Book of Jonah

Jonah the Committed Prophet

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jonah The Committed Prophet

Book of Jonah Chapters 3-4

Jonah the Rebellious prophet became Jonah the committed prophet, but Jonah still had a lot of hatred in him.

Jonah gets a second chance to go where God wanted him to go and do what God wanted him to do.

We may think it strange, but Jonah did not want to preach to the Ninevites because Jonah knew and understood the grace and mercy of the Lord, and he knew that many of them would probably be saved.

Jonah did not want any of them to get saved because Jonah hated the Ninevites, because they were such a cruel and wicked people, and had become a thorn in the flesh of Israel.

Jonah was a typical Jew who felt that the Jews were better than all other peoples.

The important word we should understand in this Book of Jonah is the word “repentance”.

Jonah had to repent of his own sin to understand the meaning of repentance, to preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh.

God often gives us a second chance and to some even a third chance or more, but we should also understand that He does not always do this because He can see into our heart.

Sometimes disobedience is of such a character that God cannot go on with such a servant.

1Ki 13:21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
1Ki 13:22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
1Ki 13:23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
1Ki 13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
1Ki 13:25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
1Ki 13:26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.

It is always better to be obedient to the Word of God.

*****Jon 3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
Jon 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
Jon 3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

Jonah gets the same command for the second time, and this time Jonah does not flee; he goes to Nineveh and preaches the sermon God told him to preach.

Every preacher is given a message he is to preach to those who gather with him!

Those who are not given a message from the Holy Spirit are not God-called, or they could have unrepentant sin in their lives.

God had accepted Jonah’s repentance and restored his ministry.

A great city would be a fortified city, and probably was a walled city, and probably had experienced war.

Most anything else would be a town, and that city in that area would be like a mother to those towns.

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, which had begun to emerge as a regional power.

It was probably a saying that Jonah that he had been spat out of a fish’s mouth because he had rebelled against God.

We should understand that the Philistines worshipped a god named Dagon, and Dagon was known as the fish god. Half man and half fish.

The Ninevites would have also considered Dagon as a god.

To the Jews, Nineveh was the land of Nimrod.

Nineveh was up to 700 miles from Joppa, so it would take a while for Jonah to get there, much more than three days.

When Jonah entered the city, he began preaching the message God had given him.

Nineveh was such a great city that it would take three days to walk around the walls of that city, if you could walk 20 miles a day.

Certainly, Jonah could not walk and preach at that pace, so this statement is tied to that phrase “such a great city” to tell us just how large the city of Nineveh was.

*****Jon 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
Jon 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
Jon 3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Jonah had become a sign to the Ninevites: Luk 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

The Ninevites had heard about this man Jonah, how he spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish.

Now we do not know if the false god Dagon influenced these Ninevites or not, but we do know that the Ninevites believed that only a true God could have saved any man from such a catastrophe.

The sign to the Church is that God can bring new life to those who are judged dead in sin.

This king and these people believed in the story of Jonah, and we have no right to not consider it to be true today.

If God said Jonah was swallowed by a fish that He had prepared to swallow Jonah, then it has to be true!

The effect of Jonah’s preaching was spontaneous, and the people put on sackcloth and proclaimed a fast.

From the poor to the rich, they believed in the message of Jonah, which reached into the king’s palace, and this king caused a fast to be proclaimed in all of Nineveh.

Jon 3:7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
Jon 3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

The whole city believed the God of the Jews could have the power to destroy them if He chose to do so, and we know He had that power; He is all-powerful.

This city believed this because they believed the story of Jonah being swallowed by a large fish.

Notice how God sends a warning with a chance to repent before He would bring judgment.

We are to pass this warning to those we witness to today.

*****Jon 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

All those people who sacrificed to idols and false gods had heard about the goodness of the God of the Jews, and they understood the message of Jonah and realized they had only one option to avoid perishing.

Notice they demanded no forgiveness.
They did not ask for mercy.
In their confession, there was no sacrifice.
They offered no promise to appease God.

Just as we know today, their fast and humility came by faith in the truth of God.

Our salvation is based on faith in the work that Jesus Christ has done for our salvation, and it is in this faith that God will receive us into His family and not by these other things.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This is the work that God has required!

This is the reason Jonah did not want to preach this message, because Jonah understood the grace and mercy of God.

*****Jon 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

God had seen the wickedness of Nineveh, and now God saw their repentance.

God heard them call out to Him.
God saw the change in them, their repentance.

What had they done? They had produced fruit worthy of repentance.

Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise children unto Abraham.

That fruit was that they had turned from their wicked ways.

They did not need to sacrifice some animal, for that would have been little proof.

They sacrificed a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

Psa 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
Psa 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Not only had Jonah preached the message God gave him, but Jonah had learned a lesson he would take back to the Jews and to the Northern Tribes.

God does not need an animal sacrifice to forgive sin.

These Ninevites were not confused about Dagon because they had now met Yahweh, Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is what Jonah knew would happen, and Jonah did not want any of the Ninevites to come to know the true God of Creation.

Jonah had some understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jonah did not want it to happen.

*****Jon 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Jon 4:2 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.

The Jews, they felt that the God of the Jews was just that. The God of the Jews and not God to any other people.

There are Christians today who feel that some people are just too wicked for God to save them.

There may be, but only God can know these things!

We are never to be hesitant to reach out to others, and if the Holy Spirit encourages us to reach out to certain individuals and we refuse, then we will be held accountable for the blood of that person if they never accept the truth of the Gospel.

God desires to have mercy upon every individual!
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the sin debt for every individual.

It is not up to us to judge if any person can accept the truth of God; this is God’s business, and God is in the saving business.

To be more like Jesus Christ, we must also be in the saving business!

