188. JONAH

"Salvation is of Yahweh"

 

Following the reign of Jehu, King of Israel, the throne was occupied by Jehoahaz, Jehoash (also known as Joash) and then Jeroboam II. During Jeroboam's reign, four prophets, Jonah, Isaiah, Hosea and Amos, pro­phesied to the nation. While attempting to turn Israel from their wicked ways, Jonah was instructed by God to warn the Assyrians to repent from their wickedness. Jonah reasoned that if the Assyrians did repent then they would prosper and eventually be a real threat to the safety of Israel, his beloved people. So he attempted to avoid the command of God, but he finally learned, as we all must learn, that no man can go against the purpose of God, or stand in the way of Divine justice. Rebellion only br­ings God's judgment, but repentance will bring His mercy.

 

Jonah 1-4.

THE MAN JONAH. Jonah 1:1.

Jonah himself was the son of Amittai, and came from Gath-hepher, a small village in Galilee about three miles north-east of Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). He was one who showed great concern for the welfare of his brethren — a quality to be desired in all true followers of God. In this, however, he became over-zealous to the extent of endeavouring to turn aside God's righteous judgment from them.

 

JONAH'S COMMISSION. Jonah 1:2.

Although Israel was prospering outwardly, internally the spiritual state of the nation was rapidly declining, even though Jonah was attempting to stop it. It was at this time that Jonah was sent to preach repentance to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. He was to warn the people that the city would be overthrown within 40 days unless they repented of their evil ways.

 

JONAH FLEES FROM YAHWEH. Jonah 1:3-16.

Although Israel had forsaken God, the Assyrians were worse — not only were they godless, but proud, superstitious and cruel. Jonah could see no reason to preach to them, and tried to avoid God's command by fleeing to Joppa and taking a ship to Tarshish (v.1-3). Perhaps he imagin­ed that if Nineveh's repentance could be deferred for 40 days, then God would destroy the city. He had not perceived that God's mercy will be ex­tended to all people. No man has the right to limit God's goodness and grace (Matt. 20:15). Jonah had to learn that God would have all men come to repentance, even though Israel had been given special privileges (1 Tim. 2:4).

 

When the ship set sail, Jonah went to sleep below the deck. While he slept, a tremendous storm arose, and the ship was in danger of being smashed by the sea (1:4). The sailors worked hard and threw the ship's tackling overboard to lighten it (1:5). In desperation each implored his god for help. Finding Jonah still asleep, they woke him that he might also plead with his God (1:6).

 

They suspected that someone on board was responsible for their plight, so lots were taken, which revealed Jonah as the cause of the trouble (1:7). When questioned by them (v.8), he told them he was an Hebrew and wor­shipped "Yahweh God of heaven which hath made the sea and the dry land". As such He controlled all things and could therefore calm the sea (Psalm 65:7; 89:9; 107:25-30). Furthermore, he told them that he had fled from Yahweh's presence. When the men heard this they were exceedingly afraid, and asked him how the sea could be calmed (1:9-10). When he suggested that they cast him overboard, they were horrified. But Jonah knew that the great tempest had been sent because of him, and so he was prepared to sacrifice his own life for those on the ship. By this means, he would also escape the commission of bringing God's mercy to the Ninevites, and Israel would therefore be saved through his death!

 

After the sailors had done all in their power to control the ship with the oars (1:13), they concluded that the only means of saving their own lives was through the death of Jonah, although they did not want to be guilty of his death (1:14). Having cast Jonah into the sea, all became calm (1:15), and the men were finally convinced of the power of Yahweh. They sacrificed to the one true God and vowed to serve Him.

 

JONAH'S LIFE PRESERVED. Jonah 1:17; 2.

Jonah quickly sank in the raging sea, and the depths closed about him and weeds wrapped around his head (Ch. 2:5). On the point of death, he turned his thoughts toward God and made a vow that if God would save him, he would perform His will (Ch. 2:6-9). A great fish specially prepared by God, swallowed him. For 3 days and 3 nights he remained in the fish's belly, then the fish vomited him out on dry land (v.10).

 

Full of gratitude, Jonah composed a beautiful psalm of thanks to God (ch.2). In his utter despair "out of the belly of hell" (Heb. "sheol" — grave) he cried to God, and God saved him. This "death, burial and resurrection" of Jonah was an enacted parable. Jesus spoke of it as the "sign of the prophet Jonas". As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the whale's belly; so would the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40; Jonah 1:17). It was therefore a remarkable type of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

 

JONAH PREACHES TO NINEVEH. Jonah 3.

