from the presence of the LORD. Is it True for Christians That 'Once Saved, Always Saved'? 1,2. PRIVACY POLICY But have you thought of what you also deserve? 9. But Nineveh was a very wicked city. God often only tells us what we can handle at the time. We need to learn from him and his mistakes. In what ways might some find themselves disagreeing with God, and what lesson can we learn from Jonahs example? People listened! 16 It is easy to judge Jonah for his conduct, but we do well to remember that it is not unusual for imperfect humans to disagree with God. Instead of repenting, Jonah justified himself, saying: I have rightly become hot with anger, to the point of death. The stage was now set for Jehovah to drive the lesson home.Jonah 4:9. Jonah 1:1-2 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Ninevehand preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.. Obedience is the key to receivingGods benefits! Then God concluded: For my part, ought I not to feel sorry for Nineveh the great city, in which there exist more than one hundred and twenty thousand men who do not at all know the difference between their right hand and their left, besides many domestic animals?Jonah 4:10,11. Jonah runs away because he cannot resolve two contradictions: between the categorization of prophecies that do not come to pass as "false prophecies" (Deuteronomy 18:21-22) and the revocation of the verdict against Nineveh, in response to its repentance; and between the concept of God as unchanging and resolute (see Numbers 23:19) and His . We pray, OLord, please do not let us perish for this mans life, anddo not charge us with innocent blood; for You, OLord,have done as it pleased You. Jonah 1:14, Then the fun stuff happens Please observe picture below. PlusFULL access to my printables vault! It had all the elements of a spellbinder: a reluctant prophet fleeing God, a sinking ship, a man thrown overboard into the maw of a sea. The people of Nineveh, from the king to the poorest, repented and held a fast. Who of us is immune to such selfish tendencies? Jehovah, on the other hand, was the Source of life for those Ninevites and had sustained them, as he does all creatures on earth. Jonah had experienced God's mercy and was given a second chance in his life. They abstained from food. Jonah would have to travel this by horse/camel. What quality had Jehovah shown toward Jonah, yet what question arises? Is it wrong to judge other people? Why Do We Need to Be Crucified with Christ? He was a prophet in a nation he is proud of. Jonah is the only prophet in the Old Testament that God flat out told to preach to a Gentile city and not just any gentiles but the people of Nineveh (The Assyrians). To begin, he had to choose between the shorter routes and the safer ones and then steadily make his way through valleys and over mountain passes beyond counting. ( Jonah 3:3-4) Jonah preaches in Nineveh. This is an essential characteristic of God. His life and ministry, recorded in but four chapters, brings so many lessons to Christians old and new. The mission of God is a guaranteed success because of the sovereignty of God. With this understanding, Jonahs choice to flee makes sense (in a very short-sighted kind of way) . Based on what happened to Jonah's life, we can simply conclude that there's no point in trying to run away from God, from running away from His purposes, and in trying to achieve our own will and not His. Please click here to learn how. Before him lay a journey of more than 500miles (800km), an overland trek that would take him about a month, perhaps even longer. Jonah has two different responses to God's . You can try to hide, move, go away, either physically or even internally with your emotions, but its futile. What can we learn from Jonahs attitude toward the repentance of the Ninevites? What's wrong with the House of Bishops' proposed same-sex prayers? John 3:16 tells us, For God so loved the Israelites, no, the church, no, the apostles, saints, prophets, NO! 17,18. When we begin to reduce Gods response to human sin as judgment without mercy, then it is time for us to open up the book of Jonah, and invite the Spirit of the Lord to cleanse us of self-interests, smugness, and uncaring attitudes and return to the Lord of love. Jonah woke to see this luxuriant growth, with its broad leaves providing far more shade than his flimsy shelter ever could. Instead of punishing Jonah for his disrespect, Jehovah simply asked him one gentle, probing question: Have you rightly become hot with anger? (Jonah 4:4) Did Jonah even answer? The fish did not chew him up - it just swallowed him and Jonah was safe inside. You see, evidence indicates that Jonah wrote the book bearing his name. Or trouble within your church? God used the bottle-gourd plant to teach Jonah a lesson in mercy, 20 God reasoned with Jonah, saying that the prophet was feeling sorry over the death of a mere plant that had sprung up overnight, one that Jonah neither planted nor caused to grow. If you look into history, Nineveh became the capital of the Assyrian Empire and has eventually conquered Israel and drove them into slavery. God told Jonah to go preach a message of repentance to the people of Ninevah. The stubborn servant felt the heat of hell until he repented. We must realize we dont see it all, we dont understand it all. No one expects a person to survive inside a fish. Jonah stays 3 days inside the whale and Jonah cried out to God. The book of Jonah exactly shows us the unlimited Mercy of God. These results are in verse three, that is, one verse before the one that tells of God's special intervention in sending the storm . 10,11. People are important to God. I read recently that the atonement doesnt cover all sins such as murder which requires a blood sacrifice. 14. Had Jonah gone to Nineveh just as an enemy Israelite, he would have most likely been ignored, maybe even killed. What does it mean to dwell in the secret place of the Most High (Psalms 91:1)? Will the United States be on the side of Israel in the last war? God can simply choose to find another Prophet to do the job. So he goes to Nineveh and calls them to repent or be destroyed. How could Jonah place more value on a single plant than he did on the lives of 120,000 humans, in addition to all their livestock? A Second Chance with God, Jonah 3. He claimed that he knew all along that Jehovah would not bring calamity on Nineveh, even using that as an excuse for his running away to Tarshish in the first place. Then he asked to die, saying that death would be better than life.Read Jonah 4:2,3. But when God called him to go to Nineveh, we read that Jonah went in the opposite direction. Jonah's reluctance to obey the Lord's call to preach in Nineveh creates a natural doubt over whether he was actually a prophet, but the Savior referred to him as . . i. The next day he sent in a worm which destroyed the gourd leaving Jonah open to the elements. How grateful we should be that Jehovah patiently teaches us to be more selfless, more compassionate, more mercifulas he is! Thank you. We are all sinners who are worthy of death. Digging deep and having the Holy Spirit reveal truths to us is how we start to grow and mature. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah tried to run away from God. Those who hold Jonah as a mythological yarn seek to strengthen their unbelieving position by adding disbelief in a fish swallowing Jonah and, then, spitting the reluctant revivalist onto the shore. Notice, out of the four chapters of Jonah, the words of his preaching was only one sentence. Under King Jeroboam II, the nation expanded its borders and enjoyed an age of splendour that . The stubborn servant felt the heat of hell until he repented. The story is probably written between the 8th and 3th century BC. Learn More. He will establish his abiding presence with his favorite children. But Jonah doesn't want to do God's bidding to he jumps. God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Ninevites. How much more will God hear your prayers as you cry out for a wayward child? His mercy isnt just limited to His people, but He also extends it to those outside of Israel. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. It says, For God so loved the world.. Jonah was then swallowed by a great fish and was brought to Nineveh. 3 - 4 ) Jonah's Renewed Commission and Obedience ( 3:1-4) The Endangered Ninevites' Repentant Appeal to the Lord ( 3:5-9) She also enjoys family, cooking, and reading. All 4 chapters of Jonah paints this picture of how we are to process our sin or disobedience before God. And that response is nestled within the greater framework of Gods plan for the ages: from Paradise Lost(Milton, 1667) to Paradise Regained (Milton, 1671). What kind of journey lay ahead of Jonah, and how did he feel about his destination? Stay up to date with the latest Christian news! But here was God wanting them to repent and change their ways. Let us go to Jonah 1:1 brethren. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. God does not tempt us with sin - James 1:13. Did not his anger over Nineveh spring from motives that were likewise selfisha prideful desire to save face, to be proved right? Jonah was inside the fish for three days. In the same way, God is not quitting on us. Is it true that it never rained before Noah? This blatant rebellion leads Jonah a not so fun boat ride. Some may believe that Jehovah should have prevented a tragedy or that he should have executed swift judgment against the wicked or even that he should have brought an end to this whole world system of things before now. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Mark Wahlberg gives lessons on fasting during Lent, Free Church of Scotland condemns 'anti-Christian intolerance' towards Kate Forbes, Ian Paul on why he won't leave the Church of England despite its support for gay blessings, How becoming a refugee host forged a friendship for life, Rate of church closures is higher in low-income neighbourhoods, 'We never stopped praying,' says kidnap for ransom survivor, Medieval Christian women voices that we need to hear. So God performed additional miracles. Through games, drawing their own comic strip, a DIY Big Gulp of Jonah toy, and a Jonah in a Big Fish puppet, kids learn that God is compassionate and gracious. Did he fear being ridiculed or being labeled a false prophet? It is clear that Jonah believed in the efficacy of God's message. Nahum 3:1-4 gives us an idea of just how wicked the people of Nineveh were: "Woe to the bloody city! Jonah was a prophet in Israel (the Northern Kingdom, see 2 Kings 14:25). Jonah was the prophet who served during the reign of Jeroboam II in the Eighth Century before Christ. 16. So, grab your Bible and lets dig in. Whereas if they did not repent, then the Lord would destroy them, and they would no longer be a danger to Israel. * He walked for a day, penetrating ever deeper into that teeming metropolis, perhaps looking for a suitable central location to start spreading his message. Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm (Jonah 4:2 NKJV). We can come to think that we are blessed to be in the family of God because of something of value or usefulness that impresses God. It seems that at this time Nineveh had a sea-oriented religious system and sea-themed Gods. Because God has shown us mercy, wouldnt He also show mercy to those people outside our Christian faith? He would have very likely carried PTSD and claustrophobia with him for the rest of his life. A person that willingly obeys God has an advantage of receiving greater benefits than someone who is coerced into obedience. One could never feel any sense of accomplishment or ownership, because it is given without cause. He sent a worm to attack and kill the plant. Jonah sits in the heat of Northern Iraq and is so outdone with God's grace to his enemy, seething that he has lost a gourd with its leaves to shade him, that he despairs unto death. Jonah meets big fish, big fish eats him, Jonah decides if he gets out of fish alive he'll do what God says, fish throws up, and out comes a very stinky Jonah. James Taiwo Click to tweet. Learning to show mercy is often difficult for imperfect humans. | You will see how this Jonah Bible study has changed the way I look at obedience and repentance. They had made no agreement to obey Him like the Israelites had ( Exodus 24:3 ), and God had no obligation to save them. Not to mention I did an Old Testament survey on him as well. His spirits lifted. The pagan city of Nineveh, the capital of an Ancient Near Eastern Empire, Assyria, was the epicenter of antagonism toward Israel, and yet, this enemy of God became the object of God's love and grace. They are just nothing but mere pretension. God is eager to see the wicked repent and change their ways, as the Ninevites did. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. . The word Lord means someone or something having power, authority, or influence; master or ruler.

Frappuccino In Asl, Unity Job System Mesh, Clayton Thomas Crown, Articles W