The Wideness Of God’s Mercy
Jonah 4:1-11 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 4:11 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5/23/09
“But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful—but Jonah was angry. Jonah had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent and be saved. And that is just what happened. And so Jonah demonstrated. But God taught him a lesson, through a vine, a worm and a hot wind. The point of the lesson was that Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Through this passage let us discover God wants all people to repent and be saved. Let us repent of our selfishness and learn the wideness of God’s mercy, holding unswervingly to the fact that God loves all people, reflecting that in our own lives practically.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
God had accomplished a great work of salvation. Jonah should have been ecstatic, but he was not happy. Look at verse 1. “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. Verse 2 reveals why. “He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” Though Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful, he had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent, and that God would relent and not destroy them. He wanted God to judge the Ninevites and remove a people who he despised and who were also a military threat to the nation of Israel. Jonah did not understand that the God of Israel was also the God of the whole world, nor did he understand the heart of God. And so now he was angry and miserable. Are you surprised and even unhappy when “that certain” person turns to God? Is it possible that your view is as narrow as Jonah’s?
Despite of the narrowness of his heart, the man of God, Jonah knew how to pray. Look at verse 2a, “He prayed to the LORD,…” When most people become angry they usually loose all of their senses, especially their spiritual senses. They do not want of pray. I know that when I get mad, there are times when my wife says, “you have to get on your knees and pray to God right now.” I know that she is right. But the angry spirit within me stops me and I simply lay silently until the angry feelings subside. (sometimes taking 2-3 days.) Jonah’s pray may not have flowed naturally, but he prayed. The fact that Jonah came to God in pray in the midst of his anger is very significant and we should all take heed.
Through his prayer we discover something very important about God. Look at verse 2b, “…O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” People in this world say many bad things about God. On atheist friend told me, “if God allows all the evil I this world then I don’t even want to know him.” But he has a terribly distorted perception of God. From this verse we know that God is a gracious and compassionate God. The facts speak for themselves. God spared the sailors when they pleaded for mercy. God saved Jonah when he prayed from inside the fish. God saved the people of Nineveh when they responded to Jonah’s preaching. Out of his compassionate heart, God answers the prayers of those who call upon him. God desires that everyone would come to him, trust in him, be saved. Those who respond in faith and obedience, will know that our God is very gracious and compassionate and they will receive his mercy. Do you believe this?
Jonah told God why he was angry. Most people, when they are angry, clam up and don’t reveal their true feelings to anyone. Do you do this? It is called, “stewing” in your anger. Though the prophet felt like this, like his heart was being torn in two, he had a deep and intimate relationship with God and this personal relationship led him to open up to God. Even if you feel that you have no one to share things with, you know that you can always open up your heart to Jesus in prayer. Actually we must be able to open our hearts to others and to Jesus. It is unhealthy to keep it all inside. I believe that is why Julie’s 1:1 ministry is so fruitful. She sits and listens to her Bible students. She allows them to talk and together, they bring everything to God in prayer. May we be shepherds who can listen and help the young people of America to open up to Jesus with all of their struggles of heart and life.
Working out our struggles in Jesus should help us to rise above the situation and find some resolution, clarity and direction. But when Jonah took his anger to God in prayer, he did not come to right conclusion. Look at verse 3, “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." His was a very fatalistic conclusion. Jonah did not repent of his lack of compassion towards the Ninevites. He felt so helpless to do anything about his anger. He could not run from God. And so his anger turned inward. He became despaired and depressed and wanted to God to end his life. We learn here that if we don’t come to God to resolve our anger in Christ, through repentance and faith, then we will deal with it in very, destructive and dysfunctional ways.
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
God did not abandon this embittered prophet. He came to Jonah with kind words of rebuke. Let’s read verse 4, “But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" This reminds us of God who ministered to Cain in Genesis 4, saying “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it.” (Gen 4:6b-7) God ministered tenderly to Jonah just as he had done to Nineveh and to Israel, and just as he does for each of us. God could have destroyed Jonah for his defiant anger, but instead he gently taught to reflect on what was in his heart and learn a lesson. We also learn a teaching method of God here. So often he leads us to self reflection and helps us draw our own conclusions. Thank God that he comes to us again and again with kind, gentle and wise words of counsel. Let us take heed, early before we come to dysfunctional conclusions as Jonah did.
Jonah made some progress. He went from suicidal to grumpy. Look at verse 5, “ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.” He sat down east of Nineveh and waited for God to destroy the city. Perhaps he expected to witness another spectacular judgment such as fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, with fire and brimstone raining down. But we can see here that Jonah demonstrated. He pouted. He appears selfish, petty, temperamental, and even foolish. There are times when feel good about seeing someone we like fail, stumble and fall. And we wait for it. We are tempted to gloat. But we must be more like Jesus. God is more merciful than we can imagine. God feels compassion for the sinners we want judged and he devises plans to bring them to himself. As Christians we must hope and pray that even our enemies may come to Jesus and be blessed by God. Indeed, Jonah needed to somehow learn the compassionate heart of his God.
The Lord proceeded to help Jonah have an attitude adjustment. Look at verse 6, “6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.” God revealed his personal compassion for Jonah by providing him with a shade plant that relieved the discomfort of the blistering sun. Last week Iris, our missionary in Sudan, stated that she is getting used to the hot weather. It was 120 degrees that day. Jonah did not deserve to have such a vine. It was purely provided by God's grace, for Jonah to receive with thanksgiving. Jonah was actually very happy with the vine. Why? Because he, himself was physically comfortable. Though it was selfish thanksgiving topic, Jonah was thankful to God for the personal grace given to him. But this was only the beginning of the lesson. God wanted Jonah to mature beyond being simply happy about his own personal benefits, to hoping that other people may be blessed.
God took the lesson a step further in verse 7. It reads, “But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.” Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine for now he was uncomfortable and inconvenienced. Then things went from bad to worse for Jonah in verse 8a, “When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint….” These high temperatures tend to make even the mildest people irritable and ready to snap for no apparent reason. This made Jonah snap. Again he fell into his old habit of making death wishes upon himself. Verse 8b reads, “….He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’” The conclusion to God’s training could be seen in verses 9-10, “ But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’ 10 But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.’” God wanted to reveal Jonah’s great compassion on himself and his over concern about this vine, and his lack of compassion on others. That is why God dealt with him as any ordinary person, exposing him to pleasures and discomforts that everyone experiences and making him see that his personal “theology” was making him a cold hearted person.
Let’s think about this more deeply. Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine, but not over what could have happened to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh were withering in their sins and about to be gathered up and tossed in the fire and burned. (John 15:6) Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Jonah’s condition is not just unique to Jonah. Most of us have cried at the death of a pet or when an object with sentimental value is broken, or when some personal blessing has been taken away form us. But have we cried over the fact that a friend or a classmate or a family member does not know God? How easy it is to be more sensitive to our own interests, and the loss of our own personal comforts than the spiritual needs of the people around us.
We should not cry over grace given and then taken away. God blesses our lives in so many ways. I have been blessed with family, career, ministry and security. I get great joy from these things. But I must hold loosely to them, lest they become idols in my heart. I must thank God for what he has provided, but also be ready to let go if God sees fit. I must love the blesser more than the blessings. Instead of becoming bitter, I should be thankful for what is given and learn and grow though what God is trying to teach me. Let us hold onto the words of Job in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
We must always remember that God uses our circumstances to teach us many important lessons of life. God had provided a storm, a fish, a plant, a worm and a wind, all to teach Jonah some important lessons of life. God was manipulating Jonah's circumstances around to teach him life changing spiritual lessons. This is how God works. We need to stop, look around us in our lives and see what is happening. If we really believe that Jesus is living and that he is the Sovereign Lord, who is control of your lives, then take a serious assessment about what is happening around you. Figure out what God is trying to teach you. You may be surprised at the important lessons that you need to learn.
Verse 11 is a very clear portent into the very heart of God. Let’s read it together. “ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah's compassion extended only to a shade plant and his own physical comforts, but not to lost Assyrians. But God's compassion is much wider. It extended not only to plants, but to cattle to people. The expression "…who cannot tell their right hand from their left…" means that they were helpless and living in ignorance. The 120,000 people, that God upheld as special objects of His compassion, were probably the entire populace that did not know how to escape their troubles. God has compassion on the helpless. God also has compassion on animals, who suffer at the hands of their owners. Cattle are also beast of burden, used to help “beef up” the local economy, through their labor and their meat. Indeed God cares about the foundation of the local economy because this affects the well- being of the people themselves.
It is so hard to think about our own problems. We are so busy taking care of our own needs. How can we even begin to practice the compassion of Jesus on our friends, let alone a stranger who we may not like? We can not just wake up and look in the mirror and say over and over again, “I am going to be more compassionate today” Positive thinking only goes so far. It all begins when we realize the God first loved us. Jonah should have realized the depth of God’s love for him personally and then he could have deep love for others. 1 John 4:19 reads, “We love because he first loved us.” The first step is to recognize the grace of Jesus on our lives. If you have not done this then think about writing a long life testimony one day. I know people who have written 100 page life testimonies. Recently a friend wrote 1 13 page life testimony. When you take time to deeply reflect the grace of God will become clear to you. Then a miracle happens. Your life is changed. You heart of stone become a heart of flesh. (Eze 11:19) You can begin to practice the compassionate heart of Jesus.
In this passage we see the contrast between God's compassion (3:10) and Jonah's displeasure, and between God's turning from His anger (3:9-10) to Jonah's turning to anger. We learn that we need to overcome our selfishness and become more like God, by expanding the wideness of our compassion to others. May God teach us the wideness of his mercy. May we begin to love all people by taking hold of the grace of God in our lives and then reaching out and loving one person who God has brought near.
In so many ways the students of NIU don’t know their right hand from their left, spiritually speaking. May God widen our hearts to practice the compassion of Jesus on the student of Dekalb.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
1. Why was Jonah greatly displeased and angry? (1-2, 2:10) How did he respond to his anger?
(2a) What did Jonah know about God? (2b) What conclusion did he make through all of his
struggles? (3) Who else came to this conclusion? (1 Kings 19:4) What is wrong with this?
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
2. What was God’s rebuked to Jonah? (4) With what kind of attitude did Jonah sit down east of
the city? (5) What was he waiting to see?
3. What did God provide for Jonah? Why? (6) What did God do the next day? (7) How did
things get worse for Jonah? (8a) How did Jonah respond? (8b) What should have been his
response?
4. What lesson was God trying to teach Jonah? (9-10) What was God concerned about? (11)
How did he see the people of Nineveh? (11) How did God view the city of Nineveh? Contrast
God’s view point with Jonah’s?
5. What was God’s purpose for the nation of Israel? (Genesis 22:8; Ex 19:6) How were they to
carry out this mission? How did the Jews respond to their mission? (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
Why is our world view very important?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Jonah 3:1-10
Jonah Fulfills His Mission
Jonah 3:1-10 Lesson 4
Key verse 3: 5 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5-17-09
“The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.”
In this passage, we find Jonah's obedience to the Lord following his initial
disobedience. However, he was not completely obedient in his attitude; even
though he was in his actions. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time to go preach in Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed God s word. He went only because God commanded him to go. He preached the word God told him to preach. But did not love the people of Nineveh who living there in sin and ignorance. He was not sorry about God's impending judgment. But when he obeyed, an amazing thing happened. When the king of Nineveh heard God's word, he repented. He ordered everyone– people and animals--to repent. The Ninevites believed God. They turned from their evil ways. When God saw the sincerity of their repentance, he had compassion on them and did not destroy the city. Though there may be humanitarian motives for world mission, we will learn that the bottom line is our own personal obedience to the Lord's command. May God help us to be servants of God who can obey his word whether we feel like it or not.
1. A Reluctant Missionary (1-4)
Jonah had just spent three days and three nights in the belly of a “great fish”. Think about his condition. His skin was bleached from the whale’s gastric juices. He struggled to get catch every breath. He was sleep deprived and exhausted. He was in complete darkness for 72 hours. He lapsed in and out of consciousness. But his amazingly his spiritual sense was intact. He was thankful for God’s grace even from inside the whale’s belly. (Chpt 2).
When he felt like he could not carry on God ended his hard training. “…The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry ground.” (2:10) Jonah was shaken by the whale’s growling stomach. The stomach walls rumbled and contracted around Jonah. The contractions pushed him into the whale’s throat, then its mouth and across the rows of sharp teeth. And with one final thrust, Jonah was heaved on the sandy beach, the waves lapping at his feet and the vomit dripping off his body. Jonah was dazed. The sunlight blinded his eyes. But one thing was for sure. He was not dead, at the bottom of the sea. He was alive! Alive on a warm beach. After lying for many hours, Jonah got up, stumbled to the edge of the water where he washed himself, the sea salt stinging his many wounds. Clutching the rags that hung off his body, he stumbled towards Nineveh. He needed food. He needed clothes. He needed his wounds tended to. He needed time to recuperate. One English whaler in the 1800‘s, who was in the belly of a whale for 15 hours, could not speak and required 2 weeks to convalesce. And so God may have led Jonah to a kind and generous Assyrian family who helped him in his time of need.
We can learn several things about God. First, God never forgot about Jonah. Being in the belly of that great fish for seventy two hours may have made Jonah think that God forgot about him. But God did not forget about Jonah. God was only waiting and watching until the time of Jonah’s divine discipline was over. And the time came.
Second, God wants us submit to him early. How sad it was, that it required a storm, three days in a belly of great fish and maybe two weeks of recovery. This is what was required for Jonah to be brought low and humbled to the point that he would actually obey God. How much more easy would it be for him to obey God directly, from the beginning. Hebrews 10: 30b-31 reads, “..The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” It is better submit to God, right from the beginning than to wait and eventually receive God’s divine discipline. But for Jonah, the time of God’s training was over. Jonah passed the grueling curriculum. When Jonah grew through God’s divine discipline his heart was wonderfully changed. (Heb 12:5b-6)
Third, God gave his word to his servant. Look at verse 1, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:” God communicated with Jonah at exactly the right time. What does it mean that God’s word came to Jonah? Jonah had received many truths of God in his heart, during his time in the belly of whale. We studied about these things in chapter 2. But these epiphanies of truth were not God’s word to him. This word of God was different. It happened before in chapter 1:1. When the word of God came to Jonah, Jonah heard God’s personal call to mission. (Though he did not always obey it.) For us, Bible study and the precious truths we learn from them are very important, but they are not the same as God’s personal call to mission. We must grow to the point that we hear God’s personal call to mission. When we do, we can grow mature spiritually and be used by God in our generation.
Fourth, God gives second chances. Look at verse 1, “…Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:” God could have easily allowed Jonah to drown in the kelp beds to eventually stand before God’s judgment seat, choosing another prophet to carry the message of salvation to Nineveh. But he did not. God intervened in a miraculous way…saved Jonah’s life and gave him another chance. We may have felt that we have failed God in one way or another. In regards to ministry, we may feel that we have failed in our mission to deliver the life giving Gospel to the hearts of NIU students. We may feel that we have failed in our calling in some way. But God, in his abundant grace, does not forget about us. He is patiently waiting and watching. He is preparing our hearts and is eager to give us a second chance. Let’s hear God’s voice and step into that second chance, so graciously offered. Praise God for second chances!
Let’s think about God’s message to Jonah. Verse 2 reads, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah was to preach only what God told him. The message was a message of judgment to one of the most powerful cities in the world. This was not the most desirable assignment, but it was a very necessary one for the salvation of the souls of the Ninevites. As Christians we are called to preach God’s message without compromising it, even if it is the message of repentance and judgment. Such a message is unpopular nowadays. But we should never give into the social consensus, or try to please people, but deliver the message that God wants us to deliver. (Gal 1:10) Then we can stand as servants of Christ.
What is the message God wants us to accept and preach? Paul says in 1 Cor 15:3-4, “ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” The Gospel message is all about Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Through his death on the cross Jesus has brought us the forgiveness of sins. Through his resurrection he has brought us eternal life. And anyone who repents of their sins and believes in Jesus as the ransom sacrifice for their sins, will receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. They will become children of God and servants of Christ. They will bear the fruit of life in this world and enter into a rich inheritance in Christ. All of this is given through repentance and faith in Jesus. It is achieved through hearing and believing the message that God has given to us to preach. What a precious gift! What a fantastic message of salvation! What a vital mission!
