The Prophecy Of (
God’s (
SLIDE 48 Perhaps no other Old Testament prophecy is better known than the story of Jonah. The prophet, whose name means “(
SLIDE 49 VIDEO
The Date & Times
SLIDE 50 While we have no information given in his prophecy as to when the recorded events occurred, other Bible passages reveal to us when Jonah lived and served God as prophet. In 2 Kings 14:23-25, we read where Jonah served as prophet for God during the reign of (
The days of this king were ones of great (
At the same time, Assyria had been, and still was, on the fast track from nation to world empire. During the days when Jonah prophesied, Assyria was in a state of disarray, even fighting within themselves. These disturbances would last until the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745 B.C.). No doubt the confusion in Assyria and its capital led the Assyrians to be more receptive to Jonah’s preaching than they ordinarily would have been.
The Man
All we know about Jonah from the prophecy bearing his name is that he was the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1). 2 Kings 14:25 states he was from Gath-hepher, a small village about 4 miles northeast of what later would be Nazareth. Given the statements in 2 Kings 14:23-25 and Jonah’s apparent attitude about Nineveh, we safely say that Jonah was very nationalistic in his thinking. James E. Smith says, ““He was narrow in his outlook. In fact, he was nationalistic, totally unconcerned about the spiritual condition of those outside Israel”.”
Through his work as God’s prophet, he advised Jeroboam II in the regaining of Israel’s borders. However, God called Jonah away from his popular ministry of ““national restoration”” to a work of greater importance. We can see through his reaction to this call his narrow-mindedness. He was willing to speak about Israel’s victories, but unwilling to speak to foreigners about their salvation.
SLIDE 51 Jonah’’s rebellion to a prophetic call from God is not unique to him. It could be said of other prophets in the Scripture that they ““rebelled”” against God and the work He called them to do. Below is a chart of just a few of the examples.
Moses
The
Judge Gideon
The
Prophet Isaiah
The
Prophet Jeremiah
The
Prophet Ezekiel
Jesus’ Disciples in Matthew
Confrontation
3:4
6:11b - 12a
6:1-2
1:4
1:1-28a
28:16-17
Introduction
3:6-9
612b - 13
6:3-7
1:5a
1:28b - 2:2
18:18
Commission
3:10
6:14
6:8-10
1:5b
2:3 - 5
28:19-20a
Objection
3:11
6:15
6:11a
1:6
2:6, 8
Pick an excuse
Re
SLIDE 52 However, Jonah took his reluctance to a higher level. He went beyond hesitation to serve. He acted totally opposite to what the Lord said. His fear was not as Moses’, a fear of (
The Book
The prophecy of Jonah holds a unique place among the sections we label “”The Minor Prophets”.” This book is about a prophet rather than a book by a prophet. While the other 11 prophecies are full of oracles against Israel and neighboring nations, the Book of Jonah contains only 1 prophecy or oracle, and it is only 8 words long: ““Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown”” (Jon. 3:4).
The Book of Jonah is mostly in narrative form rather than in prophecies. It resembles more closely the accounts of Elijah and Elisha in 1 & 2 Kings than it does the other prophecies in the Bible.
The Book of Jonah also holds a unique place among all Old Testament books. Perhaps no other book in the Old Testament shows God’s concern for all men and their salvation and His ready mercy if they repent as does the Book of Jonah. This message is easily found in the New Testament, but not so prevalent in the Old Testament.
Many have over the years debated whether the story of Jonah is true or not. There have been several claims that it is only a myth, invented around some event that took place in Israel. After all, who would believe the tale about a man surviving 3 days in the belly of a fish, only to be vomited up on the shore? We accept the account of Jonah as true and actual. Jesus treated the book as history. He compared Jonah’s experience with the great fish to His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-41). The fact that He alludes to what Jonah went through verifies it as real as what He was about to do (Luke 11:30).
Also, the Lord’s statement, “”The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here”” in Luke 11:32 bears credible testimony to the “realness” of the Book of Jonah. Mythical people will not be standing up in judgment condemning others.