God’s mercy can reach the lowest of the lowest, the highest of the highest, and all those in between.

God can save anybody, anytime, in any place!

Jonah understood this, but Jonah was not pleased with it.

Jonah understood God’s goodness and was not pleased with it.

Jonah explained to God that this was why he fled to keep this from happening, and he knew this was a great sin, and Jonah said to Jehovah, “Just take my life from me”.

Jonah discussed his anger with the Lord.

*****Jon 4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Even while he was angry at God, this is proof that Jonah did not water down the truth of God, but preached the truth straight from the Word of God.

Jonah did not keep his anger stored up in his heart, and this is a great example for all of us.

We will never understand everything that God does!

We will never understand the death of a child or why so many die in some catastrophe.

We may never understand why God did not answer our prayer or answer it in a way that we did not want Him to answer it.

Jonah knew God was gracious and merciful.
Jonah knew God was slow to anger and abounding in love.
Jonah knew God was willing to turn away from executing His judgment if His conditions were met.

It is very important that we all understand the character of God, and it is our goal to be more like Him.

What Jonah went through during this time in his life is a great lesson for us all.

Anytime we get to see how God does things is a place we can learn from Him!

It is very possible that Jonah became an enemy to his own people after leading these Ninevites to the Lord.

All the Jews hated the Ninevites.

Jonah may not have been able to witness to the Jews anymore.

Life did not make sense to Jonah any longer.

And God said to Jonah: Jon 4:4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

What do we know about anger? Anger is very ugly if it is allowed to simmer in our heart for a long period of time.

Jonah traveled a short distance from Nineveh and made himself a booth to sit under while he was trying to get over his anger.

God does not speak a word of reproach to Jonah, but God will teach Jonah a great lesson.

*****Jon 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

When we are talking to God, it is always best just to stop what we are doing and sit down with Him.

If the Almighty God wants to discuss what has just happened and He takes the time to sit down with one of His children, then it is a great honor to hear what He has to say.

God does want us to understand the things we do not understand, but we must understand that it is because of the great love that He does most things.

Remember how God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah; now God has prepared a plant, a gourd, to come up and shade Jonah and allow Jonah some relief from the blistering sun.

Jonah was really happy with the shade this plant provided for him, but this relief would not last very long.

*****Jon 4:7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

If you fool with plants, then you know we can go to bed with our plants looking beautiful and wake up and find that insects during the night have tried to destroy our beautiful plants.

Then God prepared a vehement east wind, and it caused Jonah to be in misery.

That word vehement means a very hot east wind, a scorching, burning wind.

Jonah fainted from the heat, and he again wished for God to take his life.

All Jonah could think about was that gourd that had provided him with some relief the previous day.

Jonah became angry that the gourd had withered and died so soon.

Again, God told Jonah that it did him well to be angry at the gourd.

Then God said: “Here is the lesson for you to learn, Jonah”.

*****Jon 4:10 Then said the LORD, 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:
Jon 4:11 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?

Here it becomes clear why God has created such a fast-growing plant.

If it had been a slow-growing plant, Jonah should have cared for it and watered it, but Jonah did not have to make any effort for the growth of the plant.

Jonah had no personal relationship with it.

We should understand that God is our Creator and He has that special love for all His created beings, and this includes such cruel and wicked people as the Ninevites were at this time of Jonah.

God made the sun to rise over Nineveh as well as provide rain.

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

God told Jonah that more than one hundred twenty thousand people were living in Nineveh that could not discern their right hand from their left hand; should He not offer them a chance to be saved from Hell?

This is a trait of God’s character that we cannot overlook: Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Should God not heal them? Mat 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Even the disciples did not understand these things.

Would Jonah understand God’s feelings for Jerusalem? Do we?

Luk 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Even the animals were dear to God that were in Nineveh, so we must never think that God does not love His creation.

We do not get to read Jonah’s response, and the Book of Jonah comes to an abrupt end, so we know for sure that God always has the last words, and we need to grow in Christ to better understand the ways of God!

Amen

Jonah the Rebellious Prophet

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jonah The Rebellious Prophet

Book of Jonah Chapters 1 and 2

One thing we should be very clear about in this Book of Jonah is that it was written as actual history and not some allegory, or fiction, or parable, and refers to real people in real places.

Ancient tradition in Israel considered Jonah and the Book of Jonah as historical facts, and we should too.

A lot is written about Jonah by Josephus and other church fathers, and they all accepted the Book of Jonah as a historical fact.

It would be best for us to accept the Book of Jonah along with the sixty-five other books of the Bible as the truth of God.

If God said Jonah was swallowed by a fish to be delivered to Nineveh, then I accept it as fact.

It does not actually say that this great fish delivered Jonah to Nineveh, and Assyria had no shore and no seaport.

Jonah was probably put to shore at Joppa, the place from which he had set out.

God wanted His message of “judgment” preached in Nineveh, and He chose Jonah to deliver that message.

God does not just choose people He knows might not like the ministry He chose them for.

God chooses His children who He knows can get the job done if their faith remains strong.

  1. We have a duty to bear witness to the true Lord of all people, Jesus Christ.
  2. God wanted Israel to know that God loved all people.
  3. Jonah was to be a picture of repentance from disobedience of a true man of God, written to all God’s people.

Another thing to consider that is not mentioned is the fact that it would be the Assyrian Empire that God would use in His “judgment” of the Northern Tribes named Israel, and the capital of the Assyrian Empire was the city of Nineveh.

The Assyrians were known as some of the cruelest people in the ancient world.

The children of Israel could be just as callous and hardhearted.

Even though most of the Ninevites returned to pagan worship later, God always, always has a remnant that stays with Him forever.

I believe that when Israel was taken to Nineveh, not everyone would be their enemy.

God has a purpose and a use for everyone upon the face of this earth.