God is very serious about sticking to the Gospel message. Why? It is because God wants all people to come to repentance and salvation. The Gospel message is the only message that can tear the idols from peoples’ hearts and help them to accept the wonderful grace of Jesus. The Gospel message is the only message that can bring the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The Gospel message is the only message that can reveal the light of Jesus to a world in lost in the darkness. If we don’t stick the Gospel then we have believed in vain. (1 Cor 15:2) God wants us to stick to it. Listen to how serious God is. Revelation 22:18-19 reads; “ 18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” and, Galatians 1:8-9, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Let us hold tenaciously to the Gospel message and proclaim it to the students of NIU and all of America. When you do you will become a podiatrist’s dream…For “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7)
Nineveh was a very large and prosperous city. (3b) The walls were about eight miles in circumference, accommodating a population of about 175,000 persons, and the administrative district of Nineveh that was about 30-60 miles across. A ‘very important city,’ Nineveh took three days to just to visit. The city might have been like downtown. Chicago. Such a city might intimidate us and fear might stop us to open our mouths to initiate the work of God. Look at Verse 4a, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city.” In doing the work of God, we must never be intimidated, but dig our feet in and begin from where we are. May we embrace the summer ministry at NIU without any fear or intimidation in our hearts!
The fact that it took three days reveals that there was also a certain protocol involved in visiting an important city such as Nineveh. It was customary in the ancient Near East for an emissary from another city-state to take three days for an official visit. He would spend the first day meeting and enjoying the hospitality of his host; the second day discussing the primary purpose of his visit; and the third saying his farewells. If Jonah was indeed an emissary of a kingdom. He was God’s ambassador, a representative of the Kingdom of God. May we have the same identity as we live as ambassadors of Christ. (2 Cor 5:20)
Jonah obeyed God but not willingly. Verse 4 reads, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." His obedience to God was good but was not perfect because of his reluctance. He wished that he could have been somewhere else doing something else. But he had no where to go. He knew how hard it was to receive God’s divine discipline and he didn’t want that again. God is not just looking for our obedience, he also wants our willingness. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:2, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;” God wants willing volunteers among is people. Such people will stand out as princess and princesses among his people. (Judges 5:9) That is why we pray for 12 willing and eager and faith Sunday attendants this summer. What hinders our willingness? It has to do with what is in our hearts. 1 Peter 2:11 reads, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” Yes, it is the sinful desires and the idols we harbor in our hearts, that wage war on our souls, that keep us from being willing servants of God. May God give us new hearts to love and serve him this summer.
This willingness does not always come naturally. In fact it rarely does. If we want to live naturally, would we actually follow Jesus? Listen to Jesus’ own words in Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” These are words of life to those who volunteer to serve Jesus.
Part ll: Nineveh Repents (5-10)
When Jonah simply obeyed, a miracle happened. Let’s read verse 5, “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” The people repented, apparently after only one day of preaching. Who would have believed that such a miracle could have happened! The people of Nineveh only needed to hear God’s message once. Young and old repented and turned to God in humility of heart. Young boys and girls repented of fighting with their brothers and sisters. Old men repented of having no vision in their hearts for their young people or for the kingdom of God. God honored their response. Jesus said that at the judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up to condemn the Israelites for their failure to repent (Matt 12:39-41). We are tempted to think that nobody would listen to our message. But we may be wrong. If we simply proclaim what we know about God, we may be surprised at how many people will listen. Nobody thought the state of Kentucky could be changed from a bandits’ hideout into gospel centered state almost overnight, but it was. Nowadays people think that students are not interested in the gospel. But they can not see things the way Jesus does. In John 4:35 Jesus says, “Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Let us open our eyes and see that students of our schools as ripe and ready for an immediate harvest when the gospel message is preach. Ask great things of God and expect great things from God.
The king of Nineveah was a true leader for his people. Verse 6 reads, “ When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.” He did not hesitate. He was not offended. He responded immediately, setting a great example. He got his royal officials to repent and he ordered all the people of his realm to repent also. Listen to his proclamation in Verses 7-9, ““Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” May God raise up leaders among us who can lead the populace to repentance through their own example.
What is repentance? It is a strong word. But it is not so scary. Repentance is essentially a change in one's thinking. It involves a change in one’s hope and life direction. The king put on sackcloth. (6) Fasting (7) and wearing sackcloth were signs of self-affliction that reflected an attitude of humility in the ancient Near East (cf. 2 Sam. 3:31, 35; 1 Kings 21:27; Neh. 9:1-2; Isa. 15:3; 58:5; Dan. 9:3; Joel 1:13-14). Sackcloth was what the poor and the slaves wore. Wearing it depicted that the entire population viewed themselves as in need of God's mercy. The people were called to fast and pray. Fasting is a good when we really want deeply repent of something. But fasting is more than just depriving yourself of food. Is 59: 6-8 reads, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.” Repenting people humble themselves before God and commit themselves to living by the truth.
This pagan king knew something about the God of the Bible. Look at Verse 9, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” Though he was pagan, he was wise. In a nutshell he was saying, “We have everything to gain and nothing to loose if we repent and come to the God of the Jews, in humility of heart.” This reminds us Pascal’s Wager. Dr John Armstrong states of Pascal’s wager, “If you place your confidence in God then you ultimately lose nothing but if you do not, and God is in fact who Scripture reveals him to be, then you have lost everything. "Let us assess the two cases; if you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing." (John Armstrong blog January 19, 2009)
God’s heart was moved by their repentance. Look at Verse 10, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” God responded in mercy by cancelling his threatened punishment. God has said that any nation on which he had pronounced judgment would be saved if they repented. (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Jeremiah 18:7-8, “ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” God is always willing to show compassion to anyone willing to seek him.”
Through this passage we discover that God is a God of second chances. He is a God who gives those he loves, divine discipline until they can become his willing servants. We learn that we need to stick to the Gospel message, for this is the only message that brings the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But most of all we learn that God responds to our personal repentance and humility and sheds his mercy on us. Let us come to God, in humility of heart receive his mercy and grace today!
1. A Reluctant Missionary (1-4)
1. Think about Jonah’s condition physically, emotionally and spiritually. What was God about
to do? What does it mean that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time? (1) How is
this different than receiving epiphanies of truth like he had in his prayer?
2. What was God’s direction to Jonah? (2) What was the message Jonah was supposed to
deliver? (2) Why is it important that we speak the message that God gives us to speak? (Rev
22:18-19; 1 Cor 15:1-12)
3. What kind of city was Nineveh? What was his message to them? (4, Matt 12:39-40) How
did Jonah respond? (3a)
4. How did he feel about this? (1 Peter 5:2, Judges 5:9, 1 Peter 2:11) Think about what it is
required to begin to obey God’s direction and to preach such a message. (Matt 26:39; Luke
9:23) Why are we tempted to preach something other than the gospel of Jesus?
Part ll: Nineveh Repents (5-10)
5. How did the Ninevites respond? (5) How did the king of Nineveh exhibit true leadership?
(6) Examine his proclamation in verses 7-9. What is repentance? What is involved in their
repentance? (7-8) What does fasting and sackcloth mean? (Isaiah 58:3-8) What did the king
believe about God? (9)
6. How did God respond to their repentance? (10) What does this teach us about God? How
would God use their example of sincere Repentance, in his gospel history? (Matt 12:39-41)
Jonah 3:1-10 Lesson 4
Key verse 3: 5 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5-17-09
“The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.”
In this passage, we find Jonah's obedience to the Lord following his initial
disobedience. However, he was not completely obedient in his attitude; even
though he was in his actions. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time to go preach in Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed God s word. He went only because God commanded him to go. He preached the word God told him to preach. But did not love the people of Nineveh who living there in sin and ignorance. He was not sorry about God's impending judgment. But when he obeyed, an amazing thing happened. When the king of Nineveh heard God's word, he repented. He ordered everyone– people and animals--to repent. The Ninevites believed God. They turned from their evil ways. When God saw the sincerity of their repentance, he had compassion on them and did not destroy the city. Though there may be humanitarian motives for world mission, we will learn that the bottom line is our own personal obedience to the Lord's command. May God help us to be servants of God who can obey his word whether we feel like it or not.
1. A Reluctant Missionary (1-4)
Jonah had just spent three days and three nights in the belly of a “great fish”. Think about his condition. His skin was bleached from the whale’s gastric juices. He struggled to get catch every breath. He was sleep deprived and exhausted. He was in complete darkness for 72 hours. He lapsed in and out of consciousness. But his amazingly his spiritual sense was intact. He was thankful for God’s grace even from inside the whale’s belly. (Chpt 2).
When he felt like he could not carry on God ended his hard training. “…The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry ground.” (2:10) Jonah was shaken by the whale’s growling stomach. The stomach walls rumbled and contracted around Jonah. The contractions pushed him into the whale’s throat, then its mouth and across the rows of sharp teeth. And with one final thrust, Jonah was heaved on the sandy beach, the waves lapping at his feet and the vomit dripping off his body. Jonah was dazed. The sunlight blinded his eyes. But one thing was for sure. He was not dead, at the bottom of the sea. He was alive! Alive on a warm beach. After lying for many hours, Jonah got up, stumbled to the edge of the water where he washed himself, the sea salt stinging his many wounds. Clutching the rags that hung off his body, he stumbled towards Nineveh. He needed food. He needed clothes. He needed his wounds tended to. He needed time to recuperate. One English whaler in the 1800‘s, who was in the belly of a whale for 15 hours, could not speak and required 2 weeks to convalesce. And so God may have led Jonah to a kind and generous Assyrian family who helped him in his time of need.
We can learn several things about God. First, God never forgot about Jonah. Being in the belly of that great fish for seventy two hours may have made Jonah think that God forgot about him. But God did not forget about Jonah. God was only waiting and watching until the time of Jonah’s divine discipline was over. And the time came.
Second, God wants us submit to him early. How sad it was, that it required a storm, three days in a belly of great fish and maybe two weeks of recovery. This is what was required for Jonah to be brought low and humbled to the point that he would actually obey God. How much more easy would it be for him to obey God directly, from the beginning. Hebrews 10: 30b-31 reads, “..The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” It is better submit to God, right from the beginning than to wait and eventually receive God’s divine discipline. But for Jonah, the time of God’s training was over. Jonah passed the grueling curriculum. When Jonah grew through God’s divine discipline his heart was wonderfully changed. (Heb 12:5b-6)
Third, God gave his word to his servant. Look at verse 1, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:” God communicated with Jonah at exactly the right time. What does it mean that God’s word came to Jonah? Jonah had received many truths of God in his heart, during his time in the belly of whale. We studied about these things in chapter 2. But these epiphanies of truth were not God’s word to him. This word of God was different. It happened before in chapter 1:1. When the word of God came to Jonah, Jonah heard God’s personal call to mission. (Though he did not always obey it.) For us, Bible study and the precious truths we learn from them are very important, but they are not the same as God’s personal call to mission. We must grow to the point that we hear God’s personal call to mission. When we do, we can grow mature spiritually and be used by God in our generation.
Fourth, God gives second chances. Look at verse 1, “…Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:” God could have easily allowed Jonah to drown in the kelp beds to eventually stand before God’s judgment seat, choosing another prophet to carry the message of salvation to Nineveh. But he did not. God intervened in a miraculous way…saved Jonah’s life and gave him another chance. We may have felt that we have failed God in one way or another. In regards to ministry, we may feel that we have failed in our mission to deliver the life giving Gospel to the hearts of NIU students. We may feel that we have failed in our calling in some way. But God, in his abundant grace, does not forget about us. He is patiently waiting and watching. He is preparing our hearts and is eager to give us a second chance. Let’s hear God’s voice and step into that second chance, so graciously offered. Praise God for second chances!
Let’s think about God’s message to Jonah. Verse 2 reads, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah was to preach only what God told him. The message was a message of judgment to one of the most powerful cities in the world. This was not the most desirable assignment, but it was a very necessary one for the salvation of the souls of the Ninevites. As Christians we are called to preach God’s message without compromising it, even if it is the message of repentance and judgment. Such a message is unpopular nowadays. But we should never give into the social consensus, or try to please people, but deliver the message that God wants us to deliver. (Gal 1:10) Then we can stand as servants of Christ.
What is the message God wants us to accept and preach? Paul says in 1 Cor 15:3-4, “ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” The Gospel message is all about Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Through his death on the cross Jesus has brought us the forgiveness of sins. Through his resurrection he has brought us eternal life. And anyone who repents of their sins and believes in Jesus as the ransom sacrifice for their sins, will receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. They will become children of God and servants of Christ. They will bear the fruit of life in this world and enter into a rich inheritance in Christ. All of this is given through repentance and faith in Jesus. It is achieved through hearing and believing the message that God has given to us to preach. What a precious gift! What a fantastic message of salvation! What a vital mission!
God is very serious about sticking to the Gospel message. Why? It is because God wants all people to come to repentance and salvation. The Gospel message is the only message that can tear the idols from peoples’ hearts and help them to accept the wonderful grace of Jesus. The Gospel message is the only message that can bring the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The Gospel message is the only message that can reveal the light of Jesus to a world in lost in the darkness. If we don’t stick the Gospel then we have believed in vain. (1 Cor 15:2) God wants us to stick to it. Listen to how serious God is. Revelation 22:18-19 reads; “ 18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” and, Galatians 1:8-9, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Let us hold tenaciously to the Gospel message and proclaim it to the students of NIU and all of America. When you do you will become a podiatrist’s dream…For “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7)
Nineveh was a very large and prosperous city. (3b) The walls were about eight miles in circumference, accommodating a population of about 175,000 persons, and the administrative district of Nineveh that was about 30-60 miles across. A ‘very important city,’ Nineveh took three days to just to visit. The city might have been like downtown. Chicago. Such a city might intimidate us and fear might stop us to open our mouths to initiate the work of God. Look at Verse 4a, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city.” In doing the work of God, we must never be intimidated, but dig our feet in and begin from where we are. May we embrace the summer ministry at NIU without any fear or intimidation in our hearts!
The fact that it took three days reveals that there was also a certain protocol involved in visiting an important city such as Nineveh. It was customary in the ancient Near East for an emissary from another city-state to take three days for an official visit. He would spend the first day meeting and enjoying the hospitality of his host; the second day discussing the primary purpose of his visit; and the third saying his farewells. If Jonah was indeed an emissary of a kingdom. He was God’s ambassador, a representative of the Kingdom of God. May we have the same identity as we live as ambassadors of Christ. (2 Cor 5:20)
Jonah obeyed God but not willingly. Verse 4 reads, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." His obedience to God was good but was not perfect because of his reluctance. He wished that he could have been somewhere else doing something else. But he had no where to go. He knew how hard it was to receive God’s divine discipline and he didn’t want that again. God is not just looking for our obedience, he also wants our willingness. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:2, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;” God wants willing volunteers among is people. Such people will stand out as princess and princesses among his people. (Judges 5:9) That is why we pray for 12 willing and eager and faith Sunday attendants this summer. What hinders our willingness? It has to do with what is in our hearts. 1 Peter 2:11 reads, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” Yes, it is the sinful desires and the idols we harbor in our hearts, that wage war on our souls, that keep us from being willing servants of God. May God give us new hearts to love and serve him this summer.
This willingness does not always come naturally. In fact it rarely does. If we want to live naturally, would we actually follow Jesus? Listen to Jesus’ own words in Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” These are words of life to those who volunteer to serve Jesus.
Part ll: Nineveh Repents (5-10)
When Jonah simply obeyed, a miracle happened. Let’s read verse 5, “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” The people repented, apparently after only one day of preaching. Who would have believed that such a miracle could have happened! The people of Nineveh only needed to hear God’s message once. Young and old repented and turned to God in humility of heart. Young boys and girls repented of fighting with their brothers and sisters. Old men repented of having no vision in their hearts for their young people or for the kingdom of God. God honored their response. Jesus said that at the judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up to condemn the Israelites for their failure to repent (Matt 12:39-41). We are tempted to think that nobody would listen to our message. But we may be wrong. If we simply proclaim what we know about God, we may be surprised at how many people will listen. Nobody thought the state of Kentucky could be changed from a bandits’ hideout into gospel centered state almost overnight, but it was. Nowadays people think that students are not interested in the gospel. But they can not see things the way Jesus does. In John 4:35 Jesus says, “Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Let us open our eyes and see that students of our schools as ripe and ready for an immediate harvest when the gospel message is preach. Ask great things of God and expect great things from God.
The king of Nineveah was a true leader for his people. Verse 6 reads, “ When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.” He did not hesitate. He was not offended. He responded immediately, setting a great example. He got his royal officials to repent and he ordered all the people of his realm to repent also. Listen to his proclamation in Verses 7-9, ““Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” May God raise up leaders among us who can lead the populace to repentance through their own example.
