God used the bottle-gourd plant to teach Jonah a lesson in mercy, 20 God reasoned with Jonah, saying that the prophet was feeling sorry over the death of a mere plant that had sprung up overnight, one that Jonah neither planted nor caused to grow. In doing so, he showed remarkable courage and faith, qualities that Christians today need more than ever. Notice, Nineveh is northeast of Israel and Tarshish is in the west. The force of this final question cannot be overstated. If God's purpose was merely to save Nineveh, He could do it far more effectively and efficiently without Jonah. What sign is God giving me to trust in him? In fact, the narrator uses the same grammatical structure as in Jonah 4:1. Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive the Jonah character overview. Biblearena BibleArena - All Rights Reserved| Sitemap. We need to realize who the Ninevites were. ( Jonah 3:3-4) Jonah preaches in Nineveh. Thank you. They are the archenemy of the nation of Israel. God can simply choose to find another Prophet to do the job. God was trying to teach Jonah lessons about the importance of being obedient to The Lord and His will. The record of Jonah ends there, so we dont know what happened to Jonah after that, but we can hope that he learned what the Lord wanted him to learn and that he repented of his attitude and actions. Could we be like that brethren? They had made no agreement to obey Him like the Israelites had ( Exodus 24:3 ), and God had no obligation to save them. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying. Instead, the "sign" we are offered is an invitation to die with Christ so that we can personally begin to experience the new life of the Resurrection. Sometimes when we read Jonah we shake our heads and go seesh really? He gets tossed around by a storm and swallowed by a whale (or big fishwhatever floats your boat). God has Compassion on All People, not just us. But then they did repent. Jonah, after receiving God's command, quickly ran away to a place far away from Nineveh: Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. 19,20. 14. Liberal scholars might dismiss the story of Jonahs prayer time in a fish belly as riotous rabbinical storytelling, but Jonah would surely protest. God is determined to get Jonah to Nineveh. On the way, however, God caused tragic things to happen. It takes place in part in Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria . The lesson that God loves us while we are living in rebellion is of great hope to our nation today. Israel on the other hand, was in a "silver age.". 14 How did Jonah react when destruction did not come at the time he expected it to? You can try to hide, move, go away, either physically or even internally with your emotions, but its futile. (Ezek. God rates his favorite children by their obedience. We must realize we dont see it all, we dont understand it all. 9) What did God do to teach Jonah a lesson? But did He? These results are in verse three, that is, one verse before the one that tells of God's special intervention in sending the storm . Its only 4 short chapters. The people of Nineveh repented, and God spared the city. GOD TAUGHT JONAH THE LESSON OF OBEDIENCE Jonah. He does all this to get Jonah to Nineveh. Will we?Read Matthew 5:7. I hope they will fail., Oh why cant my angry boss just be gone., At times, we are so busy in saying that, I hope he gets what he deserves.. It had all the elements of a spellbinder: a reluctant prophet fleeing God, a sinking ship, a man thrown overboard into the maw of a sea. An encyclopedia hit the nail on the head as it described the lesson that God taught Jonah through the worm destroying the plant that gave him such delight in an emotional and tiring time in his life. 9 Some critics express doubt that such a change of heart could have occurred so quickly among the Ninevites. This is both an indictment of Jonah and all who treat Gods grace as proprietary, and a challenge to begin to see the world through the eyes of God who created it. He sovereignly orchestrates creation by appointing it to do his will. . This was at least part of the reason why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh - he was afraid they would repent, when all along he wanted God to judge the Assyrian capital. There is a multitude of slain, a great number of bodies, countless corpses - They stumble over the corpses - because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through her harlotries, and families through her sorceries.". The story is probably written between the 8th and 3th century BC. You see, evidence indicates that Jonah wrote the book bearing his name. Jonah needed courage and faith to preach in Nineveh. Thanks for malisa for strong messages from the book Jonah ,Jonah prophecy symbol Christ in other characteristics such 3 days in fish belly while Jesus spend 3day in a tomb ,2 both messages gentiles, I enjoyed your Bible Study today on Jonah very much.. it was a blessing. Jonah and the Whale Bible Story Study Guide. . They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. Jonah (whose name means "dove") ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel in about 790-760 BC. And is the founder of Think About Such Things. Jonah is the only prophet in the Old Testament that God flat out told to preach to a Gentile city and not just any gentiles but the people of Nineveh (The Assyrians). We can come to think that we are blessed to be in the