God will use everyone who turns to Him, but God will also use the wicked to further His plan of “redemption” while not causing their wickedness.

The truth of God is that He desires mercy more than judgment, and every person who lives will get an opportunity to meet the God of the Bible.

God’s patience with our sin and wickedness, our false worship and rejection of Him as the only Living God and True God, is hard to understand, but it is real!

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

We must understand that God’s “judgment” will be real when the Lord Jesus returns in glory.

There is nowhere to run to escape the “Judgment of God”!

*****Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

The Book of Jonah, the fifth book in the row of the twelve minor prophets, is a unique book.

It is another place where we are to learn about the ways of God.

Jonah, the prophet of God, tried to put his own importance above the importance of God’s message.

We must learn that if we belong to God, we cannot run away from the purpose He has for us without feeling His chastisement.

Jonah knew the power and the truth of God!

When the truth of God is preached to any people, some will believe and be saved.

Jonah hated the Ninevites, for they were cruel, war-mongering people, and Jonah did not want to see any of them turn to Jehovah for salvation.

Just like God always does, He will take something that started badly and turn it into good results.

Jonah was running away from his home and his country to avoid doing what God wanted him to do.

Jonah would suffer unimaginable things, but in the end, he would be glad to do what God wanted him to do.

Jonah was already a prophet of God in Judah and was obedient to the Word of God.

Amos and Hosea were also serving the Lord during the time of Jonah.

They were to warn Israel and Judah of the coming judgment unless they would repent of their evil ways.

God’s new commission to Jonah was clear and unmistakable.

Jonah was to go to the city of Nineveh to warn a pagan people of the coming judgment of God.

We will learn a lot about Jonah, but we must pay attention to the actions of our God and Jonah’s God, Jehovah.

Of course, we know Him as Jesus.

Nineveh was one of the great cities of ancient civilization.

For the Lord Jesus to mention Jonah, we know that these things are true.

It just makes sense for us to accept all the Word of God as the truth.

To the Jews, the Book of Jonah is important, and they read this great truth of God during the Day of Atonement.

To critics, it is just a fairytale, but we live by faith in the whole Word of God.

If the Lord Jesus said these things are true, then we should not question them.

Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

What do we recognize as the sign of Jonah?

The sign of Jonah refers to the three days that Jonah spent in the belly of a great fish, which symbolizes Jesus’ death and resurrection after three days.

This truth is mentioned in the Gospels, where Jesus uses Jonah’s experience as a type of His own future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

The miraculous survival of Jonah serves as a powerful reminder of God’s mercy and God’s call to repentance.

It is God who is in control of all the parts of nature He created. God loves all people.

And for those who think God just has His eyes on His own people, all the other people of this earth should know that God has His eyes upon all His creation and all people of every nation.

What did Jonah do? He tried to flee from God.

God knows what each of us are doing at any given time.

*****Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

It is believed that Tarshish was a city of the Phoenicians in southern Spain.

This ship would have been an ocean-going ship and not a small fishing boat.

The Phoenicians were the dominant sea power at that time, and their ships traveled the world.

We should understand that we may not always like what God wants us to do.

We know He will never go against His own Word, so anything God asks us to do will be the right thing to do!

The people of Nineveh were evil and malicious, but as God had promised, the entire world must be warned of the coming judgment.

Nah 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
Nah 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
Nah 3:3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

All sin is an abomination to the Lord, but God will sometimes point out a specific group of people who have become so wicked that He will issue a special call of judgment.

Archaeology has confirmed what God is teaching us in this Book of Jonah.

The Assyrians were wicked people!

In their judgment of people, lips were torn off, hands were cut off, people were flayed like you would a fish while they were alive, and there were great mounds of skulls everywhere.

Jonah made a tragic decision to deliberately disobey the Lord and run away.

We must clearly understand that God can save anybody, anywhere, at any time, and it is not up to us to decide who God will save or who God will reject.

Rom_14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

The Lord Jesus said: Mat_7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

The Lord God Jehovah could not allow His prophet to get away with these things, which means He understood the feelings of Jonah, but Jonah was not God, and Jonah could not select who God would save or not save.

God’s message is to all people!

Jonah was in open rebellion against the Lord and wanted to get as far away from Nineveh as he possibly could.

God loved the Ninevites, despite their wickedness, and wanted them to hear that there was hope for them if they would only repent of all that wickedness.

We can also see that when we disobey God, we can endanger others.

God did not want His prophet to destroy his ministry or his life.

God caused a great wind, so great that this mighty ship could be destroyed.

The mariners of the ship all called out to their false gods, and we know there was no help there.

Jonah was asleep below deck, and the captain told him to cry out to his God, who is Jehovah, the God of the Hebrew people.

The Lord God of the Bible is the only hope we have in this world!

*****Jon 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So, they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Jonah may have thought for a while that he had successfully avoided going east to Ninevah by going west to Spain, but God was not through with Jonah.

Jonah knew why the ship was in such distress.

We should understand that God chastises those He loves, and sometimes a lot of chastisement is needed to bring us back to the right path.

While God was dealing with Jonah, He also took the time to demonstrate His power over the elements of this world.

This was the time of the year when the Mediterranean Sea would have been the calmest, and the crew, being polytheists, could only blame their distress on some false god.

They believed more in their false gods than many people believe in the true God, to our shame.

Ask a Muslim who believes in false gods or ask a Hindu about their faith.

God wants us to warn all people everywhere of His coming judgment, whether they believe it or not.

Jonah finally told them his God was the LORD, the God of Heaven, and that he was running away from Him.

It was obvious to the ship that it was Jonah’s fault that had caused this terrible storm.

They asked Jonah how they could save themselves from this storm, and Jonah told them to throw him overboard.