What is repentance? It is a strong word. But it is not so scary. Repentance is essentially a change in one's thinking. It involves a change in one’s hope and life direction. The king put on sackcloth. (6) Fasting (7) and wearing sackcloth were signs of self-affliction that reflected an attitude of humility in the ancient Near East (cf. 2 Sam. 3:31, 35; 1 Kings 21:27; Neh. 9:1-2; Isa. 15:3; 58:5; Dan. 9:3; Joel 1:13-14). Sackcloth was what the poor and the slaves wore. Wearing it depicted that the entire population viewed themselves as in need of God's mercy. The people were called to fast and pray. Fasting is a good when we really want deeply repent of something. But fasting is more than just depriving yourself of food. Is 59: 6-8 reads, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.” Repenting people humble themselves before God and commit themselves to living by the truth.
This pagan king knew something about the God of the Bible. Look at Verse 9, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” Though he was pagan, he was wise. In a nutshell he was saying, “We have everything to gain and nothing to loose if we repent and come to the God of the Jews, in humility of heart.” This reminds us Pascal’s Wager. Dr John Armstrong states of Pascal’s wager, “If you place your confidence in God then you ultimately lose nothing but if you do not, and God is in fact who Scripture reveals him to be, then you have lost everything. "Let us assess the two cases; if you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing." (John Armstrong blog January 19, 2009)
God’s heart was moved by their repentance. Look at Verse 10, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” God responded in mercy by cancelling his threatened punishment. God has said that any nation on which he had pronounced judgment would be saved if they repented. (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Jeremiah 18:7-8, “ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” God is always willing to show compassion to anyone willing to seek him.”
Through this passage we discover that God is a God of second chances. He is a God who gives those he loves, divine discipline until they can become his willing servants. We learn that we need to stick to the Gospel message, for this is the only message that brings the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But most of all we learn that God responds to our personal repentance and humility and sheds his mercy on us. Let us come to God, in humility of heart receive his mercy and grace today!
1. A Reluctant Missionary (1-4)
1. Think about Jonah’s condition physically, emotionally and spiritually. What was God about
to do? What does it mean that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time? (1) How is
this different than receiving epiphanies of truth like he had in his prayer?
2. What was God’s direction to Jonah? (2) What was the message Jonah was supposed to
deliver? (2) Why is it important that we speak the message that God gives us to speak? (Rev
22:18-19; 1 Cor 15:1-12)
3. What kind of city was Nineveh? What was his message to them? (4, Matt 12:39-40) How
did Jonah respond? (3a)
4. How did he feel about this? (1 Peter 5:2, Judges 5:9, 1 Peter 2:11) Think about what it is
required to begin to obey God’s direction and to preach such a message. (Matt 26:39; Luke
9:23) Why are we tempted to preach something other than the gospel of Jesus?
Part ll: Nineveh Repents (5-10)
5. How did the Ninevites respond? (5) How did the king of Nineveh exhibit true leadership?
(6) Examine his proclamation in verses 7-9. What is repentance? What is involved in their
repentance? (7-8) What does fasting and sackcloth mean? (Isaiah 58:3-8) What did the king
believe about God? (9)
6. How did God respond to their repentance? (10) What does this teach us about God? How
would God use their example of sincere Repentance, in his gospel history? (Matt 12:39-41)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Jonah 1:12-2:10
“You Listened To My Cry”
Jonah 1:12-2:10 Lesson 3
Key verse 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5-8-09
“He said, ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”
In this passage desperate and reluctant sailors prayed and asked God's forgiveness, and threw Jonah overboard. God himself took care of Jonah by preparing a great fish to swallow him. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. It was like being in the grave. Jonah's situation looked hopeless, but he didn't lose hope. He responded well to God’s training and called out to the Lord, realizing many wonderful things about God and the blessing of faith. His heart became full of thanksgiving and joy, even from inside the belly of a fish. Through this passage, we learn that God, in great hope, saves and trains even his reluctant servants until they can obey him and do his work. We will also learn, that even in the most difficult circumstances we can thank and praise God from our hearts. May God open our spiritual eyes so that we can see his deep grace and rejoice daily in our salvation.
Part l: God’s Saving Grace (1:12-17)
In the last passage, God had called Jonah out, exposing his sin publically and helping him to confess his sin of running away from the Lord and God’s mission. God was about to train this rebellious prophet until he became completely humbled and useful to God. It all begins with Jonah’s acceptance of his fate and his confession before the pagan sailors. First, his acceptance of his fate. Look at verse 12a, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm…”. Obviously Jonah knew the solution to the problem. He knew what God required, the sacrifice of his own body. With a heavy heart, Jonah accepted this. Jonah didn’t believe that he was going to survive. He really had given up all hope. There was no resurrection faith in his heart.
It also proves Jonah was not totally spiritually oblivious. He knew something about God and how God works. It is true, those who know God personally have a sense of what is required is every situation, even though they may be running from God. They have spiritual discernment. With this understanding we can teach the Bible to all kinds of people with confidence that they know what to do. Though Jonah volunteered to be a living sacrifice, God was actually leading Jonah to the perfect place where he could repent, discover God’s grace and embrace God’s mission.
Second, Jonah was fully aware of his own guilt. Look at Verse 12b, “…I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Jonah made no excuses for his sin. He confessed the facts, clearly and simply, even before non believers. He was honest before them. It is not easy to confess our own guilt. We are interested in maintaining our self righteousness before God and man. But with the help of God’s word and his Holy Spirit (Jn 16:8) we can freely confess our sins and freely accept God’s grace of forgiveness. Actually, our humble confessions can make us into more effective gospel workers. In ministering to post modern youth, it has been said that young people are not interested in the “all powerful” leader who exhibits no weakness. They are looking to be led by the “wounded warrior” type, someone they can identify with in their own struggles. Maybe several sailors’ hearts were moved by Jonah’s honesty. May we get out off our ivory towers and confess our weaknesses before God and others.
The sailors were reluctant to follow Jonah’s advice. Look at verse 14. “Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." They were guilt ridden for having to throw Jonah overboard. They were men of conscience. They also had a fear of God. They were aware of God’s judgment on sin and they did not want to be on the wrong side of God’s judgment. What they did not know, is that it was God’s plan to throw Jonah overboard.
They tried their best to do what they thought was right. Look at verse 13, “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.” They should have followed Jonah’s advice. But it went against their common sense. They thought that they were doing right, but actually they were going against the will of God. There are times when we are sincere, but sincerely wrong. They tried their best to overcome their situation by their own human power. Yet their own human power was not enough. The sea waves overwhelmed these veteran seamen. Waves rolled over the deck. Things were getting out of control. God’s will was going to happen no matter what.
The question is, why does God allow them to fall into such desperation? A clue is found in verse 14a, “,Then they cried to the LORD, …” God deliberately allowed them let to reach their human limits, so these men could begin to cry out to the Lord (LORD). And his discipleship training, coupled with Jonah’s confession, were very effective. The LORD, in capital letters, refers to Yahweh, God Almighty, the God of the Bible. They cried out to the Lord (LORD) and not to their own lesser gods.
These men finally listened to the direction that Jonah had given them. Look at verse 15. “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” It went against every fiber of their being, but they did it. And when they obeyed Jonah, they discovered something very important. Let’s read verse 16. “At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” The LORD is the sovereign ruler of creation. He controls the raging seas. When they saw the seas grow calm it was a revelation of God’s divine power to them. God Almighty does as he pleases. (14b) He rules nature, the spiritual world, and even the power of death. He brings salvation to those who accept, trust him and obey him, by faith. They made commitments to God. Maybe they decided to make Bible study appointments and keep them.
The LORD knows the best way to reveal himself to unbelieving hearts. We are praying to raise up 12 disciples of Jesus among NIU students this summer. To do so we try our best to go fishing, pray and teach the Bible. We strive to make an atmosphere of faith and mission in our fellowship, but ultimately it is Jesus himself who can move their hearts. He works in their lives in very unique ways. Let’s not give up doing what we are doing, but may we pray and trust that God is working out his good work in the hearts of those we pray for. (Php 1:6)
As the men clutched Jonah’s arms and legs to heave him over the edge, Jonah had resigned his himself to certain death. He never even bargained with God. Holding his nose, he dove into the breakers. The ice cold water felt like knives piercing his skin. The blue-green waters swirled around him. The breakers swept over him, pushing him downward, saying, “Hurry up and die.” His ear drums felt like popping. Sea weed wrapped around his head. He was descending deeper and deeper into miry, dark cold, silent pit. (6a) His very life was ebbing away. (7a) Surely it was the end.
But at this extreme point of desperation, God had other plans for Jonah. Let’s read verse 17, “ But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” At exactly the right moment God intervened in a very miraculous way. He sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, just before Jonah was going to take that last fatal breath of sea water. Perhaps it was a huge whale that swallowed Jonah whole. God planted an impulse in this whale’s mind, “I want you to take a big gulp of air from the surface and dive down to the kelp beds and swallow a man that you will find there.” It went against the whale’s instincts by it obeyed. God used this “great fish” to save Jonah’s life at the very last minute. We also learn that animals sometimes obey God quicker then people.
Jonah could not believe what was happening to him. In his half dazed state, Jonah was drawn into the whale’s mouth. His back scraped against the whale’s teeth. He traveled down the warm, wet esophagus until he found himself in the whale’s belly. It was pitch dark. He gasped for air from air pockets around him. It was a struggle to not to panic, but Jonah was alive. He was alive! It was a complete miracle.
Some may ask, how is that possible? Yet it is possible. For example in 1933 a sulfur bottom whale was caught off the coast of Cape Cod. It was 100 ft long and had a mouth over 10 ft wide. A man, who was unfortunate enough to be swallowed, could take refuge in any one of the whale’s stomach chambers, or the large cranial cavities (extensions of the nasal sinus) which measured 7 ft high, 7ft wide and 14 ft long. More than big enough for a man to hide safely inside. (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/jonah.html) . Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick was a professional whaler. He wrote about a sailor who was swallowed by a sperm whale. The whale was later captured, and the man rescued after 15 hours in its stomach. He was unharmed except for his skin being bleached by stomach acid. It took him two weeks to recover. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah#Suggested_Explanations) The point however is not whether it is really happened or not. The point is to learn about God who intervenes, humbles and saves…more often than not, at the last moment.
Part ll: Jonah’s Prayer (2:1-10 )
Jonah responded well to God’s training. Let’s read verses 3a and 4a, “You hurled me into the deep,…. I said, 'I have been banished from your sight…” He felt cut off from God. But amazingly he did not act as an ordinary person. He turned to God in prayer. Look at verse 2:1, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.” Jonah turned the eyes of his heart heavenward. Look at Verse 4b, “…yet I will look again toward your holy temple.” Jesus is the best example of one who turned his heart heavenward in the midst of suffering. Jesus was in an even more difficult situation than Jonah was. Jesus was crucified and hung on a cruel cross to die for the sins of the world. At one point Jesus felt cut off from his Father. He cried out “My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?” (Mtt 27:46) But no matter how much he suffered, Jesus never doubted his Father’s love. His eyes were always focused heavenward. In the early Church there was much persecution of Christians. But the author of Hebrews advises all suffering Christians in Hebrews 12:2 saying, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jonah was learning this type of faith when he looked towards God’s holy temple and prayed from inside the belly of the whale.
Jonah also remembered the grace of God. Let’s read verses 6-7 all together, “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. 7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “ Jonah was not bitter to God. He remembered the deep grace of God. Can you see the grace of God in the midst of your difficult circumstances of life? (Job 1:20-22)
Jonah also learned why God wants our exclusive worship. Let’s read verse 8, “"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” The sailors, safe and celebrating on the deck of the ship, were idol worshippers. Jonah, a worshipper of the LORD, was struggling to survive in the belly of a great fish. Yet Jonah knew that he was the most bless one. It is because he could experience the grace of God. God does not want us to worship idols. Exodus 20:3-5 reads, "You shall have no other gods before [a] me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” God does not give us this command for no reason. There are many reasons, but one is that when we worship idols we lose, or give away the grace of God. That is, we can never taste the grace of forgiveness, the grace of deliverance and salvation and the grace of mission. But when we give our hearts to Jesus, the grace of God abounds in our hearts. (2 Cor 9:8)
God pushed Jonah to the limit. God does this throughout the Bible to teach his people faith. In the account of Lazarus, Jesus waited two more days to respond the Mary and Martha’s request for him to come. He waited until Lazarus was good and dead. (John 11:6) Jesus wanted to teach a very important lesson. Listen to what Jesus says in John 11:25, “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;” He also says in John 11:40, “Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" When the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptian army they had no where to go. The Egyptians were closing in and the Red Sea was stopping their escape. It looked like certain death for tens of thousands and a return to slavery. But God planted resurrection faith in his people’s heart through Moses. “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.’” (Ex 14:13.) When they stood firm they saw the deliverance of God. The Red Sea parted and the Israelites crossed “as on dry ground”. God delivered them at the last minute and reveal his glory and grace.
Admittedly, this type of faith training is hard for any one of us. But it is God’s love for us to help us grow spiritually as his sons and daughters. (Heb 12:7-11) Nevertheless, there is a danger to perceive things incorrectly and doubt the love of Jesus. But whoever graduates from God’s school of faith, will see the glory of God and have resurrection faith. Nowadays, our students are reaching their limits in regards to their school studies. Some despair due to persistent sin problems. Others have relational problems that drive them to tears. Some are flailing due to financial problems. We have ministry problems. We wonder where God is in all this. All these have come so that we can learn to cry to God and learn resurrection faith.
Jonah’s skin was turning white from whale stomach acid. He was sleep deprived. He was gasping for air while in pitch darkness. Most people would be worried that they weren’t going to die. Yet Jonah’s mind was elevated above his situation and he made a monumental decision of faith. He declared in verse 9a, “ But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you….” Wow! He had a song in his heart. He thanked God. He also made vows to God. Look at verse 9b. “…What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD." Making a vow is making an absolute commitment to God. And when he made this commitment had an epiphany of truth, discovering that salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah’s three days in the belly of this great fish reveals Jesus. Jesus used Jonah’s experience to describe his own death and resurrection in Matthew 12:39-40, “He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” Jesus considered Jonah’s story a type of prophecy, revealing his own suffering, death and resurrection. This great sign was given to the people of Jesus' time. Yet to accept it they needed to repent and believe. Otherwise, they would be condemned. Indeed, salvation comes through Jesus alone. In John 14:6, “ 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Do you have this confidence? (You may be in the minority, for 40% of Christians believe this.- Marvin Newell. Executive Director of Cross Global Link- 2008) If you do not have this confidence maybe you need a little more “belly of the fish” training from God. May God lead you to the same conclusions and decisions of faith that Jonah came to.
In this passage we learn more about God and how he works. Like a true father, he disciplines us spiritually so that we can cry out to him in prayer and learn true faith. We learn about God who intervenes, humbles and saves…more often than not, at the last moment. We learn that we can have spiritual eyes to transcend our immediate sufferings to thank God, sing praises to God and see God’s salvation in Christ alone. May your sufferings and hardships lead you away from bitterness and unbelief and towards commitment , maturity and faith and thanksgiving to God.
Part l: God’s Saving Grace (12-17)
1. What solution to the problem did Jonah suggest? (12a) What was Jonah keenly aware of?
(12b) Why didn’t the sailors follow Jonah’s advice? (14) How did the sailors attempt to
overcome? (13) Why does God allow us to fall into such desperation? (14a) Who did they
cry out to prayer to this time? (What does the LORD mean?)
2. What did the sailors end up doing? (15) What happened? (15b) What was their response? (16)
What was God doing through this?
3, Describe Jonah’s desperate situation. What did Jonah expect to happen? How did God have
mercy on him? (17) Can you think of times when God rescued you miraculously?
Part ll: Jonah’s Prayer (2:1-10 )
4. What was Jonah’s situation when he began to pray to God? (2:1) When should we begin to
pray? What did he realize about God? (2) Has God every heard your cry for help?
5. How did Jonah view all that happened to him? (3a, 4a) Did he blame God? (Job 1:20-22)
What was his response to all that God allowed in his life? (4b) What does this mean?
6. What shows the absolute desperation that Jonah was experiencing? (5) How far did he sink?
(6a) What did God do? (6b) Why did God wait until this time to act? (John 11:6, 25, 40;
Exodus 14:13) How did Jonah respond to God’s faith training? (6b, 7)
7. Think about God who wants us to worship him alone? (Exodus 20:3-6; Romans 1:21-25) Why does God not want us to worship idols? (8) What does it mean to forfeit grace?
