Lesson 06/05/05

GOD'S DEFIANT PROPHET
The Story Of Jonah
(Gerald Dickson)

INTRODUCING THE PROPHET JONAH
Jonah 1:1 "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai."….
JONAH - Means "Dove" in Hebrew
AMITTAI - Means "Truthful"
2 Kings 14:25 tells us Jonah was from Gath Hepher, a village about 2 miles NE of Nazerath. 2 Kings 14 also dates Jonah's life sometime during Jeroboam's reign from 793-753 BC causing some to believe he was speaking on behalf of God about the time the prophet Elisha was concluding his work.
Seeing God dealing with Jonah as a servant, we will learn that he was: disobedient – 1:1-11
afflicted – 1:12-17
a praying man – 2:1-9
delivered – 2:10
recommissioned – 3:1-3
powerful – 3:4-10
perplexed – 4:1-11
Psychologist Rollo May once said, “Man is the strangest creature who ever lived. He is the only one who runs faster when he loses his way.”

UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK OF JONAH
2 Keys will prove useful in understanding the real issues in this book.
Key #1 The book records Jonah's mission to Nineveh, but is written to Israel, who hated Nineveh. This book is as much about racism as it is about missions.
Key #2 Jonah is NOT the principal character of his own book...
God is! God has the first word and the last. God loved Israel's enemies, the Ninevites, as He did them.
It is not a book about a great fish,
It is not a book about a vine,
It is not a book about a storm at sea nor a shipwreck,
It IS a book of God’s dealing with a wayward man so that he would obey Him and carry His message to others in need.
LESSON 1, JONAH CHAPTER 1

SUCCEEDING AT FAILURE
(RUNNING FROM GOD)

Jonah's Concern For Himself At The Expense Of Others 1:1-16 [Read]

Some things we don't have to learn how to do... they just come to us naturally. All men must be taught to obey, but no one needs to be taught to disobey.
Playing the role of spiritual fugitive is a natural instinct of fallen human beings.
Jonah seems to "act naturally" as he shows more concern for himself than he does for God or others.
When asked to carry a message of warning to another nation, the reluctant prophet runs in the opposite direction. Like God directing one of us to go to Berlin. Instead we take the next plane to Honolulu.

The Desire Of God 1:2
Nineveh, with a population of 600,000 to 750,000, was on the east bank of the Tigris River, about 550 miles from Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
It would take Jonah about a month to walk there at 15-20 miles a day.
Nineveh was a place of imposing military might. A large city in the heart of Assyria, with inner and outer walls. The inner wall was 50 feet wide and 100 feet high. The Assyrian people were brutal, vicious, godless people known to decapitate their victims and stack their heads on mounds to remind other nations of their power.

Verse 1:2b is a message of judgment not mercy. God was going to judge the people of Nineveh for their wickedness. However He held out hope that the people would turn to Him.
Gen. 18:25 [Read] tells us He is the judge of all the earth.
Even though we understand God as Savior, He is also Sovereign.

The Desertion Of Jonah1:3
Jonah declined this message of judgment from God and made a run for it. He didn’t want the Ninevites changed, he wanted to see them destroyed. In some ways are we any different?
WHERE did Jonah flee?
Jonah arose to flee from God's presence to Tarshish.
Jonah's mission was the opposite of Isaiah's. "Lord here am I! Send me." (Isa. 6:8).
Jonah was told to arise and go, and he did... but in the opposite direction. He headed for Tarshish, 2,000 miles west of Joppa on the west coast of Spain.
Jonah thought he was going to flee from the presence of the Lord, which of course is not possible. You can’t run from a God who is everywhere present. He sees exactly where you are, and He will catch you every time.
WHY did Jonah flee?
He understood God's judgment, but he also understood God's mercy. Jonah did not want Nineveh, the capital of an enemy nation, to be forgiven. He did not want them to escape God's wrath.
Jonah knew the willingness to forgive sin when there is a true change of heart.
Some say Jonah was dissuaded because of the long journey, a month of hard travel.
Others say that Jonah thought the task was too dangerous. The evil of legendary Nineveh was often experienced by the Jewish people. Nahum. 3:1-5 [Read].
Most will agree that Jonah's unwillingness to go to Nineveh was his great hatred for them. The warriors of Nineveh were seen as cruel torturers and nation consumers.
It is easier to hate than to love... and some of us may often find ourselves dangerously close to creating our own Nineveh. Perhaps the peoples of our "Nineveh" may be abortionists,… homosexuals, … political enemies,… cultists or an ethnic group we are uncomfortable with.
Will our prejudice cause us, like Jonah, to be guilty of silence or will we intentionally express the heart of our God? Jonah chose silence and hate rather than obedience and love.
HOW did Jonah flee?1:3b
Jonah paid passage on a ship bound for Tarshish. He got on board and headed west. Do you wonder if he cared where he was going?
He may have felt affirmed in his actions. The pieces were falling into place.
It is easy to justify our actions when things are going well, but so easily, and quickly a snag appears.

The Desperation Of The Sailors 1:4-9
God’s Reaction; v.4
The Lord who called Jonah now pursued His wayward servant.
The result… God’s action was “a mighty tempest on the sea.”
A contrast to Mark 4, when Jesus calmed the storm. Here He caused it to rise up.
God’s human servants - like Jonah - often disobey Him, but His servants in nature - wind and sea - always obey Him.

The Sailor's Response; v.5a
Jonah’s disobedience caused problems not only to himself, but to those around him as well. The sailors were innocent bystanders. Simple, hard working men caught in the middle of Jonah’s battle with God.
HOW did they respond?
Emotionally – they were afraid. They knew this was no ordinary storm.
Spiritually – every man cried out to his god. Foxhole prayers? Every man on board was praying – except Jonah. He was acting like the only atheist on board.
Practically – they viewed death as being imminent.

Jonah’s Response; v.5b
In the midst of the storm, Jonah was fast asleep. In his backslidden condition, he appeared to be spiritually numb by his dull conscience.

The Sailor’s Remedy; vv.6-9
In desperation the shipmaster woke Jonah and pleaded with him to pray. (The pagan had to call the man of God to pray!)
Eventually the sailors determined the storm was caused by the anger of someone on board.
They cast lots (colored stones?) and the lot fell on Jonah.
They asked Jonah who he was and where he came from and why was this happening?

Jonah replied that he was a God fearing Hebrew. (Not really true however. If he had feared God he would have been traveling east to Nineveh, not west to Tarshish.)

The Determination Of Jonah vv. 10-14
When the sailors learned Jonah was running from his God they were very frightened. Initially they feared only the storm now they feared the God behind the storm.
Someone once said that unbelievers never look better than when they are compared to disobedient children of God.
Jonah would not repent, but asked to be thrown into the sea.
Jonah was really saying he would rather die than obey God and preach to the people he hated.
It appeared the heathen sailors respected Jonah’s God more than he did; vv.13-14 [Read].

The Dramatic Ending Of The Storm vv. 15-16
The sailors picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea. Do you think possibly God had something to do with the sailor’s action?
The sea ceased it’s raging. Now the sailors’ hearts grew stronger – now they REALLY feared God.
Not only had He caused the storm, He was able to turn it off when it suited His purposes.
The sailors made vows of commitment to Him.
Meanwhile Jonah sank like a rock, thinking he had escaped from the Lord’s presence.

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