They did not want to do this at first but later decided that there was no other option and tossed Jonah out of the ship.

*****Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

These professional sailors got introduced to the God who is our Creator.

They asked that God not hold them accountable since it was because of Jonah that the storm was so powerful.

They were now afraid for their own lives and had admiration for the God of the Hebrew people, and they offered some sacrifice when they could have just said thank you and praised Him.

A vow would mean that these sailors made some kind of promise to God.

Only Jonah knew what happened next and lived to talk about it, and the Holy Spirit caused it to be written in the Bible we have today.

*****Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

No one can outthink God! He knew exactly what was going to happen to Jonah, and He prepared a great fish to be ready to save Jonah from drowning.

If God can keep life in the womb before the birth of a child, why would He not be able to keep Jonah alive in the belly of a fish?

This great fish swallowed Jonah to protect him, and as my preacher says, Jonah became the first ever submariner.

Some say under these conditions, there was no way that Jonah could have known how many days he was inside this fish, but the Holy Spirit knows all things.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

There was but one thing Jonah could do.

*****Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
Jon 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

This story of Jonah should confirm the fact that we can pray to God from anywhere but the grave, though we know that everyone in Hell is now a believer in the true God.

Wherever we find ourselves, we are never too far from God for Him to hear us.

Jonah had caused himself to be put into this precarious situation.

Jonah was in this situation because he had willfully disobeyed God, but God was still ready to hear from Jonah.

Had Jonah not prayed, he would have been lunch for this fish!

We must know that in our time of need, we should go to God, for He is always listening for our prayers.

Psa 120:1 In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.

We are never truly in a desperate situation when we know we can pray to the God of all power, even when we are in disobedience to the Word of God, if we are willing to repent.

It would take a miracle for Jonah to survive and complete the work that God had given him to do.

The Lord used this huge fish to keep Jonah alive while He also gave Jonah a sense of being in Hell.

  1. Jonah was in pitch-black darkness, along with the unbearable smell of rotting fish, seaweed, and whatever else a fish would eat.
  2. The Lord used this fish to give Jonah a sense of what Hell would be like for those who never heard God’s message of salvation.
  3. God used this fish to deliver Jonah from death to demonstrate His great love and mercy. God will do almost anything to get His message to those who have never heard it.
  4. The Lord used this great fish to swallow and then expel Jonah as a type of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, as Jesus said Himself.

Luk 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

We should remember the Lord in everything we do, and He should never be the last thing that we remember in a time of need.

*****Jon 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Though Jonah was still inside this great fish, his heart began to change in his despair.

Jonah realized that the Lord had kept him alive inside this fish to give him time to repent.

Jonah could breathe while inside this animal, which causes many to believe this great fish was a whale, but we actually do not know for sure.

Jonah speaks with faith that the Lord could still save him if He chose to do so, and He did.

God intends that through situations such as the one Jonah was in, to show us His great mercy.

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Jonah did not know if he would truly be saved from his dilemma, but he did know that his relationship with his Heavenly Father had been mended.

Inside this fish, Jonah knew he could still reach into the throne room of God.

Jonah was not afraid to die!

*****Jon 2:10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

We do not know where Jonah was put out on dry land.

We do know that God has control of all His creation, and this fish was obedient to God.

We can ignore all those who suggest the first part of the Book of Jonah is allegorical.

Those are just people who have no respect for the Word of God nor the power of our Supernatural God.

God had humbled His servant, and His servant was now ready to serve Him.

Jonah revived his ministry from this beach where he was deposited.

He would now obey God and go to Nineveh to proclaim the Word of God to a doomed people.

This is the same job we have today!

It was Jonah’s three-day experience when he was given a new life and a new beginning.

So, it is with us!

Through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we too can receive a new life, a new beginning, a brand-new start, a second chance, and spend an eternity with the One who loves us the most.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. By Grace Through Faith.

We must never think that God is not working in this world to bring to full glory His plan of salvation, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Jonah, Part 2

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

Jonah, The Obedient Preacher

Book of Jonah Chapter 3; 4

Last week we saw Jonah as he disobeyed God and tried to run away and hide. Jonah found that was impossible to do!

We already know that Jonah preached to the Northern Tribes of Israel just as Hosea and he preached at the same time frame as Hosea.

You have to admit that if Jonah had been a missionary supported by this church and we heard of his running away from God, the first thing we would do is drop his support.

God looks into the heart and God had a purpose for Jonah that only he could fulfill. God is the God of the second chance.

Most all of us have made mistakes that we wish we had never made and would love an opportunity to redeem ourselves.

If we have rebelled against God’s call, God does not just let it go at that.

God is a rewarder of all those that obey Him and God simply wants to reward us for things that we should just do out of our love for Him.

I do not believe that there is a true preacher or missionary alive that would not want to have the opportunity that God had called Jonah to do.

God, by example, gave Jonah a fresh start on his mission and his job was to offer an entire city a fresh start in life.

God is not only the God of the “second chance”, God is the God of a “new beginning” the God of “new life”!

After being humbled by the mighty hand of God, Jonah repented. God accepted Jonah’s repentance and restored His prophet and again commissioned him to go to the great city of Nineveh.

*****Jon 3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
Jon 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

God has a standing statement for every human being.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

It is obvious by that word “all” that this does not leave anyone out, no matter their nationality. “Race” is an invention of the evolutionists, and does not exist in the Word of God.

God says that there is only one ending for the result of sin.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;

This is not the physical death we all will suffer but death by the fact we will be eternally separated from God!

There is only one means of escape. It’s called repentance!

Jonah had been commissioned to “cry” or “to preach” against Nineveh but notice now the Lord says to preach to Nineveh. We can be sure God had already sent the Holy Ghost ahead of Jonah and they were ready even before Jonah got there.

