It is an
ideal ‘Sunday School’ story. Yet, this book is not just for children; it is a
prophetic word for all of God’s people. While some will scoff at the notion
that this prophet spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish,
Jesus Christ treated it as historic fact. More than that, He made Jonah’s 3
days underworld excursion a sign of His own burial, which is an important
component of the gospel: Christ died, was buried, and rose again, according to
the Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:3-5). This is Part 02 of The Prophet
from Galilee: Why Study the Book of Jonah? We continue our survey.
KEY VERSES
— Jonah 2:8-9
And he prayed unto the LORD, and
said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my
country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a
gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest
thee of the evil
— Jonah 4:2
SUMMARY
As it turned
out, Jonah decided to disobey God and flee. Instead of going east to Nineveh,
he went west to Joppa. The goal was to catch a ship and sail even further west
to a place called ‘Tarshish,’ in order to ‘flee from the presence of the
LORD.’ Jonah thought the God of Israel was land-bound and land-locked to
Israel alone; he soon discovered that God is omnipresent worldwide, on land and
sea.
Jonah’s
presence on the ship caused a great storm. When the heathen sailors discovered
he was the cause of the storm, they reluctantly cast him into the sea. Once
done, everything was calm. As a result, the sailors turned to the LORD. Even in
his rebellious state Jonah was winning souls.
Then the
great fish in the Mediterranean, prepared by the LORD, swallowed him up and he
was there for 3 days and 3 nights. Inside the fish, he prayed to Lord and
apparently learned his lesson. The fish gave him free passage back to the
Middle East and vomited him out on dry land.
God spoke to
Jonah a 2nd time to go to Nineveh and this time he obeyed. Nineveh was unlike
any city Jonah had ever seen, especially in Israel. Capital of the Assyrian
Empire, stronghold of 30 miles (48 km) by 10 miles (16 km), five walls and
three moats (canals) surrounding it. Walls 100 feet high (30 metres), four
chariots to be driven abreast. Great palaces, fine gardens; fifteen gates
guarded by colossal lions and bulls, 70 halls decorated magnificently, great in
power, wealth, and wickedness.
Now it was
time for Jonah to go to work. Taking a prominent place, he cried out that in 40
days it would all be destroyed. What happened next was greater than anything
seen in Israel - the entire city of 120,000 repented, from the king to the
lowest slave. They wore sackcloth and ashes, and proclaimed a fast. In the face
of such contrition, the LORD in mercy forgave them and withdrew the threat of
destructive judgment. For the time being, Nineveh was saved (though a century
later it was overthrown, according to the prophet Nahum).
Jonah had
the most stunningly successful ministry of any prophet of Israel. An entire
large Gentile city had repented. Rather than rejoice at his success, Jonah
sulked. He knew God was merciful so what’s the point of prophesying?
The prophet
from Gath Hepher was hard work for God. But in the end of the book, the Lord
had the last word regarding Nineveh and, as always, He’s right. God delights in
mercy.
OUTLINE OF
JONAH
I.
Jonah’s first call to Nineveh (Chapter 01)
II.
Jonah in the Belly of the Fish (Chapter 02)
III.
Jonah’s second call and ministry in Nineveh
(Chapter 03)
IV.
Jonah’s Sulk & God’s Response (Chapter 04)
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