family of God because of something of value or usefulness that impresses God. In this post, let us take a deeper look at the Book of Jonah and its many lessons it can teach us about Gods mercy and forgiveness and the role we need to play in doing his work. With this understanding, Jonahs choice to flee makes sense (in a very short-sighted kind of way) . The story has a long interpretive history and has become well . i. Jonah knew God heard him before the answer came. Yet he rebelled, and Nineveh accepted him as a messenger and quickly repented when he got there. He decides the best thing to do is leave Israel and go in the polar opposite direction to Tarshish, which is said to be near Spain. Where can I fleefrom your presence? The story of Jonah was a popular tale in Jesus' time. Jonah rebels, gets swallowed by a great fish, repents, and, at last, fulfills his mission. Melissa is a passionate minister, speaker and an ongoing learner of the Bible. Yes, that. Instead of repenting, Jonah justified himself, saying: I have rightly become hot with anger, to the point of death. The stage was now set for Jehovah to drive the lesson home.Jonah 4:9. . How did Jonah show faith and courage as he preached in Nineveh? (a)How was Jonah evidently affected by Jehovahs wise instruction about mercy? (Read Jonah 3:5.) What does a man swallowed by a big fish thousands of years ago have to do with the Day of Atonement? Expressing hope that the true God would soften upon seeing their repentance, the king said: God may . By so doing, the Lord is showing Jonah that his priorities are more then a bit messed up. One of those is the way the historical account is conceived and recorded. ^ par. But Jonah doesn't want to do God's bidding to he jumps. The book of Jonah concludes with a rather enigmatic ending. It is the book itself. To begin, he had to choose between the shorter routes and the safer ones and then steadily make his way through valleys and over mountain passes beyond counting. Its victim never departs. Ive read that the Lord wanted to show Jonah that He loves all His people. What gets missed is Jonah's repentance . Jesus knew what he was talking about, for he had been alive in heaven to witness those events as they unfolded. Under the intolerably beating sun, Jonah cries out to God in anger, and this time simply begs for death. His most recent book is a second edition release: Hit by Friendly Fire: What to do when Another Believer Hurts You(Resource Publications, 2022). Finally, after he was spit out by the fish, Jonah found himself in dry land. (b)How may the account about Jonah help us to take an honest look at ourselves? Some may believe that Jehovah should have prevented a tragedy or that he should have executed swift judgment against the wicked or even that he should have brought an end to this whole world system of things before now. Imitate Their Faith, Share Jonah could have known friends, family members, and relatives who have been killed by the Ninevites. Jonah sits in the heat of Northern Iraq and is so outdone with God's grace to his enemy, seething that he has lost a gourd with its leaves to shade him, that he despairs unto death. Even in our failures, God can use it for good! God didn't give up on Jonah. 17 Unbelievable Bible Secrets No One Has Ever Told You, 12 Unspoken Reasons Why You Should Not Use the New International Version (NIV) Bible, 5 Powerful and Vital Lessons from the Life of Samson, What Does it Mean to Put your Hand on the Plow and Look Back? God often only tells us what we can handle at the time. 18 Overnight, Jehovah caused a bottle-gourd plant to sprout up. . Jonah was the prophet who served during the reign of Jeroboam II in the Eighth Century before Christ. Jonah had experienced God's mercy and was given a second chance in his life. 4 Jonah did not see Nineveh as Jehovah did. 3) That obedience to God will always bring God-sized results. And Jonah has good earthly reasons why, but God looks beyond the earthly and looks through His spiritual eyes. Tell them that they better start believing in Me and doing the right things I want them to do or else I'm going to send fire down from Heaven to destroy their city and burn them up." But Jonah didn't want to go preach to the people of Nineveh. Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. After all, he felt sorry for the plant only because it had benefited him personally. Jonah knew that God was full of grace and mercy, and that was why he was afraid to tell the people of Nineveh. But when God called him to go to Nineveh, we read that Jonah went in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, as soon as Jonah was thrown from the ship, the storm stopped and the water became calm again. In truth, though, his answer is there. We could be studying the word of God, but our hearts are not into it. Jonah knew what the Assyrians were capable of doing. How does that show through the story? It has a ton of practical and fun things to print that will help you in you grow in your walk with God! In the same way, God is not quitting on us. The sign of Jonah was an expression used by Jesus to refer to Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Jonah 1:17). I am so grateful for technology. Confinement, Communion, and Confession, Jonah 2. Caused tragic things to happen account is conceived and recorded occurred so quickly among the Ninevites he was spit by... 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