Jonah always only had one commission and that was to preach the Word of God. Jonah had never been called on to express his opinion of that work.

It is impossible for us to understand the ways of God, so we should just do as God inspires us to do and God will never lead us to go against His own words. If it is not against the Word of God then it cannot be wrong if we have rightly interpreted what God is saying.

What’s wrong with the modern day church?

The pulpits have begun to give us their opinions or their personal thoughts and have forgotten that it is only the “Gospel” that can save!

Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

The Apostle Paul clearly understood what God was saying and he is a good example of what preaching is all about.

Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

To preach is to deliver the message of God with the authority of God, because the example for that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

And God said to Jonah: arise and go preach my message.

*****Jon 3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

Nineveh was 550 miles from Jerusalem and a city of great importance to the ancient world of that day.

Nineveh would soon become the capitol city of the Assyrian Empire, who God would use to show His wrath to the Northern Tribes of Israel.

Nineveh was so large it would take 3 days to travel around the city limits.

Nineveh was also the same city that Nimrod had established.

Gen 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Gen 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Gen 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

The truth is God loved the Ninevites as much as He loves anyone else and He still does but we are all called to repent and believe the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God had given Noah 120 years to preach His message of wrath, but Jonah told the Ninevites that “Judgment” would come to them in 40 days if they did not repent of their evil ways.

*****Jon 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
Jon 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Jonah entered the city of Nineveh but notice, he did not first go freshen himself up but he immediately began to preach the message God had given to him.

Jonah did not spend anytime gazing on this great city, he went straight to the work of God.

What we see is that by the ending of day one, the entire city was ready to repent.

Jonah had no need to go any further!

Jonah preached as he walked for his message was not as long message but it was the truth.

Jonah preached that at the end of 40 days Nineveh would be over thrown!

What is the truth of God’s Prophets?

Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

What is the truth of God’s message?

Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

We already know that God never changes.

God can bring America to her knees without affecting the rest of the world, if He so chooses!

We should also notice that Jonah preached a complete message.

Many times preachers preach Hell, hot and heavy, but they stop there and do not preach how to miss out on Hell.

Every sinner in their heart know they are sinners, the thing they do not know is how to avoid the wages of sin and an eternity in Hell.

Many other preachers today preach the love of God and leave out the preaching of the wrath of God.

God told Jonah you just give them my message, not yours and not what you interpret my words to mean!

There is a certain amount of “fear” that should be a part of our “faith”!

Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

The problem in most pulpits today is that they either “add to” or “take from” God’s message.

We must all remember, we are simply to be messengers of the Word of God!

The simple study of God’s Word is still, (who, what, when, where, and how).

Who is God speaking to.
What is His message.
When did the things take place, including future.
Where did or where will these things happen.
And “How” will God go about doing what He says and how do these things apply to us today.

Remember God teaches by example!

If we keep the Word of God in the context of it’s written message and just accept that what God says is true without questioning His Words, we can begin to be a messenger of God!

These Ninevites responded by the droves.

God was not making an idle threat, He would have certainly destroyed this city in 40 days had they not repented of their evil ways but God knew it all along.

Deep in the heart of Jonah, he also knew this thing and that’s why he rebelled against God.

These fierce pagan people became very humble at the message of God.

We see that whole neighborhoods and communities began to fast and put on sackcloth, a sign of repentance.

**We see first they believed, this is faith.

**Next we see they repented, these are the two necessary things to bring salvation.

What did Jesus say?

Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
This is the same message we should have today!

AND, This great event even reached into the government.

*****Jon 3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Jon 3:7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
Jon 3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
Jon 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Here we see a government that identified with it’s people. This is a rare thing today!

1) The government demanded that everyone was to fast.
2) The government demanded that every creature to wear sackcloth (all the earth is subject to God)
3) The government demanded that all the citizens were to call on God and repent.

This government was trying to do everything it could to turn back the judgment of God!

This would be a wise thing for our own government to do instead of kicking God out of America!

The truth is, if you believe the Lord and repent of your sins, you are then saved and welcomed into the family of God!

To be converted means:

1) A life of sin will now be a life of righteousness.
2) A carnal nature becomes a spiritual nature.
3) A mind once conformed to this world becomes a mind transformed by the power of God.
4) A soul that was condemned to eternal death to a life of eternal perfection and glory.

It’s called being “Born Again”.

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

And the Almighty but Merciful God of all “Grace” was satisfied and the people would have piece with God!

*****Jon 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

We should remember it is impossible to deceive God, so this was a true repentance!

This was because they had “faith” that God would do exactly as He said He would do, and God would have because God cannot and will not lie.

There was a deadline of 40 days so these people had decided in just a few days, there was no benefit to waiting to the last minute, in fact that would have shown a lack of repentance and to delay meant destruction.

This is why God will not give us an exact day or hour in which He will return.

We must remember God offers a choice and God will honor our choices right or wrong, but we must understand to choose to go against the will of God is to bring death and destruction to yourself.

There was only one sad person that day and it was Jonah!

*****Jon 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Jon 4:2 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.

There are some people in our world that are so wicked that we simply do not want to have anything to do with them.

It would be very hard to witness to some gay people or some abortionist, or some rapist, or some murderer.

To Jonah, the Assyrians were the most wicked people upon this earth and he did not want them to be saved.

The truth is, the Lord will shower blessings of “Mercy” upon everyone who will repent and call upon His name!

Jonah had been showered with God’s “Mercy” time after time but his heart was hard toward the Ninevites.

Jonah had difficulty in believing that God would save everybody no matter what they had done.

Jonah became very angry and upset with God.

Jonah took the time in His prayer to tell God exactly why he was angry and this is something we all should do.

We have a tendency sometimes to question the “Mercy” of God on certain people as Jonah did this day.

