July 7: Jonah 1-4

July 7, Jonah 1-4

Jonah was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel, who learned about yesterday. We learn in this book about God’s overwhelming compassion for people. I interpret this book as literal and find very little that would be compel to me believe otherwise. It is also a book of great irony! In this book, God confronts evil and offers His Grace in exchange. According to the Tyndale Bible Dictionary, “Jonah is the Fifth book of the 12 Minor Prophets in the traditional arrangement of the books of the OT. It is a literary narrative rather than a series of prophetic oracles, and it gives the account of Jonah’s experiences after he disobeyed a command from the Lord directing him to preach to the people of Nineveh. Several extraordinary events recorded in the book have made it the center of much controversy as to its interpretation.”

Jonah 1 God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and call the people out for their evil is so bad. Jonah decided to disobey and fled the other way - trying to escape the presence of the Lord (not possible). Jonah found a boat sailing for Tarshish and paid the fare and went his way, again trying to flee the presence of the Lord. While he was on the boat, God sent a massive wind - so bad so, that the boat he was on was about to fall apart. Each of the sailors on the boat cried out to their own gods for help & threw the cargo and heavy stuff overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah is downstairs in the boat sleeping. The captain woke him up and told Jonah to cry out to his god (God), and says “Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” The sailors decided to cast lots to decide who was to blame for the evil & the lot fell to Jonah. they questioned him and he confessed that he serves Yahweh, who created the seas (irony). They wanted to know what Jonah had done to make God so mad, so he told them he disobeyed and was trying to flee from His presence. They didn't know what to do - they wanted to live. Jonah told them to throw him into the water and the sea would quiet down - but the men tried to row themselves out of the storm, with no success. Finally, they threw him overboard and the wind died down immediately. The sailors instantly feared the Lord exceedingly and made a sacrifice to God and mad vows. Crazy how Yahweh works!

“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights…” Let’s not just read over this because it may be a story you have heard. Understand that God is Sovereign (in control of) everything, especially His Creation. The timing of this is outstanding. A fish ‘just happened’ to be swimming by at that exact moment that Jonah was thrown overboard and ‘just so happened’ to open its mouth. No such thing as coincidence. God is Sovereign. What kind of fish was it? We don’t know - some say a sperm whale because they are big enough and the stomach cavity is big enough to swallow a human whole. Personally, I don't think it matters because God didn't tell us what kind of fish. A professor of mine at Regent said that God sometimes left things ambiguous to keep professors and theologians in business:)

Jonah 2 Then we get to learn about Jonah’s prayer from inside the belly of the fish (not like the movies…) and it is heartfelt. It is a prayer/psalm of gratefulness and thanksgiving to God and also emphasizes God’s power in how He operates and how God is in control of all. “And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” Again, God told the fish what to do and the fish obeyed its Creator. 

Map showing the are covered by Jonah... No easy trek!

Jonah 3 Jonah is told by God again to go to Nineveh to tell the message that God has for them and he obeys. He went on the journey and when he got there he proclaimed to them a very simple message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Not a very compelling message, but nonetheless - we need to obey and the results are up to God. What is their response? “And the people of Nineveh believed God.” They called for a fast. When their King heard about it, he arose from his throne and mourned their sins. He makes a proclamation that every person and animal is to be fully repentant and fast and change. One of the best lines of this book, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” Incredible faith shown by that King and a model for us. Remember the results are up to God? “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Their repentance brought God to a change of action. 

Jonah 4 More irony. “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” What? Yeah, he was ticked that God didn't wipe them out, even though he just experience God’s mercy a few days earlier! He wanted to die he was so upset. Jonah went out of the city and found a place to rest. He said to God, “Do you do well to be angry?” No response from God. He was in the shade at first but then he was in the hot sun, so “The Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.” More compassion from God. Now Jonah was happy. Irony and God’s sense of humor - “But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.” Again, Jonah wanted to die and God says to Jonah with irony again, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah said yes I do and I want to die. Jonah was concerned about death, that of the worm not the people from Nineveh. The book ends abruptly with God pointing out the Jonah cared more about the plant than the people - but we are left to answer the questions about what we care about for ourselves. Do you care about those who don’t know Christ or not? 

To sum it all up:

• God calls us to obey Him. We cannot escape God’s presence - no matter how hard we try or how far we go. God is omnipresent - God is everywhere! If you are not in sin, you will love that. If you are in sin - that is a dreadful thought. 
• We need to trust in God. God often brings storms to us when we are disobedient to get us closer to Him. Not always the reason, but if you are in a storm, God is working! Pay attention
• we need to obey and the results are up to God