The Main Message & Lessons From The Prophecy
SLIDE 53 The main message of the Book of Jonah is primarily two-fold:
God desires to save (
Jehovah is the (
Because of these truths, the lessons one can learn from studying the Book of Jonah are many:
We cannot run and hide from God and the obligations He places on us (Psalm 139:7-11)
We must not long for the conversion of sinners provided they fit our prejudiced thinking
Opportunities for God’s people to serve are obligations providentially given by God
God is able to use life’’s incidents, even bad ones, to His glory and for the good of His people
SLIDE 54 Outline Of Jonah’s Prophecy
Jonah’s call and flight to Tarshish (1:1-16) (Jonah running (
Jehovah’’s charge to go to Nineveh, and the prophet’s disobedience (1-3)
The great wind and Jonah’s confession (4-10)
Jonah sacrificed- cast into the sea (11-16)
Jonah’s miraculous preservation (1:17-2:10) (Jonah running (
The fish prepared by Jehovah (1:17)
Jonah’s prayer from the deep (2:1-9)
Jonah’s deliverance (2:10)
Jehovah’s second call; Jonah goes to Nineveh (3:1-10) (Jonah running (
The call, response, and message to Nineveh (1-4)
Repentance and Jehovah’ is gracious change (5-10)
A narrow prophet vs. a merciful God (4:1-11) (Jonah running (
Jonah’s anger at Nineveh’s repentance (1-5)
The gourd vine and the worm (6-8)
Jehovah’s rebuke and lesson of the gourd vine (9-11)
SLIDE 55 Group Questions
Jonah has a really bad attitude. What are the things he has a bad attitude about? What was bad about his attitude?
Many of us say we want to hear from God, but what if what we hear from God is not what we want to hear? How did Jonah respond when he heard from God but did not like the message? What have you heard from God that has been difficult for you to hear and accept?
Jonah seems to have forgotten what it was like to be lost and without hope. What can help us to remember what our lives were like or would be like apart from God’s work in our lives?
God never deserted Jonah even in his rebellion. What evidence have you seen of God’s care in your life?
Jonah 3:10 says that God “repented” or “relented.” How does this fit in with God’s sovereignty?
Is there anyone toward whom you have a bad attitude like Jonah did? How does it affect you to think of God possibly using you for good in that person’s life?
What do we learn about God from the fact that he is willing to offer forgiveness to even the worst of people when they repent? What does this teach us about ourselves and our standing before God?
Questions
- Who was Jonah, where was he from, and what was his job? (1:1; 2 Kings 14:25) In the midst of this work, what other work did God have for him? (1:2)
- Where was Nineveh? What reputation of the Assyrians are you aware of that translates into the “wickedness” of Nineveh? How did Jonah respond to the directive from God? (1:3) Based on Jonah’s actions at this point, how would you label him?
- What was the Divine response to Jonah’s actions? (1:4) Chronicle the events recorded in 1:5-6. What commendable trait do we see in the pagan sailors that apparently was absent in Jonah? How do you account for Jonah’’s actions in 1:5 during this tense moment?
- What else do the sailors decide to do in 1:7? (Prov. 16:33) What did they learn from Jonah in 1:9? How does Jonah’s confession of God relate to his actions thus far? What advice did Jonah give the sailors? (1:12) What noble spirit do we see in them in 1:13?
- What did the sailors do and what was the effect of their actions? (1:15) What was their response in 1:16? What did God do in 1:17? What is so noteworthy about Jonah’s stay in the fish? (Matthew 12:38-40)
- What words would you use to describe Jonah’s prayer in 2:1-9? What does Jonah acknowledge about himself and God in his prayer? How does Jonah confidently end his prayer? (2:9) What is God’’s response in 2:10?
- What directive does God have for the prophet in 3:1-2? How does this compare to 1:2? After all that has happened in the interim between the two, what do we learn from this? This time, how does Jonah respond? (3:3-4)
- What was the Ninevite response to Jonah’s preaching? (3:5-9) Was their repentance genuine? (Matthew 12:41) What do you suppose made Jonah so successful? Consider Luke. 11:30 in your answer.
- What did God do upon the repentance of the Ninevites in 3:10? What is emphasized about God in His dealings with Nineveh, both before and after their repentance?
- How should Jonah have reacted? How did he react to God’s decision regarding Nineveh? (4:1) What did he say to God in response to Nineveh’s being spared? (4:2) According to Jonah, what was the only “rational” thing left to do? (4:3)
- What do you make of Jonah’s actions in 4:5? What did God do for and to Jonah in 4:6-8? What is the final lesson God wants Jonah to learn that was at the very heart of his God-given mission?
- Based on his own words, what are we to conclude about Jonah’s feelings towards those outside of Israel? Is there anything in this exchange for us to learn who serve God today?