To Jonah, after he had preached the terrible “Judgment” of God, he felt God had simply let them off the hook.

The truth is God can only be God!

God has to obey His own Word or He would be a liar and no one could trust Him.

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Jonah was so angry that he ask God just to take his life, he wanted to quit on God.

*****Jon 4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Jonah knew that if he went back to Jerusalem saying that Nineveh had been saved because of his preaching, he would not be looked upon very well by his brethren.

Most all Jews wanted Nineveh destroyed!

This is the same way we feel about ISIS and the terrorists today, we want them destroyed!

It is likely that the Jews would never have accepted Jonah as a prophet of God ever again, so Jonah felt he just as well die.

But God’s purpose for Jonah was not complete at this time.

God responded to Jonah in tenderness.

*****Jon 4:4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

God was saying to Jonah, “is your anger a reasonable outcome or is it pointless”

God did not ask Jonah any other question because Jonah needed to meditate on his anger.

Jonah was not angry at the wickedness of Nineveh, Jonah was angry at their repentance!

God warns us that we must not allow anger to become embedded in our hearts.

Anger that remains a long period of time can take us over and consume all our thoughts and even our lives!

Anger will smolder and then erupt in a fit of rage and hostility many times

Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.

*****Jon 4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
Jon 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
Jon 4:7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

The truth is even a prophet of God still needs instruction.

Jonah sought a place where he could be alone and out of sight of everyone.

Jonah wanted to be a spectator to the destruction of Nineveh but he did not want to be seen by them.

Jonah found a place on the east side of the city where he could still observe the happenings of the city because he wanted to be sure that the repentance of that city was real.

Jonah still wanted to witness the destruction of Nineveh but all he saw was a city humbling themselves and
repenting to the Lord.

We know that a booth is just a shelter made from branches of trees and those leaves quickly withered in the hot sun and God prepared a gourd to cover the head of Jonah to keep him cool and Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd.

God providing this plant was a direct act of compassion.

But the next morning God prepared a worm to cause the gourd to whither and again Jonah was in the sun.

God sent an east wind and Jonah was over whelmed by the heat until he fainted.

Again God spoke to Jonah.

*****Jon 4:8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Jon 4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Jon 4:10 Then said the LORD, 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:
Jon 4:11 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?

People wonder if God does actually use nature to teach us valuable lessons. We can be sure He does!

The temperatures can easily reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit in that area and Jonah succumbed to the heat.

God immediately reached down from Heaven and again saved Jonah.

God said to Jonah “was it right to be angry with the gourd that had left him in misery”? Jonah said yes.

So God knew Jonah was ready to learn a new lesson.

1) Jonah had a great concern for his own health while he intended to watch the destruction of many thousands of people.

Today we see a society that says they have a great concern for our children while they oversee the destruction of the unborn children up to and including that one that is at 9 months.

If Jonah had such great pity for that plant that he had not even planted nor cultivated but had only lived a short time and was really valueless, How much more would the Lord have pity on the many thousands of Nineveh.

And how much more will God have pity on the unborn and the elderly who are being push aside and forgotten.

Our God never changes!

What had God said to Abraham?

Gen 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Gen 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

After the preaching of Jonah there were many righteous people in Nineveh!

What is always the truth of God?

Nah 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

God simply will not show His wrath as long as there are righteous people in these places!

The truth is many guilty cities and even nations have been spared because they contained some of God’s people.

This is the very reason the wrath of God cannot come until after the “Rapture” of the Church.

This is the only time that there will be not one righteous person on this earth!

The Apostle Paul wrote these words about the Lord Jesus Christ:

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The same goes for the Church! If this world encouraged Christianity rather than trying to stop it, this world would never see the wrath of God!

2) When Jonah thought more of his own comforts than for the spiritual welfare of 600,000 people who were lost then he was not acting like a true man of God.

Our Lord will show His compassion to all people!

Lam 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lam 3:22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

And compare:

Psa 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Psa 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Psa 145:15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Psa 145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

Jesus said:

Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

3) Then God asked Jonah, Since the Lord is the Creator of all life, why should He not show concern for all His creations.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

To be honest how could we serve a God that was not like our God?

Every soul is a jewel from the treasure chest of Heaven and God wants them all back!

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

We are fools not to answer the call of God!

We are all made from the same lump of clay!

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

The Book of Jonah ends with this Scripture but we know that Jonah went on being a prophet of God.

The Book of Jonah shows us how not to behave in the service of the Lord!

It is a fact that there are no unimportant people in the eyes of God!

There are no sinners who have sinned so greatly that God will reject them if they repent!

As Christians we should never rebel against God!

We are never to disobey God!

We should never argue with God!

We should never question God’s judgment!

We are only called to witness to the lost and we must remember all vengeance belongs to the Lord!

We should never quit on God, for God will simply put us a shelf and get someone else to do what we refuse to do!

We may not know much out about Jonah, but we can sure that while he was hot and miserable, he was awakened to the truth of God and it changed his life forever.

Sometimes we expect to much from God’s prophets but after all they were all just ordinary men just as we are and they made mistakes just as we do!

We should never under estimate the “Mercy Of God”!

And we should never under estimate the “Love of God”!

After all God sent His own Son to pay the sin debt for the entire population from the days of Adam to a day that has not yet come!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Jonah, Part 1

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jonah; The Disobedient Prophet

Book of Jonah 1-2

When it comes to the true prophets of God there are some things we must always remember:

1) The words that they wrote came from the mouth of the Supreme God and should be treated as the Word of the Lord!

2) Their words are absolute, imperative and final and preempt all other laws!

3) They were commissioned by the Lord and their words are to be associated with their Commissioner!

We will read of a time in the life of God’s prophet Jonah, that he totally disagreed with God and we can be sure God told Jonah to include this in his writings.