Upon the dry land, Yahweh spoke to Jonah a second time, saying, "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" (v.1-2). This time he obeyed, and set out for the city of Nineveh, which was so great that it took three days to journey around it — perhaps 100 kilometers in circumference (3:1-3). Proceeding into the very heart of the city he cried out, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (3:4). He called upon the people to turn from their idols and their wickedness to serve Yahweh. This plain forthright message made such an impression upon them that their response was immediate and widespread. All were affected from the common people to the king upon the throne, who published a decree calling for general repentance and putting away of evil and violence (3:6-9). Seeing their repentant at­titude, God "repented" or changed His purpose with them and saved Nineveh (3:10). God is consistent and deals with all men in the same way (see Jeremiah 18:6-10). When man is prepared to repent of his evil ways, Divine mercy is available. But if he rejects His mercy, judgment will come swiftly, as it did later upon Nineveh in the time of Nahum the prophet.

 

JONAH'S DISAPPOINTMENT. Jonah 4:1-5.

Jonah had preached God's message to Nineveh, but he was bitterly disappointed at the success of his work (4:1). His heart was really with Israel, for whose reformation he had worked so hard (4:2). He had travelled through the city of Nineveh from west to east and then outside the city he stopped to see the effect of his preaching upon the people (4:5). Their humble repentance had brought God's mercy and forgiveness, but it caused him to become angry. He protested to Yahweh, saying he would rather die than see Nineveh repent, this being the reason he had fled away in the first place. Jonah was so biased that he could not understand how God could ever have dealings with another nation, let alone Israel's enemy. Israel in his eyes had exclusive right to God's mercy. He had to learn that Yahweh, "which hath made the sea and the dry land" (1:9), was the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews (Romans 3:29).

 

JONAH LEARNS A LESSON—THE PARABLE OF THE GOURD. Jonah 4:6-9.

Once outside the city, Jonah made himself a booth (a temporary dwell­ing made of boughs of trees—like those used by Israel during the feast of Tabernacles, Leviticus 23:41-44), and waited to see what would happen to Nineveh. God specially made a gourd or large plant grow up alongside Jonah and this afforded him extra shade which he was pleased to have. But overnight the gourd was eaten by a worm, again especially sent by God. On the next day the sun arose and God caused a strong east wind to blow. Jonah mourned the loss of the gourd which had protected him, and wished he was dead. Catching Jonah in an angry and unrepentant mood God again questioned him, "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" Jonah stubbornly maintained his position, "I do well to be angry, even unto death." God's question implied that Jonah was wrong and should change his thinking. He had brought repentance to the Ninevites but he himself was unrepentant (c.p. 1 Corinthians 9:27).

 

The folly of his position is then brought out before him in the state­ment of God that concludes the book. "Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that can­not discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

 

Jonah had more pity for plants than men! Man was the last of God's creation, made in God's image and likeness. Jonah in effect was condem­ning God for saving man that He had made! The gourd, which Jonah had not laboured to make, and which, unlike man, only lasted a short span, he would prefer to see spared! The lesson is obvious. God is the Saviour of all men: He is not willing that any should perish but that they all will come to Him in repentance, as Nineveh did, and live (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:23, 32).

 

THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAS. Matthew 12:38-41.

When the Pharisees demanded a proof that Jesus was Israel's Messiah he replied, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of the prophet JONAS". He pro­ceeded to show two ways in which Jonah was a sign to that generation.

 

1. v.40: Jonah's three days and three nights in the whale was a sign that he, too, would be in the heart of the earth for the same period. (See section, "Jonah's Life Preserved").

2. v.41: The repentance of the Ninevites was a lesson to Israel to repent also and seek God in truth, before He brought punishments upon them (Matt. 12:41). In fact the Jews were given 40 years to repent, but they still proved to be a "wicked and adulterous generation" and so were destroyed in A.D. 70. They had much more evidence to believe in God and serve Him than had the Ninevites.

 

LESSON FOR US:

We cannot run away from God and prosper.

 

It is foolish to think that we can change the will of God; Jonah tried, but found out through bitter experience, that "He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou" (Daniel 4:35).

 

God made man and would have all men come to repentance.

 

No man has the right to limit the extension of God's merciful hand. We must preach the saving Word to all people without preferring one above another (Mark 16:15-16).

 

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield)—Vol. 5, No. 8.

"The Goodness and Severity of God" (H.P. Mansfield)—pages 2-50.

 

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. Why didn't Jonah want to preach to the Ninevites? How did he try to escape doing this?

2. What fearful event happened to Jonah as he tried to flee from God and how was he delivered out of it?

3. When Jonah did preach to Nineveh, what was the effect on

   1. the people of Nineveh and

   2. Jonah himself, when he saw the response of the Ninevites?

4. What did Jesus mean when he spoke of "the sign of the prophet Jonas"?

 

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

 

1. Tell the story of why Jonah wanted to run away from God and what happened when God asked him the second time to preach to Nineveh.

Explain how Jonah was taught the lesson that all men can be saved if they repent and show the application this lesson has for us today.

 

2.