Yes, what are you doing? (Conington's trans.). The storm was so violent they knew their ship was about to shatter. Reputation of wicked Nineveh well-known. He did not plant, water, or fertilize it. 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. Thank God for second chances! Jonah is to warn the Ninevites that because of their sinfulness they now face divine destruction. But God is tricky. - with those thoughts in mind, let me invite you to turn to the closing verses in the book of Jonah. Jonah. book of Jonah is the old outline which accents the word running. The kingship was weak and the provinces maintained a large degree of independence. Somehow, they sense His just verdict yet they fear their own judgment and ask for His mercy. The bottom line (if youll pardon the financial pun) is that sinful choices are usually very costly. we are also members of the Body, members of the community, whether we want to admit it or not. 8Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, 9But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. Commentators cite the story of Diagoras told by Cicero ('De Nat. He was not helping to lighten the ship or praying for deliverance: a total slacker. When Alex talks about his plant, Jonah intuits all the problems that the plant has, even without Alex mentioning them. I am not sure if I've ever heard the prophet Jonah held up as a model of faith, but that might warrant a second look. She taught her how to rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher, how to wipe counters, and how to sweep. (On the Christian view of "lots," see Dr. Pusey's Commentary, pp. If we had Jonah's faith, our evangelistic efforts might be multiplied exponentially. Such objections impress only the weak minded. They were saved. Sign up for a special email series here. We are all fools. 6When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes (Jonah 3.5-6). Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not. It is a story of repentance. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Who could endure without them? Lets examine the story of Jonah and allow its teachings to reach us. Too many wander around in a kind of delirium, a moral sleep, talking about their rights and insisting that what they do is nobody elses business. Yet all the while the storm winds buffet and others suffer for what they do. This is what every sinner, whether outside the Church or inside, needs to hear:wake up and look at what youre doing; see how youre affecting yourself and all of us. But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Alex, Jonah's former student, reconnects with Jonah randomly in an airport. In the second section, chapters 2 and 4, Jonah was alone with God. Under the intolerably beating sun, Jonah cries out to God in anger, and this time simply begs for death. Exceptions are Rahab, the harlot, Naaman, the Syrian general, Ruth, the Moabitess, and Nebuchadnezzar. I do not see Jonah as having fear, or being scared or afraid. Each man had cried to his own god (Jonah 1.5). According to Genesis 10.11, Asshur, a son of Shem (Genesis 10.22) built it. Maybe, just maybe, God would change His mind and destroy the city. God pursues each of us to restore our broken relationship with Him (Genesis 3.8-10). K. M. Craig, Jr. stated it was enormously varied, rich, and complex (A Poetics of Jonah: Art in the Service of Ideology). Jonahs experience in the sea-beast, this living submarine, must have been terrifying. Jonahs problem was he could not see beyond his hatred of the Assyrians and his patriotism. God does not save us merely for our own sake, but alsofor the sake of others with whom our life is intertwined. Jonah did nothing to merit the gourd. c. Proclamation was one of Judgment. Even his forced timeout in the belly of the fish does not affect true repentance. This was a large army, even by modern standards. God sent a great storm upon the ship and the men decided Jonah was to blame so they threw him overboard. Jonah was angry over Gods destruction of the gourdhe lost his shade. I learned a lot. Perhaps because he cannot see a way out of this hole of wrongdoing, and perhaps because he would probably die anyway, Jonah tells the crew that their only option is to throw him overboard an act that will supposedly appease God and save the ship from the storm. The lot fell upon Jonah. The Lord Jesus Christ picked up our tab and paid it all. In chapter 4, Jonah was in Nineveh and in the desert. Jonah became angry. Students of rhetoric can find no better example of the art than this literary gem. In those contexts, it strongly seemed as though God initially forgot.. Or were these just wrong use of language by the prophets or wrong presentation by the prophets because of their weak and limited understanding of God probably as a result of their spiritually dead nature. caused by our greed, addiction, lack of forgiveness, pride, impatience, and lack of charity. Jonah is a story of contrasts. His prophecy has been believed, the city has responded magnificently to his words, and the people are turning their lives around. Jonahs great fear was God would show mercy to Nineveh. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there also shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. AEschylus, 'Electr.,' 1354; 'Theb.,' 598; Horat., 'Carm.,' 3:2, 26, etc.) He said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea. These would be paid whatever was right. At noon and 3 p.m. he did the same thing. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. The teaching is clear: persistent and unrepentant sin brings storms, disturbances, and troubles. But their rowing is futile and the storm continues to rage, so they reluctantly toss Jonah into the sea, instantly calming the waters. After his whale of a ride, a ride in which he must experience the full depths and acidic truth of his sinfulness, Jonah is finally delivered by God right back to the shore of Joppa where it all began. The Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur. 3 Albert Einstein said,God does not play dice with the universe. He hated the notion of a universe governed by probability, a fundamental concept of quantum theory. To all this pain can be added many other sufferings. I understand much more of this book now than previously. Yes, God works with the sinner, drawing him back. Some think God is absent from the worlds affairs, that the world goes on unnoticed by Him. (Comp. Obviously, from their superstitious perspective, some god or gods are angry with somebody, and they are all suffering because of what this person has done. Rebirth, it seems, is short-lived. Jonah provides instructive lessons. Judges 7:13,14 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along, Isaiah 41:6,7 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage, Joshua 7:14-18 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man, Judges 20:9,10 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; , 1 Samuel 10:20,21 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken, Joshua 7:10,13 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Rather than trusting God, he brazenly disobeys, foolishly thinking that he can outrun God. 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. Terrified, His disciples woke Him to save them from sinking. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. Guaranteed. The great majority of it. Thus, he said: 9Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3.9)? 4So I said, I have been expelled from Your sight. Jonah tried to run away from God in the opposite direction of Nineveh and headed by boat to Tarshish. Our first instinct should always be to respect the dignity of every personeven great sinnersand strive to bring them to the Lord with loving correction. The Lord upbraided their lack of faith (Mark 4.40; Luke 8.25) but Jonahs sailors became believers. It is a luscious, heartfelt piece depicting the repentance of the Ninevites. Can you help me out here? Their gods had failed. So, too, are we when we defiantly indulge sinfulness. He asked them if they were evil because he was good. God heard his prayer and delivered him. 2016 Don Samdahl. Being a king, he understood authority and sovereignty (cf. She didn't kill Ben, it wasnt her decision or choice, she let them kill Ben. 16Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. The book of Jonah ends with God having the last word: 10Then the Lord said, You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. When Godquestioned Jonah over his anger about the loss of the gourd he responded: My anger is justifiedeven to death(Jonah 4.9). . Rather than heed this call, Jonah flees in the opposite direction on a ship to Tarshish, across the Mediterranean Sea (in ancient terms, this is basically the other side of the world). In many American courtrooms, upon the pronouncement of a death sentence, the judge says. Grace Receiver, Many have argued over this. Jonah is now beginning to come to his senses, In effect, Jonah says to them, Kill me. The next few verses demonstrate Gods grace and power: 14Then they called on the Lord and said, We earnestly pray, OLord, do not let us perish on account of this mans life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.15So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Like Jonah, though, many line up to pay the price and take the long, painful journey deeper into defiance and sin. He did nothing. And Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In effect, God says to Jonah, Now, where were we?. Jonah left the city and sat east of it. The men decide to draw lots to see who is responsible for the storm and the lot falls on Jonah. On whose account has this calamitystruck us? In the end, the men must hand Jonah over to the Lord. First there comes the pointed question, What are you doing asleep?Yes, what are you doing? Or whither shall I flee from thy face? What is your country, and to what people do you belong? Jonah answered them, I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, How could you do such a thing? They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them. By the way, Do u pastor any congregation? Jonahs defiance sends him and others headlong into a storm. VIII. God asked why Jonah had so much more . To his great credit, Jonah told the truth. 2002-2023 My Jewish Learning. But Jonahs hatred of these people is evident throughout the book even to the end. Meanwhile, the gales grow stronger and civilization continues to crumble.
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