I am sure that Jonah would have rather left some of these words out!

It would have been easy for God to just put good things in the Scriptures but they would not have seemed real.
God just teaches us the truths and gives us a view from both sides or I should say all sides.

The first lesson we will learn from the Book of Jonah is that you cannot run away from God.

King David put is this way:

Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Book of Jonah Chapter 1 verse 1

*****Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

If you have ever tried to run away from anything you can understand Jonah.

Records show that at least a million people, mostly young juveniles, successfully run away from home every year. Most of these runaways end in devastation for themselves and their families.

Jonah was a runaway prophet!

Jonah was called of God to preach to the Northern Tribes of Israel just as Hosea and some others. He also had preached to Judah the wonderful Word of God.

Jonah felt that to preach the Word of God to the Ninevites was God asking to much. These were the enemies of Israel.

What is the truth of God?

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We all pretty much understand the plan of God but what we cannot understand is how God will go about completing His plan.

God says, it is not for us to understand, it is only that we have “Faith” and trust Him to do what is right.

Israel felt that God was the God of Israel but that He did not care for any other nation.

We already know that God sent His Son to save the entire world.

One day while Jonah was resting God gave Jonah a new commission.

We already know the God spoke to His prophets in dreams and visions and Jonah clearly understood what God had called him to do.

Even today God calls us to activities that we may really want to do.

The truth is, it is our duty to be obedient to God in everything He ask.

The physical side of us is just a tool for God’s use.

The most important part of serving the Lord is our willingness to do so!

When we are not willing to serve the Lord we will then become a tool in the service of others!

Nineveh was a great city not only because it was heavily populated but Nineveh was the capitol city of the great Assyrian Empire.

The city of Nineveh was probably 60 miles in circumference, more like New York rather than Jerusalem.

The Assyrian Empire was second only to the Empire of King Solomon in riches and royalty in it’s day.

Nineveh was established by Nimrod and the probable home of the Tower of Babel.

We know that the Assyrian Empire later fell to the Medes in the time of Daniel and later to the Babylonians.

But before these things could happen God was going to allow the Assyrians to destroy the Northern Tribes of Israel and scatter the remnant throughout that empire.

God’s plan for Jonah was to preach the salvation of the Lord so they would not be so harsh on the people of Israel.

God spoke through His prophets in that day but today God speaks directly to each individual!

Heaven is open to every people. There is only one race in the eyes of God. God sees “souls” and not the color of the skin!

Nineveh was a Gentile City and much hated by most Jews for this reason.

Jonah was assigned to go to Nineveh to warn them of the “Judgment” of God if they did not turn from their wicked ways.

In the days of Jonah the Assyrians were a dominant economic power but also a dominant military power and they were known to be a cruel, violent and wicked people.

**They were one of the most cruel people to have ever lived on this earth.

Nah 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
Nah 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
Nah 3:3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

History, and archeology has proven all these things to be true!

In reality this commission given to Jonah is much like the “Great Commission” given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jonah was one lone Jew sent into a city of over 600,000 cruel and evil people.

Until Jonah, no Jewish prophet had ever been given such a task.

Amos and Hosea also were prophets of that day but only Jonah was chosen for this particular task.

As believers our soul duty is to share the “Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ”!

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

But Jonah rebelled against God.

*****Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Jonah made a tragic decision, he rejected God’s commission.

The truth is, it is impossible to go to Tarshish if God sends you to Nineveh!

Jonah left his home.

Jonah left his nation.

Jonah fled from the Lord.

But those were God’s winds. (The winds would not push that ship through the water)

That ship was sailing on God’s Seas. (The Seas would not bear him!)

Those whales new better than to reject God’s calling. (The natural world is directly under God’s command)

Luk 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
Luk 8:25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
Luk 8:26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

When we are disobedient to God it will always affect others.

*****Jon 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Now we are never to take part in a lottery but when all lawful means have been seen as worthless then we may have to seek other means.

Sort of like drawing straws or pulling a name out of a hat.

Even these things must be done in a Holy fashion and accompanied with prayer, and great reverence.

We must never treat such a thing as idolatry and we must never apply the Word of God to this action.

If we honor God as the moderator of such a thing, then we must respect the answer we obtain.

Jonah was in open rebellion against the Lord.

Jonah had made a deliberate decision to travel to Tarshish, which was probably to Spain as we know it today.

At that time this was as far away as any ship would sail and Jonah fled to Joppa a seaport to find his ship.

We will notice that any time we are disobedient to the Lord, we can endanger other people.

God also loved the Ninevites as much as Jonah and God would not allow Jonah to destroy his ministry and his life showing His great love for him also.

This ship had no longer left port until God brought a strong storm that endangered the ship.

Jonah became so seasick he went to the bottom of the ship to lie down.

Jonah found himself very weak and completely helpless!

The captain of the ship went to Jonah knowing he was a prophet of God and rebuked Jonah for not praying for the safety of the ship and all who were aboard.

What do we know about prayer?

Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Jonah was intended to be a prophet of salvation but instead he had become the minister of doom!

Jonah’s disobedience had destroyed his testimony.

The men of this ship worshipped the many pagan gods of the seas and they had come to the conclusion that the God of Jonah was showing His wrath.

We should remember as long as God is chastising us, He is trying to get us to change our ways. No child of God will ever see His wrath but chastisement can still be painful and it is still possible God will just take us on home rather than ruin His testimony or His message.

Jonah said it was certainly His God, Jehovah, who was the Creator of all things, including the wind and the storm that was causing the terror of that day.

These men were terrified to hear of such a God as Jonah worshiped but their question was why would anyone do such a thing as try to run away from such a God.

We should all ask ourselves this same question!

Why would anyone reject such a God as we have?

