How much of our trouble comes from our sin? Jesus, declared, for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12.40). God is aware of all man does. I do not deserve to live.This is not repentance; it is despair. Make a deal with God and He will keep it. The great majority of it. 16Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Rather than trusting God, he brazenly disobeys, foolishly thinking that he can outrun God. It provides a foretaste of the fullness of Israels destiny to bless Gentiles anticipated in the great Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12.1-3 cf. Ephesians 4 :8-10 First Peter 3:19,20 4:6 reveal where Jesus went during his three days in the grave. Theb. Parallel Commentaries "Pol minume miror, navis si fracta est tibi, Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural, Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common plural. he could not see beyond his fear of the Assyrians. Instead of fear, I thought a more appropriate word would be hatred. - I had toyed with the idea of concluding this series last week but there are some nagging words at the end of the book that I believe we need to study. recognized Gods mercy. Similarly, in our own culture today a good deal of pain and loss results from the defiant, selfish, and bad behavior of many. Am I correct in my understanding that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he was a good law keeping Jew because Jews had no dealings with gentiles? Jonah had a choice. We are currently reading Jonah's story in daily Mass. Meanwhile, Jonah sleeps in the hold of the ship, oblivious to the clamor and uproar. They were enemies! God sent a great storm upon the ship and the men decided Jonah was to blame so they threw him overboard. God replied to Jonah:Do you have good reason to be angry (Jonah 4.4)? Jesus actually identified Himself with the prophet's three-day sojourn in the belly of the great fish, noting it as a foreshadowing of His own death . Resurrection involves receipt of an immortal body that is not subject to death. Jesus raised Lazarus (John 11) from the dead but Lazarus died later. Gods mercy trumps every time. Even his forced timeout in the belly of the fish does not affect true repentance. c. Proclamation was one of Judgment. Once Gd commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, one of the largest cities of that time and foretell its destruction, because the evil of its inhabitants had reached the limit. Throughout the telling, Jonahs disobedience and iniquity is highlighted by repeated use of the verb down. Rather than follow Gods instruction, Jonah goes down to the port city of Jaffa, then down onto the ship on the way to Tarshish, then down to a lower deck. Jonah is now on his way to Nineveh, and the word of the Lord has come to him a second time. 4 At this, I said, Rob, Thanks as always for your helpful suggestions. Your email address will not be published. The mariners () salts were seasoned sailors. The Lord then taught Jonah about His love for the people of Nineveh. Every living thing was clothed in sackcloth () and every living creature fasted ( ). 8Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, 9But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. Maybe, just maybe, God would change His mind and destroy the city. The sun arose and God prepared () a violent, withering east wind ( ). The story of Jonah teaches compassion by not following the prophet's example. Lazarus and the rich man both in the place of hell one on paradise side and one on torment side. He slept in the ships hold. Yet You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God! The angel of the Lord killed his expeditionary force of 185,000 soldiers (2 Kings 19.32-6; Isaiah 37.36-37). Defiance also indicates a lack of faith because it comes from the Latin dis (against) and fidere (believe). Of all the prophets, Jonah is perhaps the most reluctant; his struggle with sin is not hidden. He did not provide sunlight for it. Jonahs evangelistic message was brief. Indeed, he never really repents, just continually runs from his mistakes even repeatedly prefers death over repentance. This is why God makes statements such as 2 Chronicles 7.14. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. In Jonahs responses, he encountered non-Jews: the sailors and the captain and the Ninevites and their king. We are currently reading Jonahs story in daily Mass. There is abortion, disease, teenage pregnancy, children with no fathers, and all the grief and pain that come from broken or malformed families. After God delivered him, Jonah traveled to Nineveh and prophesied that the Lord would destroy the city because of its wickedness. When they heard these words they began to scream, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live (Acts 22.22)! So easily they remain locked in self-deception and rationalizations, ignoring the damage they are inflicting upon others. What they feared is unimportant. A day is coming when Gods patience will end. Rather than trusting God, he brazenly disobeys, foolishly thinking that he can outrun God. The last thing Jonah thought God would do was send him to the Assyrians (Jonah 1.1-2). He was not helping to lighten the ship or praying for deliverance: a total slacker. Alex, Jonah's former student, reconnects with Jonah randomly in an airport. 3 Albert Einstein said,God does not play dice with the universe. He hated the notion of a universe governed by probability, a fundamental concept of quantum theory. The challenge for believers is to rejoice in Gods salvation and His goodness. The story has four parties: the sailors, the Ninevites, Jonah, and God.11 How God dealt with each demonstrated His nature and character. iii. Where do you come from? But both Elijah and Elisha raised a person from the dead. Bulletin for Biblical Research 18.2 (2008) 193207,How Big Was Nineveh? In many American courtrooms, upon the pronouncement of a death sentence, the judge says. Like Jonah, though, many line up to pay the price and take the long, painful journey deeper into defiance and sin. Grace Receiver, Many have argued over this. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple., ut You have brought up my life from the pit, O, Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple (Jonah 2.4). Does he remember something? From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God. The Psalmist wrote God founded the earth upon the seas (Psalm 24.1-2). They were terrified. She didn't kill Ben, it wasnt her decision or choice, she let them kill Ben. 6I descended to the roots of the mountains. Comp. He did not plant, water, or fertilize it. If you want to experience spiritual growth, if you want to cultivate a heart more like God's, or if you want to better understand God's priorities, I . If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present. And yet, the minute they genuinely repent even though that repentance is, admittedly, self-interested God is merciful. To paraphrase: God, I told you they would just repent and you, being a merciful God, would forgive them. All but Jonah. Why did the storm intensify if the men were trying to row to land? Our first instinct should always be to respect the dignity of every personeven great sinnersand strive to bring them to the Lord with loving correction. Despite brevity, it is a powerful story of Gods grace to Gentiles and a reflective study into Gods character and mercy. Luke 16:19- reveals Abrahams bosom. Reading: Jonah 14. Paul raised Eutychus (Acts 20) from death but Eutychus died later. Could it mean something other than burial? In Jonahs day, they were Israels great enemy. On the one hand, there are the Ninevites, the evil In effect, Jonah says to them, Kill me. At the end of the day, 6 p.m., his foreman paid each man a denarius. He realized he could not escape God and looked to Him for deliverance. If he was really dead, he had to be resurrected, as I understand the terminology. On account of selfishness and sexual misbehavior, many families have been torn apart. One of the greatest prophets during the time of Jeroboam II was Jonah the son of Amitai, who, as a prophet disciple, had anointed Jehu and who, therefore, enjoyed the king's benevolence. Jonah has been able to grasp the situations they have been in all show but can't seem to grasp that Ben was putting the whole family/operation at risk and Wendy had to chose between him or everyone and everything else. It is of course the children who suffer the most pain and injustice as a result of so much bad adult behavior. Just my thoughts. He said, While I was fainting away,I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple (Jonah 2.7). In the final lines of the book, God speaks once again to Jonah: Are you so deeply grieved about the plant? He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. Get up, call on your god. It is too easy for us to wish to destroy those who have harmed us, returning crime for crime, sin for sin. Jonah responded: He said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Could God not leave well enough alone? But the entire city of Nineveh responded to Jonahs message. The misfortune of the Israelites at Ai was consequent on the sin of Achan (Joshua 7.). Coming to his senses he declared, I have been expelled from Your sight. the story told by Cicero of Diagoras (de Nat. Copyright 2023 Catholic Standard This is another important lesson: in our sin, our defiance, we often bring storms not only into our own life but also into the lives of others. This will be the Day of the Lord, first revealed in Psalm 2 and expanded upon in detail by the prophets. I wish I were dead! Tarshish is widely held to refer to the coastline of modern-day Spain. The bottom line (if youll pardon the financial pun) is that sinful choices are usually very costly. Under the intolerably beating sun, Jonah cries out to God in anger, and this time simply begs for death. This familiar expression is found in many books of the Bible, occurring 92x (e.g., Genesis 15.1; 2 Samuel 7.4; 1 Kings 6.11, 16.1, etc.) The Lord Jesus Christ picked up our tab and paid it all. Jonah is now beginning to come to his senses, In effect, Jonah says to them, Kill me. It reveals Gods greatness and mans pettiness. - we left Jonah last week in quite a pickle.. - He was a prophet of Israel.and God had told him "arise, and go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry against it, because their wickedness had come up before the Lord." - well, Jonah didn't like that idea because Ninevah was in Assyria..and the Assyrians were enemies of Israel. God knows everything. God sends a giant fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah 1.12, 4.3, 9). That Jonah thought he could run from God shows his foolishness, typifying mans foolishness in thinking he can escape God (Jeremiah 23.24). Jonah did nothing to merit the gourd. We read: 7Each man said to his mate, Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Surprisingly, the men are not willing to kill him. Like the laborers who complained, Jonah could not accept God blessing the Ninevites. To deny the historicity of Jonah is to deny Christs resurrection. The sailors wrenched to and fro and the wind howled so that the crew screamed to be heard. 11Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals (Jonah 4.10-11). Jonah instinctively knows that if they repent of their sinfulness they will grow stronger. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. God is sovereign. Their gods had failed. Apparently he had no problem traveling quickly to hop a boat headed the opposite direction. The book of Jonah is short, compassing four brief chapters of 48 verses. caused by our greed, addiction, lack of forgiveness, pride, impatience, and lack of charity. Under normal population distribution, this would mean a population of about 3,000,000. At the opening of his story, God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, one of the largest cities in ancient Mesopotamia, and the capital of Israels most dangerous enemy, the Assyrian empire. Big difference. Salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2.9). But he gives no response, risking the lives of everyone onboard. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. Jonahis a story of contrasts. Oct 7, 2019. The great majority of it. Jonah had gone down () to Joppa (Jonah 1.3), down to the ship (Jonah 1.3), down to the hold (Jonah 1.5). It presents two very different stories about repentance. To all this pain can be added many other sufferings. Reputation of wicked Nineveh well-known. 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