8. What did Jonah resolve to do? (9a) What did he deeply realize? (9b; John 14:6) Why is it amazing that he realized all of these things while in the belly of the fish? What did God do when Jonah came to this understanding? (10) What does this show about God’s way of working? (Lk 1:63-64) How long was Jonah in the fish? How did Jesus use Jonah’s story to reveal the Gospel? (Mtt 12:39-41)
Jonah 1:12-2:10 Lesson 3
Key verse 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5-8-09
“He said, ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”
In this passage desperate and reluctant sailors prayed and asked God's forgiveness, and threw Jonah overboard. God himself took care of Jonah by preparing a great fish to swallow him. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. It was like being in the grave. Jonah's situation looked hopeless, but he didn't lose hope. He responded well to God’s training and called out to the Lord, realizing many wonderful things about God and the blessing of faith. His heart became full of thanksgiving and joy, even from inside the belly of a fish. Through this passage, we learn that God, in great hope, saves and trains even his reluctant servants until they can obey him and do his work. We will also learn, that even in the most difficult circumstances we can thank and praise God from our hearts. May God open our spiritual eyes so that we can see his deep grace and rejoice daily in our salvation.
Part l: God’s Saving Grace (1:12-17)
In the last passage, God had called Jonah out, exposing his sin publically and helping him to confess his sin of running away from the Lord and God’s mission. God was about to train this rebellious prophet until he became completely humbled and useful to God. It all begins with Jonah’s acceptance of his fate and his confession before the pagan sailors. First, his acceptance of his fate. Look at verse 12a, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm…”. Obviously Jonah knew the solution to the problem. He knew what God required, the sacrifice of his own body. With a heavy heart, Jonah accepted this. Jonah didn’t believe that he was going to survive. He really had given up all hope. There was no resurrection faith in his heart.
It also proves Jonah was not totally spiritually oblivious. He knew something about God and how God works. It is true, those who know God personally have a sense of what is required is every situation, even though they may be running from God. They have spiritual discernment. With this understanding we can teach the Bible to all kinds of people with confidence that they know what to do. Though Jonah volunteered to be a living sacrifice, God was actually leading Jonah to the perfect place where he could repent, discover God’s grace and embrace God’s mission.
Second, Jonah was fully aware of his own guilt. Look at Verse 12b, “…I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Jonah made no excuses for his sin. He confessed the facts, clearly and simply, even before non believers. He was honest before them. It is not easy to confess our own guilt. We are interested in maintaining our self righteousness before God and man. But with the help of God’s word and his Holy Spirit (Jn 16:8) we can freely confess our sins and freely accept God’s grace of forgiveness. Actually, our humble confessions can make us into more effective gospel workers. In ministering to post modern youth, it has been said that young people are not interested in the “all powerful” leader who exhibits no weakness. They are looking to be led by the “wounded warrior” type, someone they can identify with in their own struggles. Maybe several sailors’ hearts were moved by Jonah’s honesty. May we get out off our ivory towers and confess our weaknesses before God and others.
The sailors were reluctant to follow Jonah’s advice. Look at verse 14. “Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." They were guilt ridden for having to throw Jonah overboard. They were men of conscience. They also had a fear of God. They were aware of God’s judgment on sin and they did not want to be on the wrong side of God’s judgment. What they did not know, is that it was God’s plan to throw Jonah overboard.
They tried their best to do what they thought was right. Look at verse 13, “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.” They should have followed Jonah’s advice. But it went against their common sense. They thought that they were doing right, but actually they were going against the will of God. There are times when we are sincere, but sincerely wrong. They tried their best to overcome their situation by their own human power. Yet their own human power was not enough. The sea waves overwhelmed these veteran seamen. Waves rolled over the deck. Things were getting out of control. God’s will was going to happen no matter what.
The question is, why does God allow them to fall into such desperation? A clue is found in verse 14a, “,Then they cried to the LORD, …” God deliberately allowed them let to reach their human limits, so these men could begin to cry out to the Lord (LORD). And his discipleship training, coupled with Jonah’s confession, were very effective. The LORD, in capital letters, refers to Yahweh, God Almighty, the God of the Bible. They cried out to the Lord (LORD) and not to their own lesser gods.
These men finally listened to the direction that Jonah had given them. Look at verse 15. “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” It went against every fiber of their being, but they did it. And when they obeyed Jonah, they discovered something very important. Let’s read verse 16. “At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” The LORD is the sovereign ruler of creation. He controls the raging seas. When they saw the seas grow calm it was a revelation of God’s divine power to them. God Almighty does as he pleases. (14b) He rules nature, the spiritual world, and even the power of death. He brings salvation to those who accept, trust him and obey him, by faith. They made commitments to God. Maybe they decided to make Bible study appointments and keep them.
The LORD knows the best way to reveal himself to unbelieving hearts. We are praying to raise up 12 disciples of Jesus among NIU students this summer. To do so we try our best to go fishing, pray and teach the Bible. We strive to make an atmosphere of faith and mission in our fellowship, but ultimately it is Jesus himself who can move their hearts. He works in their lives in very unique ways. Let’s not give up doing what we are doing, but may we pray and trust that God is working out his good work in the hearts of those we pray for. (Php 1:6)
As the men clutched Jonah’s arms and legs to heave him over the edge, Jonah had resigned his himself to certain death. He never even bargained with God. Holding his nose, he dove into the breakers. The ice cold water felt like knives piercing his skin. The blue-green waters swirled around him. The breakers swept over him, pushing him downward, saying, “Hurry up and die.” His ear drums felt like popping. Sea weed wrapped around his head. He was descending deeper and deeper into miry, dark cold, silent pit. (6a) His very life was ebbing away. (7a) Surely it was the end.
But at this extreme point of desperation, God had other plans for Jonah. Let’s read verse 17, “ But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” At exactly the right moment God intervened in a very miraculous way. He sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, just before Jonah was going to take that last fatal breath of sea water. Perhaps it was a huge whale that swallowed Jonah whole. God planted an impulse in this whale’s mind, “I want you to take a big gulp of air from the surface and dive down to the kelp beds and swallow a man that you will find there.” It went against the whale’s instincts by it obeyed. God used this “great fish” to save Jonah’s life at the very last minute. We also learn that animals sometimes obey God quicker then people.
Jonah could not believe what was happening to him. In his half dazed state, Jonah was drawn into the whale’s mouth. His back scraped against the whale’s teeth. He traveled down the warm, wet esophagus until he found himself in the whale’s belly. It was pitch dark. He gasped for air from air pockets around him. It was a struggle to not to panic, but Jonah was alive. He was alive! It was a complete miracle.
Some may ask, how is that possible? Yet it is possible. For example in 1933 a sulfur bottom whale was caught off the coast of Cape Cod. It was 100 ft long and had a mouth over 10 ft wide. A man, who was unfortunate enough to be swallowed, could take refuge in any one of the whale’s stomach chambers, or the large cranial cavities (extensions of the nasal sinus) which measured 7 ft high, 7ft wide and 14 ft long. More than big enough for a man to hide safely inside. (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/jonah.html) . Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick was a professional whaler. He wrote about a sailor who was swallowed by a sperm whale. The whale was later captured, and the man rescued after 15 hours in its stomach. He was unharmed except for his skin being bleached by stomach acid. It took him two weeks to recover. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah#Suggested_Explanations) The point however is not whether it is really happened or not. The point is to learn about God who intervenes, humbles and saves…more often than not, at the last moment.
Part ll: Jonah’s Prayer (2:1-10 )
Jonah responded well to God’s training. Let’s read verses 3a and 4a, “You hurled me into the deep,…. I said, 'I have been banished from your sight…” He felt cut off from God. But amazingly he did not act as an ordinary person. He turned to God in prayer. Look at verse 2:1, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.” Jonah turned the eyes of his heart heavenward. Look at Verse 4b, “…yet I will look again toward your holy temple.” Jesus is the best example of one who turned his heart heavenward in the midst of suffering. Jesus was in an even more difficult situation than Jonah was. Jesus was crucified and hung on a cruel cross to die for the sins of the world. At one point Jesus felt cut off from his Father. He cried out “My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?” (Mtt 27:46) But no matter how much he suffered, Jesus never doubted his Father’s love. His eyes were always focused heavenward. In the early Church there was much persecution of Christians. But the author of Hebrews advises all suffering Christians in Hebrews 12:2 saying, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jonah was learning this type of faith when he looked towards God’s holy temple and prayed from inside the belly of the whale.
Jonah also remembered the grace of God. Let’s read verses 6-7 all together, “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. 7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “ Jonah was not bitter to God. He remembered the deep grace of God. Can you see the grace of God in the midst of your difficult circumstances of life? (Job 1:20-22)
Jonah also learned why God wants our exclusive worship. Let’s read verse 8, “"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” The sailors, safe and celebrating on the deck of the ship, were idol worshippers. Jonah, a worshipper of the LORD, was struggling to survive in the belly of a great fish. Yet Jonah knew that he was the most bless one. It is because he could experience the grace of God. God does not want us to worship idols. Exodus 20:3-5 reads, "You shall have no other gods before [a] me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” God does not give us this command for no reason. There are many reasons, but one is that when we worship idols we lose, or give away the grace of God. That is, we can never taste the grace of forgiveness, the grace of deliverance and salvation and the grace of mission. But when we give our hearts to Jesus, the grace of God abounds in our hearts. (2 Cor 9:8)
God pushed Jonah to the limit. God does this throughout the Bible to teach his people faith. In the account of Lazarus, Jesus waited two more days to respond the Mary and Martha’s request for him to come. He waited until Lazarus was good and dead. (John 11:6) Jesus wanted to teach a very important lesson. Listen to what Jesus says in John 11:25, “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;” He also says in John 11:40, “Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" When the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptian army they had no where to go. The Egyptians were closing in and the Red Sea was stopping their escape. It looked like certain death for tens of thousands and a return to slavery. But God planted resurrection faith in his people’s heart through Moses. “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.’” (Ex 14:13.) When they stood firm they saw the deliverance of God. The Red Sea parted and the Israelites crossed “as on dry ground”. God delivered them at the last minute and reveal his glory and grace.
Admittedly, this type of faith training is hard for any one of us. But it is God’s love for us to help us grow spiritually as his sons and daughters. (Heb 12:7-11) Nevertheless, there is a danger to perceive things incorrectly and doubt the love of Jesus. But whoever graduates from God’s school of faith, will see the glory of God and have resurrection faith. Nowadays, our students are reaching their limits in regards to their school studies. Some despair due to persistent sin problems. Others have relational problems that drive them to tears. Some are flailing due to financial problems. We have ministry problems. We wonder where God is in all this. All these have come so that we can learn to cry to God and learn resurrection faith.
Jonah’s skin was turning white from whale stomach acid. He was sleep deprived. He was gasping for air while in pitch darkness. Most people would be worried that they weren’t going to die. Yet Jonah’s mind was elevated above his situation and he made a monumental decision of faith. He declared in verse 9a, “ But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you….” Wow! He had a song in his heart. He thanked God. He also made vows to God. Look at verse 9b. “…What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD." Making a vow is making an absolute commitment to God. And when he made this commitment had an epiphany of truth, discovering that salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah’s three days in the belly of this great fish reveals Jesus. Jesus used Jonah’s experience to describe his own death and resurrection in Matthew 12:39-40, “He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” Jesus considered Jonah’s story a type of prophecy, revealing his own suffering, death and resurrection. This great sign was given to the people of Jesus' time. Yet to accept it they needed to repent and believe. Otherwise, they would be condemned. Indeed, salvation comes through Jesus alone. In John 14:6, “ 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Do you have this confidence? (You may be in the minority, for 40% of Christians believe this.- Marvin Newell. Executive Director of Cross Global Link- 2008) If you do not have this confidence maybe you need a little more “belly of the fish” training from God. May God lead you to the same conclusions and decisions of faith that Jonah came to.
In this passage we learn more about God and how he works. Like a true father, he disciplines us spiritually so that we can cry out to him in prayer and learn true faith. We learn about God who intervenes, humbles and saves…more often than not, at the last moment. We learn that we can have spiritual eyes to transcend our immediate sufferings to thank God, sing praises to God and see God’s salvation in Christ alone. May your sufferings and hardships lead you away from bitterness and unbelief and towards commitment , maturity and faith and thanksgiving to God.
Part l: God’s Saving Grace (12-17)
1. What solution to the problem did Jonah suggest? (12a) What was Jonah keenly aware of?
(12b) Why didn’t the sailors follow Jonah’s advice? (14) How did the sailors attempt to
overcome? (13) Why does God allow us to fall into such desperation? (14a) Who did they
cry out to prayer to this time? (What does the LORD mean?)
2. What did the sailors end up doing? (15) What happened? (15b) What was their response? (16)
What was God doing through this?
3, Describe Jonah’s desperate situation. What did Jonah expect to happen? How did God have
mercy on him? (17) Can you think of times when God rescued you miraculously?
Part ll: Jonah’s Prayer (2:1-10 )
4. What was Jonah’s situation when he began to pray to God? (2:1) When should we begin to
pray? What did he realize about God? (2) Has God every heard your cry for help?
5. How did Jonah view all that happened to him? (3a, 4a) Did he blame God? (Job 1:20-22)
What was his response to all that God allowed in his life? (4b) What does this mean?
6. What shows the absolute desperation that Jonah was experiencing? (5) How far did he sink?
(6a) What did God do? (6b) Why did God wait until this time to act? (John 11:6, 25, 40;
Exodus 14:13) How did Jonah respond to God’s faith training? (6b, 7)
7. Think about God who wants us to worship him alone? (Exodus 20:3-6; Romans 1:21-25) Why does God not want us to worship idols? (8) What does it mean to forfeit grace?
8. What did Jonah resolve to do? (9a) What did he deeply realize? (9b; John 14:6) Why is it amazing that he realized all of these things while in the belly of the fish? What did God do when Jonah came to this understanding? (10) What does this show about God’s way of working? (Lk 1:63-64) How long was Jonah in the fish? How did Jesus use Jonah’s story to reveal the Gospel? (Mtt 12:39-41)
Monday, May 4, 2009
Jonah 1: 1-11 Message and Questions
JONAH FLEES FROM THE LORD
Jonah 1:1-11 Lesson 2
Key Verse: 1:1-2
“The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
Jonah lived in Northern Israel at a time when the Assyrian Empire was a growing threat to Israel's existence. God's word came to Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach against the sin that was rampant there. Jonah didn't want to go. He didn't want to warn the people of Nineveh of God's judgment. He didn't want them to repent and be saved. So, in this passage he bought a one-way ticket on a ship going to Tarshish--in the opposite direction. He thought he could flee from God and from God's mission. But God had another plan for this rebellious prophet, as we shall see. Through the study of this passage may God forgive us of our narrow minds and take away our rebellious spirits. May God help us to obey his commands and accept his mission and personally calling from our hearts.
Part 1: “Go Preach To Nineveh” (1-3)
Who was the prophet Jonah? Look at verse 1 and 9, “ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:” His dad’s name was Ammitai. His mother remains nameless. Jonah names means “dove” and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25)
There is more to learn about Jonah in verse 9. “ He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." Jonah was a Hebrew. He was a follower of the Jewish faith. He was one of the people chosen by God to be his treasured possession with a special mission to be a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation (Exodus 19:6) and a Light to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 49:6) Jonah tried to do his part in fulfilling God’s vision for his people. Verse 9 says that he worshipped the Lord, “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” That means several things. It means that he was involved in Temple worship. Remember, the year was 780 B.C. when Jonah wrote this book. The First Temple was built by King Solomon (reigned c 970-c 930) and was the center of ancient Judaism. As the sole place of Jewish sacrifice, the Temple replaced the local sanctuaries and crude altars in the hills. (This First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE when they sacked the city.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem
Jonah was more than just a casual worshipper of God, going to the synagogue sporadically on the Sabbath. He was a disciplined man of God. He worshipped Jehovah God every day. His mission of life was to serve God. There is reason to believe that he was a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha’s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel’s most powerful king. (793 – 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 – 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He worshipped God so intensely that he even wrote this prophetic book to Israel and to God’s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Many men of God, who were on fire for the Lord, wrote books that changed history, even at a young age. John Calvin, the great reformer, was only 27 years old when he wrote, “The Institutes Of The Christian Religion” in 1536. It was a large, two volume book to help explained the Christian faith to the King of France when French Catholics were persecuting Protestants. His authorship was born out of his worship of the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Indeed God is looking for worshippers who can worship their creator with all of their heart, soul and strength (Deut 6:5) and also in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) each and every day.