The only answer they had was that Jonah must be sacrificed so that they could live.

Jonah accepted that it was only fair that he would die for what he had done because not only would these sailors perish but all the Ninevites would also perish.

Certainly God would require his death!

These men tried their best to save Jonah’s life but no one can fight against God and win!

But God will take any situation and make some good come from it!

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God always knows what men will do!

*****Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Jon 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

First God had to show these sailors that He was the true God as Jonah had said and He calmed the Seas.

We can just imagine how they felt when Jonah hit the waters the Seas became instantly calm.

God had shown His mercy and His grace to these men and it was time for them to make a choice and they made a sacrifice to the Lord and made (vows) not to worship any other god, only the God of the Jews.

God presents opportunities, it is up to us to recognize the work of the Lord and then choose the right way and repent just as these sailors had done.

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

We are fools when we witness such things as these sailors did and not realize that only God could have done such a thing!

Christ Jesus showed this same power to the apostles.

Mar 4:36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
Mar 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
Mar 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Mar 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mar 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Mar 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Most all of us in our lifetime have had a near death experience, whether it be a serious accident, a serious illness, a disease that could end in death, or maybe in combat, or a robbery, or an assault.

Over time we have realized that our only hope is in the Lord!

God usually will do one of only three things.

1) He will save us from that danger.
2) He will go with us through that danger and then deliver us.
3) He will carry us above that danger and take us on home to live eternally with Him in Heaven.

God had a special plan for Jonah!

It was God’s intent to cause Jonah to repent and do as he had been sent to do.

*****Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

What we see about God is that He always uses things that are part of His creation and not some out of this world object in His disciplinary actions.

God had used His control over nature to teach those sailors.

Now God uses a great fish to swallow up Jonah.

This was not some random fish that just happen to be swimming by but an especially prepared fish!

This not the only time that God prepared a fish for His own use.

Mat 17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Preparing a fish was a miracle in itself but the greatest miracle was that Jonah survived to write all these things down for us to study!

Now we should be clear, it is impossible for God to lie.
It is impossible that God can contradict Himself.
It is impossible for God not to stay consistent with His message.

As Jesus said, these are the signs of Jonah.

Mat 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

And Jonah finally realized the one thing he had not done which was the most important thing of all!

*****Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
Jon 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you can pray anywhere” then it must be true. Jonah prayed from the belly of this “Great fish”.

This story is not a parable but the actual truth of the Scriptures. All we need do is believe and we can accept why God would do such a thing.

Jonah had no doubt that he was facing death!

It may be physically impossible for anyone to live inside the belly of a whale for three days but there is nothing to hard for God!

Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

There are many who disagree about the truth of Jonah but the simple truth is, those that believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God have no problem believing the Book of Jonah!

To not believe in the Book of Jonah is to not believe in miracles!

The miracles that God does are all outside the possibilities of this natural world.

We worship a Supernatural God!

Why would God do such a thing?

1) The first thing is obvious. Jonah needed to be saved from drowning but he also needed to feel the irony of being in Hell. Jonah had condemned all the people of Nineveh to Hell. God wanted to show Jonah a taste of Hell without sending Him there. Jonah was indeed a child of God who could never really be sent to Hell because of God’s promise.

Jonah had been seasick on the ship, we can only imagine how he was now.

Jonah describes his journey in the darkness of the whales belly:

Jon 2:5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
Jon 2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

2) After a taste of Hell, the same Hell he had condemned the Ninevites to, God showed Jonah a taste of “Grace”.

Jonah got to see a true picture of God’s love.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jonah would also be this picture of God’s love to the Ninevites.

3) The Lord used a “great fish”. Jesus said it was a “whale”, which in reality was a type of the death of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

There was also a fourth reason.

4) The Ninevites worshiped a false god they had named Dagon.

Dagon was the fish-god, Dagon had the body of a fish with the head and the hands of a man.

There was also a female version of this false god and this is where the Mermaid gets her start in folklore.

Jonah continued to pray.

*****Jon 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Jonah realized that God was listening to his prayer.

When we are in dire circumstances we may shut out hope but that is when “Faith” will take over.

When we realize that the Temple actually was a “type” of Christ, we can realize the only hope we have in this world is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Looking for the Lord with a constant expectation and with joy is the only answer to lusts of this world.

Jonah began to realize that his “faith” was based on his hope for righteousness which comes to those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jonah realized the hope that is laid up for us in Heaven comes from the Word of truth from the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jonah realized that we are saved by our hope, but that hope is not in the things of this world, for how can we place our hope in things that we can see and not God who we cannot see but know that He exists!

As Jonah looked toward Heaven in believing and faithful prayer, he realized his prayer had been heard and God was going to answer him but in his own time which in this case was 3 days and 3 nights.

Every thing God does is for some one to get an opportunity to hear the “Gospel” and all we need do is to obey His calling.

What is the truth of Jonah and to each one that serves the Lord?

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Jonah then became the first submariner.

*****Jon 2:8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Jon 2:9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
Jon 2:10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

The truth is the Lord will always hear us and help us when we face critical situations!

We must first repent of our sins and then call upon His name to be acceptable to Him!

The Lord will accept no one who lives in sin!

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The Lord gave Jonah a new life, a new beginning and a second chance.

It was the Lord who had led this whale to save Jonah and it was the Lord who led this whale to spew Jonah out as close to Nineveh as it could.

Jonah had been humbled and he would go to Nineveh and preach as God had called him to do.

Many lessons can be learned but we must remember that Jonah’s 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of this whale points to the “death’, the “burial”, and the “resurrection” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are no Scriptures in the Bible that are not important!

This is another proof of our own resurrection!

Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Another lesson we must learn is that we can save ourselves a whole lot of trouble just by saying yes to the Lord and not trying to run away from His calling!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!