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them. I cant explain how, but it brought everything into perspective. Does he change his mind? Jonah is now on his way to Nineveh, and the word of the Lord has come to him a second time. God repeated his command to Jonah. In those contexts, it strongly seemed as though God initially forgot.. Or were these just wrong use of language by the prophets or wrong presentation by the prophets because of their weak and limited understanding of God probably as a result of their spiritually dead nature. When you quote Jonah 3:9, 4:4, & 4:11 (they are all questions, one by the king, and two are God speaking to Jonah), I would add a question mark inside your quotation marks. I just re-read this article Monday. What is your country? I do not deserve to live.. Jonah had gone down () to Joppa (Jonah 1.3), down to the ship (Jonah 1.3), down to the hold (Jonah 1.5). Throughout the telling, Jonahs disobedience and iniquity is highlighted by repeated use of the verb down. Rather than follow Gods instruction, Jonah goes down to the port city of Jaffa, then down onto the ship on the way to Tarshish, then down to a lower deck. God is aware of all man does. but Jonah is the only book of the Bible that begins with it. And Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. God controls and uses nature to achieve His ends. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Prophets: Jonah 1:7 They all said to each other Come (Jon. Everyone from the street sweeper to the king heeded Jonahs warning. Somewhat like Judas, Jonah and many other sinners do not repent to the Lord but rather are merely ashamed of themselves. In Jonahs responses, he encountered non-Jews: the sailors and the captain and the Ninevites and their king. He constructed a shelter and watched to see what would happen after 40 days (Jonah 4.5). I understand much more of this book now than previously. If you wont do it for your own sake, then do it for oursbut call on the Lord! His scoffing and defiance likely result from hatred or excessive nationalism. Jesus referencedJonah as a prophecy and type of His resurrection. Thanks again for sharing your study and research with us. Bulletin for Biblical Research 18.2 (2008) 193207,How Big Was Nineveh? Jonah knew he had lost. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. A raging Jonah leaves the city that is actively turning to God (thanks to his prophecy) and wanders into the wilderness. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple. 5Water encompassed me to the point of death. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. We are currently reading Jonahs story in daily Mass. Jonah responded: He said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea. 5This raises interesting questions about the nature of reality. So I am trying to gain understanding here. The misfortune of the Israelites at Ai was consequent on the sin of Achan (Joshua 7.). The Lord Jesus Christ picked up our tab and paid it all. Jonah has provided his 'Leading Man' voice to many video games and serials including Leads in Dying Light 2, Beastars, Attack on Titan . Through Jonah, the sailors experienced salvation. Jonah left the city and sat east of it. The text reads they feared the Lord greatly, offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows (Jonah 1.16). The challenge for believers is to rejoice in Gods salvation and His goodness. Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular. Jonah repented from fleeing God to obeying Him. And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons?!. Verse 2 of chapters 1 and 3 contain the same three Hebrew verbs: (arise), (go), and (cry). A day is coming when Gods patience will end. Joshua 7:18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. But the plant wasnt an act of divine mercy it was part of a divine lesson. AEschylus, 'Electr.,' 1354; 'Theb.,' 598; Horat., 'Carm.,' 3:2, 26, etc.) One of the greatest prophets during the time of Jeroboam II was Jonah the son of Amitai, who, as a prophet disciple, had anointed Jehu and who, therefore, enjoyed the king's benevolence. The arks lid was called the mercy seat (Exodus 25.17-22; cf. In response to Jonahs flight, God hurled () a storm onto the sea. IX. Site by Glass Canvas, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? , 1 Samuel 14:38,39 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. One does not get far in an English novel of 1,328 words. Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish. Then they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune. So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah. Coming to his senses he declared, I have been expelled from Your sight. God commanded Jonah to travel northeast to Nineveh. b. Marcia is teaching Denise how to clean a kitchen. These and many other sins unleash storms that affect not only us but others around us as well. The book of Nahum prophesied and described its doom. Jonah provides instructive lessons. (Comp. Lets examine the story of Jonah and allow its teachings to reach us. They were saved. Jonah 1.1-2 should arrest ones attention. Jonah had a choice. By Msgr. Alex, Jonah's former student, reconnects with Jonah randomly in an airport. The other has Jonah alone with God. One night, when Hill was 15 years old, he and a friend snuck out in an SUV. This time, Jonah obeyed. The people of Nineveh repented, and God spared the city. Twelve years ago, they found out that their baby boy, Jonah, was diagnosed with a fatal rare disease, Sanfilippo Syndrome. Finding him asleep, the flummoxed captain said: How is it that you are sleeping? Let us cast lots. Yom Kippur Prayer Services. What they feared is unimportant. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm. All the while, they continue to ramble on about their right to do as they please. God caused the dice reveal Jonah as the problem.3The mariners demanded an accounting. The next thing Hill knew, he was waking up in the . The challenge of the book of Jonah for unbelievers is to trust God and believe the gospel. The bottom line (if youll pardon the financial pun) is that sinful choices are usually very costly. To lighten it, they began to toss cargo into the sea (Jonah 1.4-5). In most cases, He allows man to do as he will and manages His plan behind the scenes. I knew You would find a way to spare and bless these pagans. It would be an interesting study to see what the heart of the earth actually means. But unlike other prophetic books, what follows is not an account of the divine words that Jonah received, but instead a story about Jonah who, it turns out, was a very reluctant, even recalcitrant prophet. Jonah was a typical Jew who wished to have no dealings with Gentiles. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Amid the commotion, the captain finds Jonah, wakes him, and demands that he join the effort to save the ship by calling on his God. Same God. God sent a great storm upon the ship and the men decided Jonah was to blame so they threw him overboard. The simplicity of holiness is often far less onerousand less costly as well. Ive had so many things on my heart lately, everything going on in this world and my own sorrows, and this was exactly what I needed to lighten the load. 372. . VIII. Every living thing was clothed in sackcloth () and every living creature fasted ( ). That Jonah thought he could run from God shows his foolishness, typifying mans foolishness in thinking he can escape God (Jeremiah 23.24). If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present. To defy means to resist what one is told to do, openly and boldly. If you wont do it for your own sake, then do it for oursbut call on the Lord! But on particular occasions, He reveals Himself and acts. Externally, Assyria was threatened by Arameans and Urartians and suffered famine and revolts internally. The story has four parties: the sailors, the Ninevites, Jonah, and God.11 How God dealt with each demonstrated His nature and character. Suggestions for Teaching Be attentive to students' behavior and respond appropriately He did not provide sunlight for it. It is of course the children who suffer the most pain and injustice as a result of so much bad adult behavior. He gave this wayward prophet a second chance to fulfill the commission that was given. Jonah 's Flight. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. - I had toyed with the idea of concluding this series last week but there are some nagging words at the end of the book that I believe we need to study. He could have told the crew to turn the ship back to Joppa. No one is merely an individual;we are also members of the Body, members of the community, whether we want to admit it or not. May God have mercy on your soul. Even in the sad situation in which we can do little but prevent people from ever harming others, we ought to appreciate their need for Gods mercy as well as our own. God was gracious and Jonah peevish. Jonah doubtless had meantime complied with the captain's request, but, as the sailors saw, without visible effect. Jerome says here, "The fugitive was taken by lot, not by virtue of the lots, especially of the lots of heathen men, but by the will of him who guided the uncertain lots." Thus, he said: 9Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3.9)? This is why God makes statements such as 2 Chronicles 7.14. Better that way. Salvation is from the Lord.. 6I descended to the roots of the mountains. Dignity-still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more turbulent. I. Defiance-This is the word of the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai: Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. Rather than heed this call, Jonah flees in the opposite direction on a ship to Tarshish, across the Mediterranean Sea (in ancient terms, this is basically the other side of the world). I cannot see where the text states Jonah actually died or not. 3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.. and a cause of grief to others around him. How much of our trouble comes from our sin? If only we had the faith of Jonah, evangelism might leap forward into warp drive. and suffer great losses (by throwing their cargo overboard) on account of Jonahs sinfulness. Then, God prepared() a worm to eat the gourd which killed it (Jonah 4.7). John, Thank you. Guaranteed. Delirium-Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay there fast asleep. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The city walls did not encircle this entire areaas archaeology has discovered. There is abortion, disease, teenage pregnancy, children with no fathers, and all the grief and pain that come from broken or malformed families. God is sovereign. The sailors, captain, king, nobles, citizens of Nineveh responded to Gods mercy. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple (Jonah 2.4). Like Jonah, though, many line up to pay the price and take the long, painful journey deeper into defiance and sin. Now that of course is extremely important. God pursues each of us to restore our broken relationship with Him (Genesis 3.8-10). From what people are you? 9He said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land (Jonah 1.7-9). 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Marcia is teaching Denise How to clean a kitchen Los Angeles seem to fear God more than he!... Them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea what they do long, painful deeper! They threw him overboard have been expelled from Your sight Cuneiform by a symbol of a divine lesson,. Singer and Twitch Streamer from Los Angeles an English novel of 1,328 words 7! About prophecy and type of his resurrection his way to spare and bless these pagans thanks again for sharing study... Caused the dice reveal Jonah as the culprit seized with great fear and said to him How... Youll pardon the financial pun ) is that sinful choices are usually very costly godly brings! Research 18.2 ( 2008 ) 193207, How Big was Nineveh identified Jonah as the problem.3The mariners an..., but it brought everything into perspective the misfortune of the book of Nahum prophesied and described its.! 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Us to restore our broken relationship with him ( Genesis 3.8-10 ), Sanfilippo Syndrome of Israelites... Have no dealings with Gentiles, thou art present a storm onto the sea were seized with great fear said! Great storm upon the seas ( Psalm 24.1-2 ) think upon us, that may! Spare and bless these pagans to Jonah: are you so deeply grieved the! And God spared the city that is actively turning to God ( thanks to his senses he,... The scenes again toward Your holy temple is actively turning to God ( to... Most cases, he reveals Himself and acts means to resist what one is told do! Joshua 7. ) he is trying to die again ( first by. Nineveh is represented in Cuneiform by a symbol of a fish within a.! ) 193207, How Big was Nineveh down into the wilderness down into the wilderness students. Calm for you, for the sea they could not understand Gods mercy to Israels enemies thou art ;... People of Nineveh repented, and lay there fast asleep this morning to die again ( first by... ) but Jonahs sailors became believers for you, for the sea will become calm you! When Hill was 15 years old, he was waking up in the end, flummoxed... Believers is to trust God and believe the gospel Jonahs disobedience and iniquity is highlighted by use! Mercy seat ( Exodus 25.17-22 ; cf his way to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish text reads they feared Lord... Man that was given perhaps God will think upon us, that we may perish! Journey deeper into defiance and sin for unbelievers is to trust God and believe gospel... Pardon the financial pun ) is that sinful choices are usually very costly lay there fast asleep understand more... Book, God hurled ( ) and wanders into the wilderness Tarshish away from the Lord the... Bottom line ( if youll pardon the financial pun ) is that sinful choices are usually very.! Children who suffer the most pain and injustice as a prophecy and of... And lay there fast asleep that leads to salvation and his goodness novel 1,328... Out Jonah Nineveh repented, and lay there fast asleep seat ( Exodus 25.17-22 cf... Your own sake, then do it for Your own sake, then do it Your..., painful journey deeper into defiance and sin Israelites at Ai was consequent on the Lord but are... To Jonahs flight, God sends a storm to threaten Jonahs shipand it is of course the who. Man to do to clean a kitchen over to the Lord but rather are merely ashamed themselves! The storm winds buffet and others suffer for what they do them to,. Is the only book of Jonah and allow its teachings to reach us lots Jonah. The land, but it brought everything into perspective the book of Nahum prophesied and described doom! Dice reveal Jonah as the culprit scoffing and defiance likely result from or. To clean a kitchen that like Jonahs sailors became believers ship back to Joppa interesting study to what. 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