Jonah was a man who was able to hear God’s call and have some response to it, (though at times it was a wrong response.) Look at verse 1 again. “ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:” This means that he had an inner spiritual life where he communicated with God and God communicated to him. There is a gospel song called, “Turn Your Radio On.” One lyric states, “Now everyone has a radio receiver…all you have to do is listen for the call… If you listen in you’ll be believ’in leaning on the truths that are never false.” It is true! We too can have an inner spiritual life, being in communicato with God. We need to tune our hearts to God through faithful Bible study and prayer until we can hear the still, small voice of God. (1 Kings 19:12)
What was God’s word to Jonah? Look at verse 2, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." God had a very difficult mission for Jonah, a mission that even a prophet of God could not obey. God called him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River near modern day Mosel in Iraq. It was a great walled city containing over 120,000 people. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years of Jonah’s time, it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a threat to the national security of Israel.
It was also a very wicked city. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters, worshipping Assyrian deities. The Assyrians performed innumerable acts of extreme violence, torturing and slaughtering anyone who opposed them. Assyria was Israel’s enemy who would eventually conquered them in 722 B.C. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so God’s direction to Jonah, to go and preach to the Ninevites, was a very difficult direction to obey. When God’s word communicates to our hearts, they are not always pleasant words of encouragement, peace and prosperity. So often there are difficult words, like, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt 3:2) And, “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What about, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt 5:44) Here is another hard one… “In your anger do not sin. ‘Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.’” (Eph 4:26) Indeed, many of God’s communications with us are not comfortable, nor easy to obey.
Jonah was not strong enough to obey this direction from God. Look at verse 3a, “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish...” Even though Jonah was a man of God, who worshipped God and served God, he could not always obey God. He ran from the Lord. Jonah could not preach the message of salvation to a gentile people who were going to be mortal enemies of Israel. That was too much to ask. He knew that God’s word is so powerful that if it is preached people will repent and be saved. (Romans 10:14,15) Jonah probably hoped the Ninevites would receive the full cup of God’s fury instead. Jonah was struggling so much with God’s direction. He started to have constant headaches. He couldn’t sleep at night. He avoided the subject. He came up with reasonable sounding excuses to justify why he could not obey such a direction. “I already have a calling to be a prophet. I am already in the school of prophets. I have no time for this.” His struggle grew more intense. He even paid money to get on a ship and flee to Tarshish. Tarshish could have been any number of Phoenician western ports. Jonah sought to flee by ship from Joppa on Israel's Mediterranean coast and to go to some remote destination that lay in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Therefore Jonah was trying to get as far away from Nineveh as he could. He was willing to relocate and even pay an expensive fare to go on this cruise. For example, for my family to go on the ferry ride across Lake Michigan with our car, it would cost about $400. Indeed, he went to great lengths to avoid the call of God. Why did Jonah leave Israel? He evidently concluded that if he ran away God would select another prophet rather than tracking him down and making him go to Nineveh.
Jonah understood God’s specific job for him, but he didn’t want to do it. We can say that Jonah was disgruntled with his calling. Jonah’s attitude is representative of Israel’s reluctance to share God’s love and mercy with others, even though this was their God-given mission (Genesis 12:3). They, like Jonah, did not want non-Jews (Gentiles) to obtain God’s favor. It is also representative of ourselves who do not want to follow God’s call on our personal lives. Not everyone has the same call from God. But one thing is for sure, every calling from God involves a call to commitment with certain degrees of self denial and self sacrifice. Every calling from God calls us out our comfort zone in order engage our faith and thereby glorify God. Most people do not want this. Because of these reasons, people flee from God. In order to flee, many people do strange things. They may stop Bible study and all communication with some servants of God. They might search for a church that makes less demands on them. They may demonize and slander a group that is serving a mission field that God has called them too. All this to justify their rejection of God’s call. Though they may not move physically, they are running from God in their hearts.
But there is one who did not run from God’s difficult mission. And we all know him. His name is Jesus. When Jesus began his messianic ministry he came to John the Baptist to be baptized by John. When John saw Jesus coming toward him he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus came to world in order to fulfill a very difficult mission, to lay down his life on the cross as the lamb or God. He gave up all the glory, power and majesty of the kingdom of heaven in order to become man and suffer and die on the cross as the lamb of God. (John 1:14) All this was part of God’s plan. Isaiah 53:10 reads, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” (Isa 54:10) All this happened according God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. (Acts 2:23) It was a work of salvation conceived of, by our Father in heaven, from the beginning. God was going to send his One and Only Son, into this world, to live, suffer and die among God’s enemies, so that anyone who repents of their sins and believes in him will have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) It was such a difficult mission, but Jesus chose to obey. He says in John 10:17-18, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was facing his eminent crucifixion. He prayed to obey God, so much so that his sweat was like drops of blood. He prayed until he came to the conclusion, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) Praise God that Jesus willingly chose to become flesh and make his dwelling among us (Jn 1:14). Praise God that Jesus offered his life so that we maybe forgiven of our sins and have eternal life. Thank Jesus who shows us how to obey the will of God in our own lives. May we all be honest with ourselves and discover the will of God in our own lives and answer, like Jesus, “Not my will but yours be done.” Through your decision of faith to obey God, you will be blessed and multitudes will be blessed through you.
Part ll: Jonah’s Lack Of Compassion (4-6)
Jonah had a severe lack of compassion on those who were suffering around him. Look at verse 5. “All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” Jonah had boarded ship and was on his way Tarshish according to his plan. On the journey a terrible storm arose that caused even seasoned sailors to despair of life itself. They were in such a desperate situation that they even started to throw their precious cargo over the side. They began to cry out in prayer to their gods. Some cried, “O Poseidon, save us! O Zeus have mercy!” Everyone was working hard, all together as one, even though they were adherents to different religions.
But there was one who was not onboard the deck. It was Jonah? Where was he? He was below the deck sleeping. How could Jonah sleep? Jesus slept in a boat in the midst of the storm. But he could do so because of his absolute faith in God and he wanted to teach his disciples an important spiritual lesson. But Jonah’s reasons for sleeping and people’s reasons for sleeping in critical moments are not so holy. Even the captain of the ship knew that it was wrong for Jonah to sleep at this moment. Let’s read verse 6. “The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." People sleep in the midst of troubles for many reasons. Some are despaired of life and so they sleep. Others have no sense of the disaster that looms before them and so they sleep out of sheer ignorance and blindness. Some simply don’t care about others who are suffering around them and so they sleep out of indifference. I believe that Jonah simply did not care about these Gentiles and their plight. People were suffering around him and yet he chose to sleep when he could have helped. It is not wrong to sleep. We need to sleep or we cannot function properly. But at the critical moment, when others are suffering, how can we sleep and ignore God’s call. Have we lost our spiritual senses? Can we not see the lostness of those around us? Are we asleep?
Jonah could sleep because he did not know the compassion of God. Jonah 4:11 reads, “Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” God cares and he is compassionate, even towards his enemies. Exodus 34:6 reads, “…The Lord, The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Jonah needed to repent and begin to participate in the compassionate heart of God. Where would be if Jesus and other servants of God were not compassionate to us? What if they just ignored us as we passed by them in time of spiritual need? Jesus once said, "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'” We must come out of our indifference and practice the compassionate heart of Jesus. How? By being faithful to what God has called us to do and begin by serving one person.
Jonah probably felt like he didn’t have to lift a finger to help either. There is a saying, “I love work. I can watch it all day.” Yes, there are people who see others work around them and never think that they should pitch in a helping hand. Jonah was one of these people. Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” He was a business man. But the principle also applies to doing the work of God.
It is interesting to see that these idol worshipping sailors had more spiritual sense than Jonah had. Verse 5a reads, “All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god…” and verse 6, “The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." These men did not worship the Creator God and yet they knew how to pray in the midst of their calamity. They were doing more than Jonah was doing. We are quick to criticize those of other religions, but the fact is, they may have more spiritual sense than some Christians. All people are created in the image of God. All people have a sense of the divine and are endowed with a spiritual desire. God did this so that all people one day seek him and find him one day. Christians should be the most tuned into the things of God, not idol worshippers.
Part lll: God Calls Jonah Out (7-11)
God was helping Jonah to confess of his sin. Let’s read verses 7-10, “ 7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" 9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." 10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) A lot of times we focus on the calamity around us and fail to see the sovereign Lord at work in the midst of our troubles. Jonah was running away from God’s mission. He thought he was smart and that he was going to succeed, all he had to do was lay low until the storm was over and then he would be far away in Tarshish. But our compassionate and gracious God was calling him out. God allowed the storm to come. God even used godless men to force Jonah to publically confess his sin. Never think that you can ever hide from God. God will sure find a way to call you out so that you can confess you sin and accept Jesus’ forgiveness and begin to live a new life.
Jonah’s sin was causing a lot of trouble for other people. Look at verse 8a.“ So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?...” Jonah may have felt that his rebellion to God was his own affair and nobody else’s business. But though he never meant for this to happen, it did. Many peoples’ lives were disrupted because of his. People think that they are their own person, that their lives do not affect others. We have a, “Leave me alone’ attitude, even when we are hurting others. We must be mindful of our influence. In one day we may interact with 50 people. We must be careful of our influence and the affect our sin has on others. Jesus once said, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.” (Luke 17:1-3a) Pray that we can be a great influence to others, leading others to faith in Jesus.
God wanted Jonah to minister to the sailors. In their desperation the sailors wanted to find some direction from a man of God, even a compromised servant of God. Let’s read verse 11, “The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" The sailors knew that Jonah had his problems and that he was the source the calamity. But never the less he was servant of God and they turned to him for answers. This will happen to you. As soon as you identify yourself as a Christian, there will be times when people come to you for advice and words of encouragement. They will ask you for prayer support. Will you be ready to offer the words that bring life? Can you plant hope in their weary hearts? Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” May we give our hearts to sincere Bible study and grow spiritually so that we can be ready to lead anyone who comes to us for the words of life.
Through this passage we learned that we all are called to answer our own personal calling from God. This calling will involve much hardship. But we must embrace God’s call and pray like Jesus, “Lord, not my will but yours be done.” Let us be compassionate and respond to others who suffer around us. Let us be good spiritual influences that bless others’ lives and not create calamities. And when God calls us out, let us be quick to repent and begin to follow Jesus once again.
Part 1: “Go Preach To Nineveh” (1-3)
1. What kind of person was Jonah? (1, 19, 2 Kings 14:25) Did he have a relationship with God? What did God want him to do? (2) Why? What are some difficult things that God has called you to do?
2. How did Jonah respond to God’s call? (3a) What kind of effort did he make? What does this tell us about human nature? Think about others in the Bible who did answer God’s difficult call. (John 10:17-18; Luke 22:42)
Part ll: Jonah’s Lack Of Compassion (4-6)
3. How did Jonah respond to the calamity? (5b) How were others responding? (5) What does this reveal about the hearts of the people on the deck? (5a) What should we do when we see others struggling around us? What does this reveal about Jonah?
4. What did the captain urge Jonah to do? (6) What can we always do in the midst of any crisis? Why is prayer so effective? (6)
Part lll: Jonah’s Bad Influence And God’s Mercy (7-11)
5. How did the crew members find out who is responsible for all the trouble they were in? (7) How did Jonah identify himself? (8-9) What was God doing here? What kind of influence was Jonah? Why is it important for God’s people to be a good influence? (Matthew 5:13; Luke 17:1-3a)
6. What had their situation cause them to do? (5) Who did the ship’s crew turn to when their situation became even more desperate and the could do nothing else? (11) How can we be ready to talk to people when they come to us? (1 Peter 3:15)
Jonah 1:1-11 Lesson 2
Key Verse: 1:1-2
“The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
Jonah lived in Northern Israel at a time when the Assyrian Empire was a growing threat to Israel's existence. God's word came to Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach against the sin that was rampant there. Jonah didn't want to go. He didn't want to warn the people of Nineveh of God's judgment. He didn't want them to repent and be saved. So, in this passage he bought a one-way ticket on a ship going to Tarshish--in the opposite direction. He thought he could flee from God and from God's mission. But God had another plan for this rebellious prophet, as we shall see. Through the study of this passage may God forgive us of our narrow minds and take away our rebellious spirits. May God help us to obey his commands and accept his mission and personally calling from our hearts.
Part 1: “Go Preach To Nineveh” (1-3)
Who was the prophet Jonah? Look at verse 1 and 9, “ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:” His dad’s name was Ammitai. His mother remains nameless. Jonah names means “dove” and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25)
There is more to learn about Jonah in verse 9. “ He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." Jonah was a Hebrew. He was a follower of the Jewish faith. He was one of the people chosen by God to be his treasured possession with a special mission to be a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation (Exodus 19:6) and a Light to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 49:6) Jonah tried to do his part in fulfilling God’s vision for his people. Verse 9 says that he worshipped the Lord, “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” That means several things. It means that he was involved in Temple worship. Remember, the year was 780 B.C. when Jonah wrote this book. The First Temple was built by King Solomon (reigned c 970-c 930) and was the center of ancient Judaism. As the sole place of Jewish sacrifice, the Temple replaced the local sanctuaries and crude altars in the hills. (This First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE when they sacked the city.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem
Jonah was more than just a casual worshipper of God, going to the synagogue sporadically on the Sabbath. He was a disciplined man of God. He worshipped Jehovah God every day. His mission of life was to serve God. There is reason to believe that he was a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha’s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel’s most powerful king. (793 – 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 – 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He worshipped God so intensely that he even wrote this prophetic book to Israel and to God’s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Many men of God, who were on fire for the Lord, wrote books that changed history, even at a young age. John Calvin, the great reformer, was only 27 years old when he wrote, “The Institutes Of The Christian Religion” in 1536. It was a large, two volume book to help explained the Christian faith to the King of France when French Catholics were persecuting Protestants. His authorship was born out of his worship of the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Indeed God is looking for worshippers who can worship their creator with all of their heart, soul and strength (Deut 6:5) and also in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) each and every day.
Jonah was a man who was able to hear God’s call and have some response to it, (though at times it was a wrong response.) Look at verse 1 again. “ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:” This means that he had an inner spiritual life where he communicated with God and God communicated to him. There is a gospel song called, “Turn Your Radio On.” One lyric states, “Now everyone has a radio receiver…all you have to do is listen for the call… If you listen in you’ll be believ’in leaning on the truths that are never false.” It is true! We too can have an inner spiritual life, being in communicato with God. We need to tune our hearts to God through faithful Bible study and prayer until we can hear the still, small voice of God. (1 Kings 19:12)
What was God’s word to Jonah? Look at verse 2, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." God had a very difficult mission for Jonah, a mission that even a prophet of God could not obey. God called him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River near modern day Mosel in Iraq. It was a great walled city containing over 120,000 people. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years of Jonah’s time, it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a threat to the national security of Israel.
It was also a very wicked city. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters, worshipping Assyrian deities. The Assyrians performed innumerable acts of extreme violence, torturing and slaughtering anyone who opposed them. Assyria was Israel’s enemy who would eventually conquered them in 722 B.C. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so God’s direction to Jonah, to go and preach to the Ninevites, was a very difficult direction to obey. When God’s word communicates to our hearts, they are not always pleasant words of encouragement, peace and prosperity. So often there are difficult words, like, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt 3:2) And, “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What about, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt 5:44) Here is another hard one… “In your anger do not sin. ‘Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.’” (Eph 4:26) Indeed, many of God’s communications with us are not comfortable, nor easy to obey.
Jonah was not strong enough to obey this direction from God. Look at verse 3a, “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish...” Even though Jonah was a man of God, who worshipped God and served God, he could not always obey God. He ran from the Lord. Jonah could not preach the message of salvation to a gentile people who were going to be mortal enemies of Israel. That was too much to ask. He knew that God’s word is so powerful that if it is preached people will repent and be saved. (Romans 10:14,15) Jonah probably hoped the Ninevites would receive the full cup of God’s fury instead. Jonah was struggling so much with God’s direction. He started to have constant headaches. He couldn’t sleep at night. He avoided the subject. He came up with reasonable sounding excuses to justify why he could not obey such a direction. “I already have a calling to be a prophet. I am already in the school of prophets. I have no time for this.” His struggle grew more intense. He even paid money to get on a ship and flee to Tarshish. Tarshish could have been any number of Phoenician western ports. Jonah sought to flee by ship from Joppa on Israel's Mediterranean coast and to go to some remote destination that lay in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Therefore Jonah was trying to get as far away from Nineveh as he could. He was willing to relocate and even pay an expensive fare to go on this cruise. For example, for my family to go on the ferry ride across Lake Michigan with our car, it would cost about $400. Indeed, he went to great lengths to avoid the call of God. Why did Jonah leave Israel? He evidently concluded that if he ran away God would select another prophet rather than tracking him down and making him go to Nineveh.
