Jonah

1. Jonah The prophet that hated his message

2. Chronology

3. Jonah • Prophet to the enemy • “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are.’ Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the LORD.” (Jonah 1:2,3)

5. “But the LORD sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship's hold, sound asleep. The captain found him there and said to him, ‘What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.’ The sailors said to each other, ‘Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger.’ They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn. So they said to him, ‘Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?’” (Jonah 1:4-8)

6. “I am a Hebrew,’ Jonah answered. ‘I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.’ Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the LORD. The sailors were terrified, and said to him, ‘That was an awful thing to do!’ The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, ‘What should we do to you to stop the storm?’ Jonah answered, ‘Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm.’” (Jonah 1:9-12)

7. “At the LORD’s command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17) • “In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)

8. Inclusive Reckoning of Time • Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah (A.D. 100): "A day and a night are an Onah [‘a portion of time’] and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it." • “Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell that fox: 'I am driving out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish my work.’” (Luke 13:32)

9. “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the King” (Esther 4:16) • Esther went before the king "on the third day" (Esther 5:1)

10. Dagon

11. “What better heralding, as a divinely sent messenger to Nineveh, could Jonah have had, than to be thrown up out of the mouth of a great fish, in the presence of witnesses, and on the coast of Phoenicia, where the fish-god was a favorite object of worship?” (H. Clay Trumbull, “Jonah in Nineveh.” Journal of Biblical Literature. Vol. 2, No. 1, 1892, p. 56)

12. Such an incident would have inevitably aroused the mercurial nature of Oriental observers, so that a multitude would be ready to follow the seemingly new avatar of the fish-god, proclaiming the story of his uprising from the sea, as he went on his mission to the city where the fish-god had its very centre of worship.” (H. Clay Trumbull, “Jonah in Nineveh.” Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 2, No.1, 1892, p. 56)

13. The Sign of Jonah • Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up. "Teacher," they said, "we want to see you perform a miracle." "How evil and godless are the people of this day!" Jesus exclaimed. "You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth. On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah! (Matthew 12:38-41)

14. As the people crowded around Jesus, he went on to say, "How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah. In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day. (Luke 11:29-30 GNB)

15. Similarities between Jesus and Jonah • Voluntarily entered the depths of the sea/grave in order to save others • 3 days and 3 nights in the sea/grave

16. Similarities between Jesus and Jonah • From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God: "In my distress, O LORD, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead (the belly of Sheol, hell) I cried for help, and you heard me. You threw me down into the depths, to the very bottom of the sea, where the waters were all around me, and all your mighty waves rolled over me. I thought I had been banished from your presence and would never see your holy Temple again. (Jonah 2:1-4)

17. Similarities between Jesus and Jonah • Resurrection from the sea/grave led to a great revival • Jonah: “In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed” • Jesus: “During the forty days after His crucifixion, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)

18. “Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit Jonah up on the beach, and it did.” (Jonah 2:10) • “Once again the LORD spoke to Jonah. He said, ‘Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to the people the message I have given you.’ So Jonah obeyed the LORD and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to walk through it. Jonah started through the city, and after walking a whole day, he proclaimed, ‘In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!’ The people of Nineveh believed God’s message. So they decided that everyone should fast, and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show that they had repented.” (Jonah 3:1-4)

19. “When the king of Nineveh heard about it, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat down in ashes. He sent out a proclamation to the people of Nineveh: ‘This is an order from the king and his officials: No one is to eat anything; all persons, cattle, and sheep are forbidden to eat or drink. All persons and animals must wear sackcloth. Everyone must pray earnestly to God and must give up their wicked behavior and their evil actions. Perhaps God will change his mind; perhaps he will stop being angry, and we will not die!’ God saw what they did; he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior. So he changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would.” (Jonah 3:6-10)

20. God changes his mind? • “God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever he promises, he does; He speaks, and it is done.” (Numbers 23:19 – GN) • “Israel’s majestic God does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being---he does not change his mind.” (1 Samuel 15:29 – GN) • “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 – GN) • All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.” (James 1:17 – NET) • For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6 – KJV)

21. God changes his mind? • Expressions to be taken literally? • Adam and Eve – “where are you?” • The rainbow – “when the rainbow appears, I will remember…” • Tower of Babel – “But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.” (Genesis 11:5)

22. Then the LORD said to Abraham, "There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great. I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true." (Genesis 18:20-21)

23. “In Hinnom Valley they have built an altar called Topheth, so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire. I did not command them to do this---it did not even enter my mind.” (Jeremiah 7:31)

24. He changes his mind? • Worship of the golden calf – “So the LORD changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened” (Exodus 32:14)

25. The Lord replied, ‘Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me, and I rescued you. Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!’ But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.’ Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery” (Judges 10:6-16 – NLT)

26. God changes his mind? • “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 – GN) • All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.” (James 1:17 – NET) • For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6 – KJV) • God’s character is a constant that never changes

27. God changes his mind? • Adam and Eve – “where are you?” • The rainbow • Sodom and Gomorrah • Worship of the golden calf – “So the LORD changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened” (Exodus 32:14 – GN) • Child sacrifice – “it did not even enter my mind” (Jeremiah 7:31 – GN) • Jonah – “So he changed his mind…”

28. “Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, ‘God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness! So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!” (Jonah 4:1-3 – The Message)

29. “The LORD answered, ‘What right do you have to be angry?’ Jonah went out east of the city and sat down. He made a shelter for himself and sat in its shade, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh. Then the LORD God made a plant grow up over Jonah to give him some shade, so that he would be more comfortable. Jonah was extremely pleased with the plant. But at dawn the next day, at God’s command, a worm attacked the plant, and it died. After the sun had risen, God sent a hot east wind, and Jonah was about to faint from the heat of the sun beating down on his head. So he wished he were dead. ‘I am better off dead than alive,’ he said.

30. “But God said to him, ‘What right do you have to be angry about the plant?’ Jonah replied, ‘I have every right to be angry---angry enough to die!’ The LORD said to him, ‘This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn’t do anything for it and you didn’t make it grow---yet you feel sorry for it! How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 innocent children in it, as well as many animals!” (Jonah 4:4-11 – GN)

31. “So, why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than a hundred and twenty thousand childlike people who don't yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?” (Jonah 4:11 – The Message)

32. Jonah • Large city, 120,000 children, animals • had it been destroyed • Great happiness for Jonah • Small shade plant • It was destroyed • Great anger and depression for Jonah

33. Differences between Jonah and Jesus • Jonah desired for the destruction of his enemies • Jesus desired the redemption of his enemies

34. “You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.” (Jonah 4.2)

35. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.'

36. But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! You must be perfect---just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:38-48)