Jonah chapter 1

1) What did God tell Jonah to do? “Go and cry against it!” What does that mean? God says nothing about offering repentance to Nineveh. The last time the phrase “its wickedness has come up before me” was spoken against a city/cities was Sodom and Gomorrah. How did Jonah respond? He refused to go to Nineveh. Why did he respond this way?

When God called Jonah to prophecy to the people of the Northern Kingdom in II Kings, did Jonah have a problem doing it? No. God calls Jonah to prophecy to this city Nineveh, and Jonah refuses? What’s the difference? What was Jonah’s reason for not going to Nineveh? Was it out of fear or something else? The answer is found in Jonah 4:2. Jonah was afraid but not of the Assyrians. He was afraid of God’s compassion/mercy. Jonah knew that if he preached to the Ninevites and by some slim chance they repent and turn to God, that God being a merciful God would forgive them their sins and not destroy Nineveh. Jonah did not want that to happen. He figured that by not going to Nineveh, they won’t hear God’s message; therefore, they won’t repent; and therefore, God would destroy the city like he did Sodom and Gomorrah. Good riddance. Nineveh deserves to be destroyed. What was Jonah’s reason for not going to Nineveh? Prejudice. The Assyrians are Gentiles. Gentiles do not deserve God’s mercy/blessings. Only his Chosen People … the children of Israel deserve that. Moreover, the Ninevites are a cruel, mean, nasty people. They are the Northern Kingdom’s #1 enemy. If God destroys Nineveh, Assyria would no longer be a threat to Jonah’s country. Knowing all this would you have made the same decision as Jonah to not preach to Nineveh? Imagine if you were a Jewish Christian living during the early days of WWII and God called you to leave the U.S. to go to Berlin and preach the gospel to the Nazis. Your response might be the same as Jonah’s.

Why did God call Jonah to prophesy to the Assyrians? Why not Amos or Hosea who were Jonah’s fellow prophets in the Northern Kingdom? Jonah was a man of God. But he also had a heart problem - prejudice. Jonah shared the same attitude toward Gentiles that people in the Northern kingdom had. I believe that is the very reason why God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and not Hosea and Amos. God did not pick Jonah’s name out of a hat. He didn’t say, “Let’s see … who can I send to Nineveh? Jonah’s available. I’ll send him.” He wanted to open Jonah’s eyes to the fact that God’s love and compassion is not limited to one people of the world but that He shows love and compassion for all people. A prejudiced person like Jonah would see God show love and compassion to a Gentile nation and not just any Gentile nation, but the cruelest one on the face of the earth. God wanted to change Jonah’s heart by teaching him this lesson and then take that message back to Israel and change their hearts. You can see that God’s purpose for sending Jonah on this mission to Nineveh was not limited to Nineveh. It also included Jonah and the Northern Kingdom.

A contemporary example – A Christian has issues with homosexuals. He/she is prejudiced toward them. Gays do not deserve mercy/compassion. They deserve damnation. Then, God calls that Christian to minister to homosexuals, specifically those dying from AIDS. What’s God’s purpose for doing this? A learning opportunity for the Christian.

Has God ever told you to do something that you didn’t want to do? Why did you not want to do it? How did you respond? If we were in Jonah’s shoes our problem may have been fear not prejudice. God wants me to walk into Nineveh alone – my people’s #1 enemy … a people notorious for their cruelty and He wants me to preach against them.

As Christians, we can’t pick and choose who we minister to. We can’t pick and choose who to love/show compassion. That decision is not ours, its God’s. God says “Arise, go” what are we to do? Arise and go. If not, how does God respond? See that next.

2) Where did Jonah attempt to flee to? Tarshish. Where was this city located in relation to Nineveh?

From Joppa to Nineveh – about 800 miles. From Joppa to Tarshish – about 2500 miles. Tarshish was a Phoenician trading colony at the west end of the Mediterranean Sea. Past Tarshish was the unknown. Jonah wanted to get as far away from Nineveh as possible.

3) What happened soon after Jonah’s ship set out to sea? God hurled a mighty storm against the ship carrying Jonah. God does not take “No” for an answer. When God tells you to do something he expects you to do it. If He wanted somebody else to do it, he would have called somebody else. If He wanted Hosea or Amos to preach to Nineveh, He would have called one of them. But He didn’t, He called Jonah. If God called you to do something, and for whatever reason (fear, lack of self-confidence) you refuse, don’t think God will say “OK” and move on. If God wanted somebody else to do it, He would have called somebody else. But He didn’t, He called you. As long as you run away from Him, He’s going to continue to pursue you. If you persist in running from your call, you are not going to know true peace.

4) Did the consequences of Jonah’s disobedience impact only him? No. His disobedience put the lives of the men on the ship in jeopardy. Do not think that the consequences of your sin impact only you and not the people around (family, friends, strangers).

5) What did the captain of the ship ask Jonah to do? Pray. Do you think he did it? We do not know for sure. Scripture does not say that Jonah got on his knees to seek God’s intervention. If he did pray, God told Jonah, “You know what it will take to stop this storm Jonah – go to Nineveh.” See answer to question 8. If Jonah did not pray to God, it was because he knew what God’s response would be – “Go to Nineveh” – and Jonah was determined not to go to Nineveh.

6) At what point did Jonah admit he was responsible for putting everyone on the ship in danger? After the crew gambled to see who was at fault. The dice said it was Jonah. God rigged the game so the dice would point to Jonah.

7) Why were the sailors terrified by Jonah’s response to their questioning? Jonah told them that his God was an extremely powerful God because He was not only God of the land but also God of the sea. Moreover, Jonah explained he was running away from this God. Sailors’ response “How could you do something so stupid as to make such a God angry? You have put our lives at risk.”

8) This is a head scratcher. Why did Jonah tell the sailors they had to pick him up and throw in the sea for God to still the storm? Why didn’t he just jump in the water? There is no right answer to this question. We do not know for certain why. What I believe, and this is just me speculating, if Jonah prayed to God as the ship’s captain asked, God answered Jonah by tellong him that in order for the storm to end, the sailors would have to throw him into the sea for the purpose of teaching Jonah a lesson in compassion/mercy. You may be saying “Huh?” How could having Jonah thrown off the ship by the sailors be a teaching opportunity re: compassion? Read verse 13 and 14.

9) Did the sailors act quickly to throw Jonah off the ship when they realized he was to blame for the storm? No. They refused to throw Jonah overboard. They did not want Jonah to die. They did not want his blood on their hands. Think about it. These pagan Gentiles had compassion/mercy for a Hebrew/Israelite who in his heart despised them. Do you see the contrast? Jonah refused to preach salvation to a pagan Gentile nation because he had no compassion for them. Yet these Gentile sailors made every effort to save Jonah because they had compassion for him. God here is attempting to teach Jonah a lesson in compassion. Ultimately, the sailors have no choice but to do what Jonah said. They prayed to God not to hold them accountable for Jonah’s death. They threw Jonah into the sea and as soon as he hit the water the storm stopped raging. The sea was peaceful once more. The sailors worshipped God and made promises to behave.

10) At the moment Jonah was thrown off the ship into the raging sea, what do you think Jonah believed would happen to him? He would drown and die. What did happen to him? A great fish swallowed Jonah whole. Jonah remained inside the fish for three days and three nights.

11) What was the purpose of the great fish? 1) As well see in chapter 2, salvation 2) Give Jonah a time out. What is a time out? What purpose does it serve? Think things out. Think about what you did. How did I end up in this situation? How do I get out? A time out is done in a place of solitude. No one else to consult; no seeking advice from a half dozen people. Just Jonah and God.

Has God ever given you a time out?