Jonah understood God’s specific job for him, but he didn’t want to do it. We can say that Jonah was disgruntled with his calling. Jonah’s attitude is representative of Israel’s reluctance to share God’s love and mercy with others, even though this was their God-given mission (Genesis 12:3). They, like Jonah, did not want non-Jews (Gentiles) to obtain God’s favor. It is also representative of ourselves who do not want to follow God’s call on our personal lives. Not everyone has the same call from God. But one thing is for sure, every calling from God involves a call to commitment with certain degrees of self denial and self sacrifice. Every calling from God calls us out our comfort zone in order engage our faith and thereby glorify God. Most people do not want this. Because of these reasons, people flee from God. In order to flee, many people do strange things. They may stop Bible study and all communication with some servants of God. They might search for a church that makes less demands on them. They may demonize and slander a group that is serving a mission field that God has called them too. All this to justify their rejection of God’s call. Though they may not move physically, they are running from God in their hearts.
But there is one who did not run from God’s difficult mission. And we all know him. His name is Jesus. When Jesus began his messianic ministry he came to John the Baptist to be baptized by John. When John saw Jesus coming toward him he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus came to world in order to fulfill a very difficult mission, to lay down his life on the cross as the lamb or God. He gave up all the glory, power and majesty of the kingdom of heaven in order to become man and suffer and die on the cross as the lamb of God. (John 1:14) All this was part of God’s plan. Isaiah 53:10 reads, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” (Isa 54:10) All this happened according God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. (Acts 2:23) It was a work of salvation conceived of, by our Father in heaven, from the beginning. God was going to send his One and Only Son, into this world, to live, suffer and die among God’s enemies, so that anyone who repents of their sins and believes in him will have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) It was such a difficult mission, but Jesus chose to obey. He says in John 10:17-18, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was facing his eminent crucifixion. He prayed to obey God, so much so that his sweat was like drops of blood. He prayed until he came to the conclusion, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) Praise God that Jesus willingly chose to become flesh and make his dwelling among us (Jn 1:14). Praise God that Jesus offered his life so that we maybe forgiven of our sins and have eternal life. Thank Jesus who shows us how to obey the will of God in our own lives. May we all be honest with ourselves and discover the will of God in our own lives and answer, like Jesus, “Not my will but yours be done.” Through your decision of faith to obey God, you will be blessed and multitudes will be blessed through you.
Part ll: Jonah’s Lack Of Compassion (4-6)
Jonah had a severe lack of compassion on those who were suffering around him. Look at verse 5. “All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” Jonah had boarded ship and was on his way Tarshish according to his plan. On the journey a terrible storm arose that caused even seasoned sailors to despair of life itself. They were in such a desperate situation that they even started to throw their precious cargo over the side. They began to cry out in prayer to their gods. Some cried, “O Poseidon, save us! O Zeus have mercy!” Everyone was working hard, all together as one, even though they were adherents to different religions.
But there was one who was not onboard the deck. It was Jonah? Where was he? He was below the deck sleeping. How could Jonah sleep? Jesus slept in a boat in the midst of the storm. But he could do so because of his absolute faith in God and he wanted to teach his disciples an important spiritual lesson. But Jonah’s reasons for sleeping and people’s reasons for sleeping in critical moments are not so holy. Even the captain of the ship knew that it was wrong for Jonah to sleep at this moment. Let’s read verse 6. “The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." People sleep in the midst of troubles for many reasons. Some are despaired of life and so they sleep. Others have no sense of the disaster that looms before them and so they sleep out of sheer ignorance and blindness. Some simply don’t care about others who are suffering around them and so they sleep out of indifference. I believe that Jonah simply did not care about these Gentiles and their plight. People were suffering around him and yet he chose to sleep when he could have helped. It is not wrong to sleep. We need to sleep or we cannot function properly. But at the critical moment, when others are suffering, how can we sleep and ignore God’s call. Have we lost our spiritual senses? Can we not see the lostness of those around us? Are we asleep?
Jonah could sleep because he did not know the compassion of God. Jonah 4:11 reads, “Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” God cares and he is compassionate, even towards his enemies. Exodus 34:6 reads, “…The Lord, The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Jonah needed to repent and begin to participate in the compassionate heart of God. Where would be if Jesus and other servants of God were not compassionate to us? What if they just ignored us as we passed by them in time of spiritual need? Jesus once said, "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'” We must come out of our indifference and practice the compassionate heart of Jesus. How? By being faithful to what God has called us to do and begin by serving one person.
Jonah probably felt like he didn’t have to lift a finger to help either. There is a saying, “I love work. I can watch it all day.” Yes, there are people who see others work around them and never think that they should pitch in a helping hand. Jonah was one of these people. Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” He was a business man. But the principle also applies to doing the work of God.
It is interesting to see that these idol worshipping sailors had more spiritual sense than Jonah had. Verse 5a reads, “All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god…” and verse 6, “The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." These men did not worship the Creator God and yet they knew how to pray in the midst of their calamity. They were doing more than Jonah was doing. We are quick to criticize those of other religions, but the fact is, they may have more spiritual sense than some Christians. All people are created in the image of God. All people have a sense of the divine and are endowed with a spiritual desire. God did this so that all people one day seek him and find him one day. Christians should be the most tuned into the things of God, not idol worshippers.
Part lll: God Calls Jonah Out (7-11)
God was helping Jonah to confess of his sin. Let’s read verses 7-10, “ 7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" 9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." 10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) A lot of times we focus on the calamity around us and fail to see the sovereign Lord at work in the midst of our troubles. Jonah was running away from God’s mission. He thought he was smart and that he was going to succeed, all he had to do was lay low until the storm was over and then he would be far away in Tarshish. But our compassionate and gracious God was calling him out. God allowed the storm to come. God even used godless men to force Jonah to publically confess his sin. Never think that you can ever hide from God. God will sure find a way to call you out so that you can confess you sin and accept Jesus’ forgiveness and begin to live a new life.
Jonah’s sin was causing a lot of trouble for other people. Look at verse 8a.“ So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?...” Jonah may have felt that his rebellion to God was his own affair and nobody else’s business. But though he never meant for this to happen, it did. Many peoples’ lives were disrupted because of his. People think that they are their own person, that their lives do not affect others. We have a, “Leave me alone’ attitude, even when we are hurting others. We must be mindful of our influence. In one day we may interact with 50 people. We must be careful of our influence and the affect our sin has on others. Jesus once said, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.” (Luke 17:1-3a) Pray that we can be a great influence to others, leading others to faith in Jesus.
God wanted Jonah to minister to the sailors. In their desperation the sailors wanted to find some direction from a man of God, even a compromised servant of God. Let’s read verse 11, “The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" The sailors knew that Jonah had his problems and that he was the source the calamity. But never the less he was servant of God and they turned to him for answers. This will happen to you. As soon as you identify yourself as a Christian, there will be times when people come to you for advice and words of encouragement. They will ask you for prayer support. Will you be ready to offer the words that bring life? Can you plant hope in their weary hearts? Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” May we give our hearts to sincere Bible study and grow spiritually so that we can be ready to lead anyone who comes to us for the words of life.
Through this passage we learned that we all are called to answer our own personal calling from God. This calling will involve much hardship. But we must embrace God’s call and pray like Jesus, “Lord, not my will but yours be done.” Let us be compassionate and respond to others who suffer around us. Let us be good spiritual influences that bless others’ lives and not create calamities. And when God calls us out, let us be quick to repent and begin to follow Jesus once again.
Part 1: “Go Preach To Nineveh” (1-3)
1. What kind of person was Jonah? (1, 19, 2 Kings 14:25) Did he have a relationship with God? What did God want him to do? (2) Why? What are some difficult things that God has called you to do?
2. How did Jonah respond to God’s call? (3a) What kind of effort did he make? What does this tell us about human nature? Think about others in the Bible who did answer God’s difficult call. (John 10:17-18; Luke 22:42)
Part ll: Jonah’s Lack Of Compassion (4-6)
3. How did Jonah respond to the calamity? (5b) How were others responding? (5) What does this reveal about the hearts of the people on the deck? (5a) What should we do when we see others struggling around us? What does this reveal about Jonah?
4. What did the captain urge Jonah to do? (6) What can we always do in the midst of any crisis? Why is prayer so effective? (6)
Part lll: Jonah’s Bad Influence And God’s Mercy (7-11)
5. How did the crew members find out who is responsible for all the trouble they were in? (7) How did Jonah identify himself? (8-9) What was God doing here? What kind of influence was Jonah? Why is it important for God’s people to be a good influence? (Matthew 5:13; Luke 17:1-3a)
6. What had their situation cause them to do? (5) Who did the ship’s crew turn to when their situation became even more desperate and the could do nothing else? (11) How can we be ready to talk to people when they come to us? (1 Peter 3:15)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Easter Bible Conference Report
The Gospel Of Peace
Triton/NIU UBF Easter conference report By Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
On April 10th to 12th, Triton UBF and NIU UBF held an Easter Bible Conference entitiled, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The title of the conference was, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The key verse is “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36) Sixty seven people (12 of which were from NIU UBF), gathered at beautiful Timber Lee Wisconsin, about a 2 hour drive from Chicago. A “lee” is a place of shelter. Timber-lee is spiritual shelter in this world. It is a Christian conference and retreat center under the auspices of the Evangelical Free Church of America. It is located near the southern part of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest. The site encompasses over 600 acres of wooded, rolling scenic land. Its mission is to create engaging communities where people can encounter Christ through a dynamic camp experience. Our ministries last met at Timber-lee in 1995. Some attendants were high school students then, coming to Jesus for the first time. Several of these people returned to Jesus, at this same place, 14 years later.
Conference preparation began with two weeks of prayer meetings held at Triton. At these prayer meetings, God prepared our hearts through deep, verse by verse, Bible studies of 1 Corinthians 15 with Shepherd Teddy. Different groups worked hard to prepare a Student drama and CBF drama and an dramatic dance dedicated as a prayer for India pioneering work. Our music team worked hard to prepare inspiring praise music and special songs.
After a very effective “ice breaker” activity, led by Charisma Magno, the opening message was delivered by Andrew Norte, (NIU Music education), entitled, “Jesus, The Resurrection And The Life” based on John 11:25,26. We learned that where Jesus is there is hope, power, life and victory. In Christ, we can come out of the power of death, right now and live a life of faith. Andrew bore a double cross. He offered up his music talents to serve the music ministry, even premiering an original solo, “That’s The Power Of The Gospel.”
That evening we heard come inspiring life testimonies. Bamidele Taiwo (Business grad, Concordia University) shared how, at the age of two, he became disabled after falling out of a two story window. His parents loved and prayed for him. Jesus helped him overcome his bitterness. He does not live as a disabled man, but as a man of faith who has complete hope and trust in Jesus. He graduated in 2008 with a business degree from Concordia University. He prays to be a short term missionary to Argentina.
Kate Yoshida (political science grad) In the past she thought God was a punishing God keeping us under constant surveillance. After a conversation with Shp Teddy, she came to a realization that saving faith was not a matter of feelings, but it is a decision of faith based in the truth of God in the Bible. She came to know the God of grace and truth personally.
Tim Sagel (Electrical Engineering 3, NIU) gave his heart to write his first life testimony. He wrote 13 paged and reduced it to 5 pages. He could see how God saved a lonely, single seed and is helping him to be a shepherd for lost souls. God has been his friend over the years and has been training him to be shepherd and, one day an electrical engineer. Tim humbly received “revising” training from Julie Jesmer. He prays to be a blessing at the upcoming European Summer Bible Conference.
Lucy Kasango was our fourth sharer. She is from Zaire and is married to Elijah Kasango. She shared her sorrow that two of her three children were born with sickle cell anemia. She felt guilty about bringing them into the world. She suffers when she sees them in pain. But she found salvation and peace through trusting in the sovereignty of God. In God, there are no mistakes and God has a good purpose for her family, especially her children. She was released from self condemnation and received new joy and new life.
The second day began with group Bible studies. God raised up ten group study leaders. My leader was Rebekah Heusel. (daughter of Carl and Wendy Heusel) Though she is young, she prepared with her whole heart and boldly led sticking to the word of God. The message that followed was delivered by Ian Turner of Triton UBF. His message was based on Peter’s sermon found in Acts 3:11-21 entitled, “In The Name Of Jesus” Through his message we learned that we always have something to offer to the people, that is, the mighty name of Jesus and his life giving Gospel. Through faith in the power of Jesus we can do anything that God calls us to do. Ian also showed us that through sincere repentance, times of refreshing will come from the Lord. Ian had a double cross. One was message preparation and the other, leading the Triton/NIU Praise band.
That afternoon most people gave their hearts to testimony writing and sharing. Most people wrote and shared. The kids prepared together. There was free time. Many went horseback riding, others hiked and played sand volleyball. The highlight of the afternoon was Tim Lopez’s baptism by Shp Teddy. 60 people gathered at an amphitheater descending to a lake. In the cold water, Tim was baptized. It was his public declaration of his faith and his dedication of his life to following Jesus a shepherd and Bible teacher.
That evening Daniel Pitts delivered a message entitled, “Made Alive in Christ” based on Ephesians 2:1-10. Though Daniel is young, (High School Jr.) he delivered a powerful, clear and repentant message. God opened his eyes to see the he spent a lot of time doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. To him, church was boring. But after his baptism, his heart was changed. He decided to seek after God and engage his heart through Bible reading and prayer. His soul came alive in Jesus and encouraged all to come to Jesus to receive new life. After his message we heard some chosen testimonies, written that afternoon. Katherine Portugal (Triton College), shared about God’s work in her, who led her out of a faith based in culture and traditions to a faith based on faith in Jesus alone. Maggie Herrera (Criminal Justice, Triton College) thanked Jesus for freeing her from this world and its many lies and helping her to be found in Christ. Katalina Escobar (Triton College) lived a hedonistic, pleasure seeking life. But Jesus intervened and worked a miracle. He saved her from many destructive vices and even provided a sponsor for school. Sarah Jimenez confessed that though she had wandered from Jesus over the last 14 years, God has kept her. This conference, she was reminded of Jesus’ grace and vowed to return to her first love, Jesus. She committed herself to studying the Bible, 1:1 with Grace Norte and following Jesus, her Lord and Savior, once again.
Later that evening we were blessed with several presentations. The NIU UBF prepared a dramatic dance based on the Bollywood “Jai ho” dance at the end of “Slum Dog Millionaire”. In the dance a Hindu girl is converted by two missionaries. She receives some persecution, but overcomes and co-works with the missionaries to help convert her own people. Grace Norte and Mary Cedeno and Sarah Jimenez co-worked to produce a CBF drama based on 1 Corinthians 15. Triton Bible Club, led by Charisma Magno, produced a drama vividly depicting the suffering of young people who are living under the power of death. It was shockingly real but effective to reveal how the Gospel of Jesus has power to free anyone from the power of sin to give them new life. That night, students shared joyful fellowship around the campfire singing Kumbaya.
On the last day of the conference, we heard a message delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF entitled “The Gospel of Peace”, based on Acts 10:1-48. Through his message, we can see how God wants all people of all nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus. When any person, who repents of their sins and comes to Jesus, by faith, they are forgiven by God and become part of God’s family. They not only receive the forgiveness of sins, but also eternal life. They receive the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding.
The closing message was delivered by Shp Michael Norte. It was based on Acts 2:17, “Vision Possible” He pointed out that after receiving the forgiveness of God and freedom from sin God fills our hearts with his visions of his kingdom and his life giving work spreading throughout this world. As God’s people we are full of hope and vision in Christ. The young people of America can have this hope and vision when they repent and give their lives Jesus. It all starts when they begin to study the Bible, seeking to know Jesus. Michael left us with the question, “What is your vision for yourself and your ministry?”
At the end of the program, Shepherd Teddy led everyone in the reading of Romans 10:8-13, with special emphasis, that “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (13) He helped people to realize that all have sinned and need to come to Jesus to receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Then something historical happened. Shp Teddy initiated and altar-call. Half of the congregation came to the front to be prayed for. Many people shed tears of repentance and release. We pray for all who answered the altar call to give their lives to Jesus and serve him alone.
We thank God for many aspects of this conference. God sent about 14 new young people. Nearly everyone attended all the meetings and wrote testimonies. The praise and worship music was excellent. Everyone had a hand in serving the conference, from the music, to the dances the dramas, the messages and testimonies. We rejoiced at the fact that several people from the Triton Bible Club have been making the transition from the Bible club to 1:1 Bible study. The altar call, the baptism, the life testimonies are all evidences that the kingdom of God is advancing among us. So many times we have studied about post modern youth, how they are relational. I could see it at this conference. I could see the members of Triton Bible Club growing in friendship. They have an identity as a Triton Bible Club members. I could see people singing arm and arm. I thank God for leading my five children to the altar call, some of them had tears in their eyes. I thank God for bringing Miranda Forde (11 yrs old). She confessed that she came for fun, but I believe that she learned a lot about Jesus and is one step closer to meeting Jesus personally and the closest of all my kids’ friends to being a growing disciple of Jesus. Mandy Halek has new humble spirit and God used this conference to help her renew her spiritual life. Tim found new joy through meditating on and sharing the grace of God. Tim and Jennifer had joy serving the praise and worship times. Our family, Tim and Mandy Halek found joy serving the dramatic dance. Kathleen Haskins (RN) came to the conference on Saturday night. She called it a spiritual feast. She recommitted herself to more frequent daily bread prayer times with our family. Indeed the Gospel of Peace brought true peace and true joy to all of our hearts.
Triton/NIU UBF Easter conference report By Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
On April 10th to 12th, Triton UBF and NIU UBF held an Easter Bible Conference entitiled, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The title of the conference was, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The key verse is “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36) Sixty seven people (12 of which were from NIU UBF), gathered at beautiful Timber Lee Wisconsin, about a 2 hour drive from Chicago. A “lee” is a place of shelter. Timber-lee is spiritual shelter in this world. It is a Christian conference and retreat center under the auspices of the Evangelical Free Church of America. It is located near the southern part of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest. The site encompasses over 600 acres of wooded, rolling scenic land. Its mission is to create engaging communities where people can encounter Christ through a dynamic camp experience. Our ministries last met at Timber-lee in 1995. Some attendants were high school students then, coming to Jesus for the first time. Several of these people returned to Jesus, at this same place, 14 years later.
Conference preparation began with two weeks of prayer meetings held at Triton. At these prayer meetings, God prepared our hearts through deep, verse by verse, Bible studies of 1 Corinthians 15 with Shepherd Teddy. Different groups worked hard to prepare a Student drama and CBF drama and an dramatic dance dedicated as a prayer for India pioneering work. Our music team worked hard to prepare inspiring praise music and special songs.
After a very effective “ice breaker” activity, led by Charisma Magno, the opening message was delivered by Andrew Norte, (NIU Music education), entitled, “Jesus, The Resurrection And The Life” based on John 11:25,26. We learned that where Jesus is there is hope, power, life and victory. In Christ, we can come out of the power of death, right now and live a life of faith. Andrew bore a double cross. He offered up his music talents to serve the music ministry, even premiering an original solo, “That’s The Power Of The Gospel.”
That evening we heard come inspiring life testimonies. Bamidele Taiwo (Business grad, Concordia University) shared how, at the age of two, he became disabled after falling out of a two story window. His parents loved and prayed for him. Jesus helped him overcome his bitterness. He does not live as a disabled man, but as a man of faith who has complete hope and trust in Jesus. He graduated in 2008 with a business degree from Concordia University. He prays to be a short term missionary to Argentina.
Kate Yoshida (political science grad) In the past she thought God was a punishing God keeping us under constant surveillance. After a conversation with Shp Teddy, she came to a realization that saving faith was not a matter of feelings, but it is a decision of faith based in the truth of God in the Bible. She came to know the God of grace and truth personally.
Tim Sagel (Electrical Engineering 3, NIU) gave his heart to write his first life testimony. He wrote 13 paged and reduced it to 5 pages. He could see how God saved a lonely, single seed and is helping him to be a shepherd for lost souls. God has been his friend over the years and has been training him to be shepherd and, one day an electrical engineer. Tim humbly received “revising” training from Julie Jesmer. He prays to be a blessing at the upcoming European Summer Bible Conference.
Lucy Kasango was our fourth sharer. She is from Zaire and is married to Elijah Kasango. She shared her sorrow that two of her three children were born with sickle cell anemia. She felt guilty about bringing them into the world. She suffers when she sees them in pain. But she found salvation and peace through trusting in the sovereignty of God. In God, there are no mistakes and God has a good purpose for her family, especially her children. She was released from self condemnation and received new joy and new life.
The second day began with group Bible studies. God raised up ten group study leaders. My leader was Rebekah Heusel. (daughter of Carl and Wendy Heusel) Though she is young, she prepared with her whole heart and boldly led sticking to the word of God. The message that followed was delivered by Ian Turner of Triton UBF. His message was based on Peter’s sermon found in Acts 3:11-21 entitled, “In The Name Of Jesus” Through his message we learned that we always have something to offer to the people, that is, the mighty name of Jesus and his life giving Gospel. Through faith in the power of Jesus we can do anything that God calls us to do. Ian also showed us that through sincere repentance, times of refreshing will come from the Lord. Ian had a double cross. One was message preparation and the other, leading the Triton/NIU Praise band.
That afternoon most people gave their hearts to testimony writing and sharing. Most people wrote and shared. The kids prepared together. There was free time. Many went horseback riding, others hiked and played sand volleyball. The highlight of the afternoon was Tim Lopez’s baptism by Shp Teddy. 60 people gathered at an amphitheater descending to a lake. In the cold water, Tim was baptized. It was his public declaration of his faith and his dedication of his life to following Jesus a shepherd and Bible teacher.
That evening Daniel Pitts delivered a message entitled, “Made Alive in Christ” based on Ephesians 2:1-10. Though Daniel is young, (High School Jr.) he delivered a powerful, clear and repentant message. God opened his eyes to see the he spent a lot of time doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. To him, church was boring. But after his baptism, his heart was changed. He decided to seek after God and engage his heart through Bible reading and prayer. His soul came alive in Jesus and encouraged all to come to Jesus to receive new life. After his message we heard some chosen testimonies, written that afternoon. Katherine Portugal (Triton College), shared about God’s work in her, who led her out of a faith based in culture and traditions to a faith based on faith in Jesus alone. Maggie Herrera (Criminal Justice, Triton College) thanked Jesus for freeing her from this world and its many lies and helping her to be found in Christ. Katalina Escobar (Triton College) lived a hedonistic, pleasure seeking life. But Jesus intervened and worked a miracle. He saved her from many destructive vices and even provided a sponsor for school. Sarah Jimenez confessed that though she had wandered from Jesus over the last 14 years, God has kept her. This conference, she was reminded of Jesus’ grace and vowed to return to her first love, Jesus. She committed herself to studying the Bible, 1:1 with Grace Norte and following Jesus, her Lord and Savior, once again.
Later that evening we were blessed with several presentations. The NIU UBF prepared a dramatic dance based on the Bollywood “Jai ho” dance at the end of “Slum Dog Millionaire”. In the dance a Hindu girl is converted by two missionaries. She receives some persecution, but overcomes and co-works with the missionaries to help convert her own people. Grace Norte and Mary Cedeno and Sarah Jimenez co-worked to produce a CBF drama based on 1 Corinthians 15. Triton Bible Club, led by Charisma Magno, produced a drama vividly depicting the suffering of young people who are living under the power of death. It was shockingly real but effective to reveal how the Gospel of Jesus has power to free anyone from the power of sin to give them new life. That night, students shared joyful fellowship around the campfire singing Kumbaya.
On the last day of the conference, we heard a message delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF entitled “The Gospel of Peace”, based on Acts 10:1-48. Through his message, we can see how God wants all people of all nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus. When any person, who repents of their sins and comes to Jesus, by faith, they are forgiven by God and become part of God’s family. They not only receive the forgiveness of sins, but also eternal life. They receive the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding.
The closing message was delivered by Shp Michael Norte. It was based on Acts 2:17, “Vision Possible” He pointed out that after receiving the forgiveness of God and freedom from sin God fills our hearts with his visions of his kingdom and his life giving work spreading throughout this world. As God’s people we are full of hope and vision in Christ. The young people of America can have this hope and vision when they repent and give their lives Jesus. It all starts when they begin to study the Bible, seeking to know Jesus. Michael left us with the question, “What is your vision for yourself and your ministry?”
At the end of the program, Shepherd Teddy led everyone in the reading of Romans 10:8-13, with special emphasis, that “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (13) He helped people to realize that all have sinned and need to come to Jesus to receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Then something historical happened. Shp Teddy initiated and altar-call. Half of the congregation came to the front to be prayed for. Many people shed tears of repentance and release. We pray for all who answered the altar call to give their lives to Jesus and serve him alone.
We thank God for many aspects of this conference. God sent about 14 new young people. Nearly everyone attended all the meetings and wrote testimonies. The praise and worship music was excellent. Everyone had a hand in serving the conference, from the music, to the dances the dramas, the messages and testimonies. We rejoiced at the fact that several people from the Triton Bible Club have been making the transition from the Bible club to 1:1 Bible study. The altar call, the baptism, the life testimonies are all evidences that the kingdom of God is advancing among us. So many times we have studied about post modern youth, how they are relational. I could see it at this conference. I could see the members of Triton Bible Club growing in friendship. They have an identity as a Triton Bible Club members. I could see people singing arm and arm. I thank God for leading my five children to the altar call, some of them had tears in their eyes. I thank God for bringing Miranda Forde (11 yrs old). She confessed that she came for fun, but I believe that she learned a lot about Jesus and is one step closer to meeting Jesus personally and the closest of all my kids’ friends to being a growing disciple of Jesus. Mandy Halek has new humble spirit and God used this conference to help her renew her spiritual life. Tim found new joy through meditating on and sharing the grace of God. Tim and Jennifer had joy serving the praise and worship times. Our family, Tim and Mandy Halek found joy serving the dramatic dance. Kathleen Haskins (RN) came to the conference on Saturday night. She called it a spiritual feast. She recommitted herself to more frequent daily bread prayer times with our family. Indeed the Gospel of Peace brought true peace and true joy to all of our hearts.
Should I Not Be Concerned About That Great City?║Ж
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH NIU UBF 4/25/09
Jonah 4:11, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж
I thank God for blessing our study of the book of Acts. For over a year and for 31 lessons, we studied about the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit. It was very edifying to study the life of faith of the great Apostle Paul. Someone may ask, ⌠Why study the Book of Jonah?║Ж There are two reasons. The first, and least important reason, is that we want a change. We want to study some of the more obscure and unknown books in the Bible. Jonah fits that description. The other reason is that this is the end of the semester and we are headed into the summer ministry. For us the work of God does not end. It continues throughout the summer. We need direction for the summer months as a ministry. Jonah is a perfect book to mediate on in order to prepare our hearts for the months ahead. We can change our introduction key verse to read as such, ⌠NIU has more than twenty five thousand students who are walking in the darkness. Should I not be concerned about that great university?║Ж Indeed God is concerned about the salvation of 25,000 NIU students and so should we. May God bless the next four weeks as we study the short, but power and inspiring book of Jonah.
The book of Jonah seems like some obscure book that we could easily overlook. One is tempted to just sit through this book and read it quickly in one sitting. But don╗┬t do this. Let╗┬s take the time to discover all the treasures nestled deeply within it╗┬s pages over the next four weeks. When we do we will discover that this book is a revelation to God╗┬s people of his sovereign power and loving care for all his creatures, even cattle. (4:11) Jesus thought that this book was very important. It is mentioned by Jesus as a picture of his death and resurrection, and a call to repentance. Matthew 12:38-41 reads, ⌠ 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one[a] greater than Jonah is here.║Ж Jesus also says something very similar in Luke 11:29-32, The point is, in the New Testament, Jesus compared Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish to his own death and resurrection. Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh with resurrection faith. Jesus praised the people of Nineveh for repenting when Jonah preached to them (Mt 12:39- 41). Jesus obviously thought that book of Jonah was very important. It is therefore a ⌠no brainer║Ж that we should also and study it deeply.
What is this book? Jonah is the fifth book of the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are from Hosea to Malachi. It is very hard to find the book of Jonah, even for seasoned Bible students. So let╗┬s practice finding it. The four books preceding it are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and then Jonah. The four books following it are; Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Now, close your Bibles and then try to find the Book of Jonah, with out using the table of contents. It is still difficult I bet. This book is thought to be written in and around 780 B.C. and is different from the other prophetic books because it is a historical narrative. It tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. (In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (3:4)). There are other books that are short narratives. They are the books of Esther and Ruth. Though it is a narrative there are many spiritual truths that are powerful and obvious. This book is full of the supernatural acts of God, aside from Jonah surviving in the belly of the great fish, there is the vine that sprout and grew quickly, the worm that ate it, and, greatest of all, the repentance of entire city of Nineveh.
Who was the prophet Jonah? He was the son of Amittia. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25) His hometown sounds funny. In English, Hepher sounds like a female cow. He wrote this book to Israel and to God╗┬s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel╗┬s most powerful king. (793 ║л 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 ║л 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He might have been a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha╗┬s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) His name means ⌠dove║Ж and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary.
At time of the setting of this book, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and the most important city in Assyria. Jonah probably preached before the Assyrians╗┬ rise to power. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River and it had walls 100 feet high and 50 feet wide. It had 15 gates with one main entrance. The walls were over 7 ╗o miles in circumference. The city proper contained 125,000 people with a total population of about 600,000, which included all the people in the surrounding suburbs. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a grave threat to the security of Israel.
The prophet Nahum gives us insight into the spiritual condition of Nineveh. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters who worshipped Asur and Ishtar, the chief male and female Assyrian deities. The Assyrian Empire was the considered the first ⌠World Empire║Ж. In their quest for world domination, they subjugated many smaller kingdoms. But since the Assyrians did not have a large enough army to adequately control their acquired territories, they reigned with terror. They performed innumerable acts of extreme violence on their conquered people to keep them under control. The Assyrians themselves left monuments to their cruelty ║л long, boastful inscriptions describing their torture and slaughter of the people who opposed them. Assyria was Israel╗┬s enemy and Israel was conquered by them in 722 B.C., forty years after Jonah stopped being a prophet. In 722 B.C., they carried the Jewish population, that lived in Samaria and took them into exile. They transplanted conquered peoples╗┬ from other nations into Samaria, nations who worshipped other gods. They mixed up with the Jews who remained, creating a mixed people, both racially and in regards to their religions. That is how the Samaritans came to be. Let╗┬s think about this for a while. It would be like a foreign army invading the USA and then sending troops to DeKalb and telling us to leave our house and go and move to Mexico. If we did not go we would be tortured and killed. And then, after we left, Mexican families would be forced to moved into our house. You had no choice. As God╗┬s prophet, Jonah could foresee what was to come for the people of Israel. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so Jonah╗┬s hesitation in offering God's grace to Nineveh is understandable.
The book of Jonah tells the story of this prophet╗┬s flight and how God stopped him and turned him around. But it is much more than a story if a man and a great fish. Jonah╗┬s story is a profound illustration of God╗┬s mercy and grace. No one deserved God╗┬s favor less than the people of Nineveh. Jonah knew this. But he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they would turn from their sin and worship God alone. Jonah also knew the power of God╗┬s word, that even through his own weak preaching, they would respond and be spared God╗┬s judgment. But Jonah hated the Assyrians, and he wanted vengeance and not mercy. So he ran. Eventually, Jonah obeyed and preached in the streets of Nineveh and the people repented and were delivered from judgment. Then Jonah sulked, not appreciating what God had accomplished through him. God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity, confronted Jonah about his self-centered values and lack of compassion, saying, ⌠But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (4:11)
In the book of Jonah, there are many words of God╗┬s judgment. But we know that though the messages of God are sometimes filled with words of doom, they are always spoken with the hope that the warning would lead to repentance. The contents of this book is not just meant as a revelation to the Ninevites impending judgment, to humble themselves and repent, but it was a revelation that should have moved the hearts of the Israelites to respond as the Assyrians did, with repentance and humility. May the study of this book move our hearts to humility and repentance also.
What did the Israelites need to repent about? They needed to repent of not caring for the things that God cares about. In other words that needed to repent of not attempting to participate in God╗┬s divine nature in trying to reach out to the whole world. For you see, God wanted to use his people as his ambassadors who shared in his concern for the lost people of every nation. Jonah needed to develop the same attitude that God has towards his enemies. Jesus once preached, ⌠Love your enemies.║Ж (Matt 5:44) and so God led Jonah carefully, step by step. We will see God╗┬s guiding hand through the four chapters of this book.
Indeed, when God first called Israel to be a nation, God had given them a clear identity and a clear vision. God spoke to them through Moses. In Exodus 19:3-6, he says, ⌠ 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you [a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." But Jonah had forgotten that God had called Israel to be a kingdom of priests, to reveal God glory and God╗┬s salvation to the whole earth, and that God wanted to use his people to bring all nations to repentance. God has a great world mission concern for all people. There are many like Jonah who do not participate in God╗┬s heart for world mission, though they may hear his call. In that sense, Jonah is like all of God's people who are ready to enjoy God's grace, but reluctant to share it with others.
This book is all about a man whom God instructed to love his enemies in Neneveh. As so often happens in life, the prophet Jonah did the exact opposite of what God commanded him to do. He refused to go these people. Jesus told his followers, ⌠Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.║Ж (Matt 5:44) While most people have so many good things to say about this command, loving your enemies is not an easy thing to do. Many think that it may be the right thing to do, but not practical. Should we have compassion on terrorists or pirates? Instead we tend to run away from the Lord.
Sometime we are not so eager to preach to the people because we can not forgive. Sin runs rampant in our society. We see it daily in our headlines. The world seems to be filled with overflowing with violence, hatred, and corruption. Reading, hearing and perhaps even experiencing these tragedies, we begin to understand the necessity of God╗┬s judgment. We may be tempted to say, ⌠Oh well╘╪they brought it on themselves. They made their bed let them lie in it.║Ж We may even find ourselves wishing for vengeance on others! Even Christians fall into the trap of seeking revenge and vengeance. But suppose that in the midst of such thoughts, God told you to take the gospel to the worst of the offenders. How would you respond? Like Jonah, we may have to do things in life that we don╗┬t like to do. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to turn and run, or at least ignore.
Our mission field that God calls us to serve is NIU. The students are clearly not our enemies. They are our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and club members, the precious flock of our pasture. To preach to them is our privileged calling from God and a blessing. But though they may be our friends, many are living as enemies of God because of their sins. (James 4:4) God cares fro them and wants them to come to saving faith. But there are still things in our lives that make us turn and go the other way when we are called to preach the message of salvation. We may be indifferent and ignore them, not really believing that they need to hear the Gospel. We go the opposite direction, too concerned with our own affairs than the students╗┬ salvation. Sometimes the students make us fearful, appearing like the fearsome Assyrians and we don╗┬t have the nerve to reach out to them. Whatever the case, we all have something to learn from our study of the book of Jonah.
As you read Jonah, see the full picture of God╗┬s love and compassion and realize no one is beyond redemption. The gospel is for all who will repent and believe. Realize that God╗┬s people should not be narrow and introverted but outreaching and missionary minded in their love and concern for those outside the church, who are facing God╗┬s judgment. Learn from the story of this reluctant prophet and determine to obey God, doing whatever he asks and going wherever he leads, even if that means to go and preach the Gospel and invite students to Bible study right here on our Nineveh, the campus of NIU. Begin to pray for those who seem to be furthest from the kingdom of God, and look for ways to tell them about Jesus.
The book may be divided as follows: l. The disobedience and flight of Jonah. (1:1-11) ll. Jonah and the great fish, (1:12-2:10.) lll. The greatest revival in history (Chpt 3) and lV. The wideness of God╗┬s mercy. (Chpt. 4)
There are several mega themes in the Book of Jonah. First, God╗┬s sovereignty. Although the prophet Jonah tried to run away from God, God was in control. Second, God╗┬s message to the world. God had given Jonah a purpose ║л to preach to the Assyrian city, Nineveh. Third, repentance. When the reluctant preacher went to the people of Nineveh, there was a great response. The people repented and turned to God. Indeed, God will forgive all those who turn from their sin. Forth, God╗┬s compassion. God╗┬s message of love and forgiveness was not for the Jews alone. God loves all the people of the world. God has great love, patience, and forgiveness, especially for those who don╗┬t deserve it.
May God perk the ears of your heart to hear the words of God from this wonderful book. May God fill you with repentance and faith and hope and clear life direction to share in God╗┬s heart for the lost of NIU and your grade school. As homework, may you read the entire book on your own this week and through it may God help you to understand what God means when he says, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (Jonah 4:11)
.
1. What style of writing is the book of Jonah? What other books in the Old Testament are this
style of book?
2. Are there any references to the Book of Jonah in the New Testament? (refer to Matthew
12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32) What was Jesus║╞ attitude towards the book of Jonah?
3. The Book Of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets. What are the other Minor Prophets? Hint
they include all the books from Hosea to Malachi. Can you close your Bible and find the
book of Jonah without using your table of contents?
4. Who was Jonah? Where did he live? (1:1; 2 Kings 14:25) Who were some of his
contemporaries? Do you think that Jonah could have been one of the company of prophets in
Elisha║╞s time? (2 Kings 2:3)
5. Read the four chapters of the Book of Jonah. It is said the book can be divided into four
sections. Give titles to the following sections: 1. (1:1-1) 2. (1:12-2:10) 3. (chapter 3) 4.
(Chapter 4)
6. What was God concerned about? (4:11) Where did God want Jonah to preach? (1:1b) What
do you know about the city of Nineveh? (refer to Nahum 1:9; 2:12-13; 3:4)
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH NIU UBF 4/25/09
Jonah 4:11, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж
I thank God for blessing our study of the book of Acts. For over a year and for 31 lessons, we studied about the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit. It was very edifying to study the life of faith of the great Apostle Paul. Someone may ask, ⌠Why study the Book of Jonah?║Ж There are two reasons. The first, and least important reason, is that we want a change. We want to study some of the more obscure and unknown books in the Bible. Jonah fits that description. The other reason is that this is the end of the semester and we are headed into the summer ministry. For us the work of God does not end. It continues throughout the summer. We need direction for the summer months as a ministry. Jonah is a perfect book to mediate on in order to prepare our hearts for the months ahead. We can change our introduction key verse to read as such, ⌠NIU has more than twenty five thousand students who are walking in the darkness. Should I not be concerned about that great university?║Ж Indeed God is concerned about the salvation of 25,000 NIU students and so should we. May God bless the next four weeks as we study the short, but power and inspiring book of Jonah.
The book of Jonah seems like some obscure book that we could easily overlook. One is tempted to just sit through this book and read it quickly in one sitting. But don╗┬t do this. Let╗┬s take the time to discover all the treasures nestled deeply within it╗┬s pages over the next four weeks. When we do we will discover that this book is a revelation to God╗┬s people of his sovereign power and loving care for all his creatures, even cattle. (4:11) Jesus thought that this book was very important. It is mentioned by Jesus as a picture of his death and resurrection, and a call to repentance. Matthew 12:38-41 reads, ⌠ 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one[a] greater than Jonah is here.║Ж Jesus also says something very similar in Luke 11:29-32, The point is, in the New Testament, Jesus compared Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish to his own death and resurrection. Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh with resurrection faith. Jesus praised the people of Nineveh for repenting when Jonah preached to them (Mt 12:39- 41). Jesus obviously thought that book of Jonah was very important. It is therefore a ⌠no brainer║Ж that we should also and study it deeply.
What is this book? Jonah is the fifth book of the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are from Hosea to Malachi. It is very hard to find the book of Jonah, even for seasoned Bible students. So let╗┬s practice finding it. The four books preceding it are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and then Jonah. The four books following it are; Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Now, close your Bibles and then try to find the Book of Jonah, with out using the table of contents. It is still difficult I bet. This book is thought to be written in and around 780 B.C. and is different from the other prophetic books because it is a historical narrative. It tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. (In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (3:4)). There are other books that are short narratives. They are the books of Esther and Ruth. Though it is a narrative there are many spiritual truths that are powerful and obvious. This book is full of the supernatural acts of God, aside from Jonah surviving in the belly of the great fish, there is the vine that sprout and grew quickly, the worm that ate it, and, greatest of all, the repentance of entire city of Nineveh.
Who was the prophet Jonah? He was the son of Amittia. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25) His hometown sounds funny. In English, Hepher sounds like a female cow. He wrote this book to Israel and to God╗┬s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel╗┬s most powerful king. (793 ║л 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 ║л 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He might have been a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha╗┬s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) His name means ⌠dove║Ж and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary.
At time of the setting of this book, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and the most important city in Assyria. Jonah probably preached before the Assyrians╗┬ rise to power. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River and it had walls 100 feet high and 50 feet wide. It had 15 gates with one main entrance. The walls were over 7 ╗o miles in circumference. The city proper contained 125,000 people with a total population of about 600,000, which included all the people in the surrounding suburbs. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a grave threat to the security of Israel.
The prophet Nahum gives us insight into the spiritual condition of Nineveh. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters who worshipped Asur and Ishtar, the chief male and female Assyrian deities. The Assyrian Empire was the considered the first ⌠World Empire║Ж. In their quest for world domination, they subjugated many smaller kingdoms. But since the Assyrians did not have a large enough army to adequately control their acquired territories, they reigned with terror. They performed innumerable acts of extreme violence on their conquered people to keep them under control. The Assyrians themselves left monuments to their cruelty ║л long, boastful inscriptions describing their torture and slaughter of the people who opposed them. Assyria was Israel╗┬s enemy and Israel was conquered by them in 722 B.C., forty years after Jonah stopped being a prophet. In 722 B.C., they carried the Jewish population, that lived in Samaria and took them into exile. They transplanted conquered peoples╗┬ from other nations into Samaria, nations who worshipped other gods. They mixed up with the Jews who remained, creating a mixed people, both racially and in regards to their religions. That is how the Samaritans came to be. Let╗┬s think about this for a while. It would be like a foreign army invading the USA and then sending troops to DeKalb and telling us to leave our house and go and move to Mexico. If we did not go we would be tortured and killed. And then, after we left, Mexican families would be forced to moved into our house. You had no choice. As God╗┬s prophet, Jonah could foresee what was to come for the people of Israel. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so Jonah╗┬s hesitation in offering God's grace to Nineveh is understandable.
The book of Jonah tells the story of this prophet╗┬s flight and how God stopped him and turned him around. But it is much more than a story if a man and a great fish. Jonah╗┬s story is a profound illustration of God╗┬s mercy and grace. No one deserved God╗┬s favor less than the people of Nineveh. Jonah knew this. But he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they would turn from their sin and worship God alone. Jonah also knew the power of God╗┬s word, that even through his own weak preaching, they would respond and be spared God╗┬s judgment. But Jonah hated the Assyrians, and he wanted vengeance and not mercy. So he ran. Eventually, Jonah obeyed and preached in the streets of Nineveh and the people repented and were delivered from judgment. Then Jonah sulked, not appreciating what God had accomplished through him. God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity, confronted Jonah about his self-centered values and lack of compassion, saying, ⌠But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (4:11)
In the book of Jonah, there are many words of God╗┬s judgment. But we know that though the messages of God are sometimes filled with words of doom, they are always spoken with the hope that the warning would lead to repentance. The contents of this book is not just meant as a revelation to the Ninevites impending judgment, to humble themselves and repent, but it was a revelation that should have moved the hearts of the Israelites to respond as the Assyrians did, with repentance and humility. May the study of this book move our hearts to humility and repentance also.
What did the Israelites need to repent about? They needed to repent of not caring for the things that God cares about. In other words that needed to repent of not attempting to participate in God╗┬s divine nature in trying to reach out to the whole world. For you see, God wanted to use his people as his ambassadors who shared in his concern for the lost people of every nation. Jonah needed to develop the same attitude that God has towards his enemies. Jesus once preached, ⌠Love your enemies.║Ж (Matt 5:44) and so God led Jonah carefully, step by step. We will see God╗┬s guiding hand through the four chapters of this book.
Indeed, when God first called Israel to be a nation, God had given them a clear identity and a clear vision. God spoke to them through Moses. In Exodus 19:3-6, he says, ⌠ 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you [a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." But Jonah had forgotten that God had called Israel to be a kingdom of priests, to reveal God glory and God╗┬s salvation to the whole earth, and that God wanted to use his people to bring all nations to repentance. God has a great world mission concern for all people. There are many like Jonah who do not participate in God╗┬s heart for world mission, though they may hear his call. In that sense, Jonah is like all of God's people who are ready to enjoy God's grace, but reluctant to share it with others.
This book is all about a man whom God instructed to love his enemies in Neneveh. As so often happens in life, the prophet Jonah did the exact opposite of what God commanded him to do. He refused to go these people. Jesus told his followers, ⌠Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.║Ж (Matt 5:44) While most people have so many good things to say about this command, loving your enemies is not an easy thing to do. Many think that it may be the right thing to do, but not practical. Should we have compassion on terrorists or pirates? Instead we tend to run away from the Lord.
Sometime we are not so eager to preach to the people because we can not forgive. Sin runs rampant in our society. We see it daily in our headlines. The world seems to be filled with overflowing with violence, hatred, and corruption. Reading, hearing and perhaps even experiencing these tragedies, we begin to understand the necessity of God╗┬s judgment. We may be tempted to say, ⌠Oh well╘╪they brought it on themselves. They made their bed let them lie in it.║Ж We may even find ourselves wishing for vengeance on others! Even Christians fall into the trap of seeking revenge and vengeance. But suppose that in the midst of such thoughts, God told you to take the gospel to the worst of the offenders. How would you respond? Like Jonah, we may have to do things in life that we don╗┬t like to do. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to turn and run, or at least ignore.
Our mission field that God calls us to serve is NIU. The students are clearly not our enemies. They are our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and club members, the precious flock of our pasture. To preach to them is our privileged calling from God and a blessing. But though they may be our friends, many are living as enemies of God because of their sins. (James 4:4) God cares fro them and wants them to come to saving faith. But there are still things in our lives that make us turn and go the other way when we are called to preach the message of salvation. We may be indifferent and ignore them, not really believing that they need to hear the Gospel. We go the opposite direction, too concerned with our own affairs than the students╗┬ salvation. Sometimes the students make us fearful, appearing like the fearsome Assyrians and we don╗┬t have the nerve to reach out to them. Whatever the case, we all have something to learn from our study of the book of Jonah.
As you read Jonah, see the full picture of God╗┬s love and compassion and realize no one is beyond redemption. The gospel is for all who will repent and believe. Realize that God╗┬s people should not be narrow and introverted but outreaching and missionary minded in their love and concern for those outside the church, who are facing God╗┬s judgment. Learn from the story of this reluctant prophet and determine to obey God, doing whatever he asks and going wherever he leads, even if that means to go and preach the Gospel and invite students to Bible study right here on our Nineveh, the campus of NIU. Begin to pray for those who seem to be furthest from the kingdom of God, and look for ways to tell them about Jesus.
The book may be divided as follows: l. The disobedience and flight of Jonah. (1:1-11) ll. Jonah and the great fish, (1:12-2:10.) lll. The greatest revival in history (Chpt 3) and lV. The wideness of God╗┬s mercy. (Chpt. 4)
There are several mega themes in the Book of Jonah. First, God╗┬s sovereignty. Although the prophet Jonah tried to run away from God, God was in control. Second, God╗┬s message to the world. God had given Jonah a purpose ║л to preach to the Assyrian city, Nineveh. Third, repentance. When the reluctant preacher went to the people of Nineveh, there was a great response. The people repented and turned to God. Indeed, God will forgive all those who turn from their sin. Forth, God╗┬s compassion. God╗┬s message of love and forgiveness was not for the Jews alone. God loves all the people of the world. God has great love, patience, and forgiveness, especially for those who don╗┬t deserve it.
May God perk the ears of your heart to hear the words of God from this wonderful book. May God fill you with repentance and faith and hope and clear life direction to share in God╗┬s heart for the lost of NIU and your grade school. As homework, may you read the entire book on your own this week and through it may God help you to understand what God means when he says, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (Jonah 4:11)
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1. What style of writing is the book of Jonah? What other books in the Old Testament are this
style of book?
2. Are there any references to the Book of Jonah in the New Testament? (refer to Matthew
12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32) What was Jesus║╞ attitude towards the book of Jonah?
3. The Book Of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets. What are the other Minor Prophets? Hint
they include all the books from Hosea to Malachi. Can you close your Bible and find the
book of Jonah without using your table of contents?
4. Who was Jonah? Where did he live? (1:1; 2 Kings 14:25) Who were some of his
contemporaries? Do you think that Jonah could have been one of the company of prophets in
Elisha║╞s time? (2 Kings 2:3)
5. Read the four chapters of the Book of Jonah. It is said the book can be divided into four
sections. Give titles to the following sections: 1. (1:1-1) 2. (1:12-2:10) 3. (chapter 3) 4.
(Chapter 4)
6. What was God concerned about? (4:11) Where did God want Jonah to preach? (1:1b) What
do you know about the city of Nineveh? (refer to Nahum 1:9; 2:12-13; 3:4)
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