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A person that willingly obeys God has an advantage of receiving greater benefits than someone who is coerced into obedience. Now there is potential for a bit of Irony here. Jonah 1-4. He will establish his abiding presence with his favorite children. Jonah was a prophet and the Lord told Him to go and preach against Nineveh, which was the capital of the Assyrian empire. Tell them that they better start believing in Me and doing the right things I want them to do or else I'm going to send fire down from Heaven to destroy their city and burn them up." But Jonah didn't want to go preach to the people of Nineveh. Should the Ninevites resume their wicked ways, God would bring the same judgment against them. The Pony Express riders would travel around 75 miles a day, interchanging horses every 5-20 miles. Jonahs example serves to remind us that when we disagree with Jehovah God, it is always our own point of view that needs an adjustmentnever His. When we accept Jesus and our Lord and Savior, then we need t to not just talk the talk but actually walk the walk. What miracle did God perform to teach Jonah a lesson? Why would they do that? This was an occasion to show divine mercy. God caught Jonah in a ship and commanded a fish to swallow him. Under the intolerably beating sun, Jonah cries out to God in anger, and this time simply begs for death. After all, he felt sorry for the plant only because it had benefited him personally. Jonah (whose name means "dove") ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel in about 790-760 BC. 2) So he ran from God. As soon as Jonah has settled gratefully into its shade, God sends a worm to chew the roots of the plant, killing it so that Jonah is left exposed once again. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He could have detested and hated these people. Biblearena BibleArena - All Rights Reserved| Sitemap. However, as the story unfolds we can see how the Lord draws him from fear . Jonah thought he was going to die. It says, For God so loved the world.. We read: To Jonah, though, it was highly displeasing, and he got to be hot with anger. (Jonah 4:1) Jonah even uttered a prayer that sounds like a rebuke of the Almighty! But have you thought of what you also deserve? After God delivered him, Jonah traveled to Nineveh and prophesied that the Lord would destroy the city because of its wickedness. 18 Overnight, Jehovah caused a bottle-gourd plant to sprout up. This would take him weeks if not months! Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fishs belly. On the way, however, God caused tragic things to happen. Did this make Jonah happy? I hope they will fail., Oh why cant my angry boss just be gone., At times, we are so busy in saying that, I hope he gets what he deserves.. Under King Jeroboam II, the nation expanded its borders and enjoyed an age of splendour that . 22. Jonah couldnt make himself go to Nineveh. Digging deep and having the Holy Spirit reveal truths to us is how we start to grow and mature. Prophet Jonah disobeyed God and attempted to escape, but God caught him red-handedly. A Heartless Prophet, Jonah 4. ^ par. Will we?Read Matthew 5:7. He would also know that if he disobeyed the commands of the Lord, he would bring down the wrath of God on himself. The psalmist in Psalm 139 makes it pretty clear: Where can I go from your Spirit? It seems that at this time Nineveh had a sea-oriented religious system and sea-themed Gods. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed: 'I promise to obey you always.'. [And]Jesus did not merely weep for us; he died for us. How grateful we should be that Jehovah patiently teaches us to be more selfless, more compassionate, more mercifulas he is! Jonah tried to initially claim that The Lord deserted him, but it was Jonah that had tried to run from God (Where could he escape God anyway?? They are just nothing but mere pretension. The 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, are likely infants. . As Jonah obeys God the people of Nineveh believe God's message and repent. . To see what we can learn from the life of Jonah. (a)Why might Jonah have found Nineveh intimidating? And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?. Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. 7 Jonah would know that if Nineveh repented, the Lord would not destroy it, and it would remain a threat to Israel. So, please feel free to drop me a comment or take a look at my similar posts in my Christian Faith Articles page! His words spread like wildfire. They had believed him. Jonah is saying in his prayer, that he knows that God will bring Nineveh into that covenantal relationship. 3) That obedience to God will always bring God-sized results. The Lord caused a big fish to come and swallow Jonah. God, however, had compassion on the people of Nineveh: "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their leftand much livestock?" His life and ministry, recorded in but four chapters, brings so many lessons to Christians old and new. 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. Is it true that it never rained before Noah? YAHWEH has called us to do a job of preparing ourselves to meet Him and at the same time, preach the Gospel to all humanity. God Bless Jonah demonstrates how God uses all of His creation to bring about the salvation of one very wicked nation. Jonah remains today a powerful lesson on compassion, on purpose, and obedience. 3) He ends up on a ship. Jonah was doing the bare minimum. I love looking for signs so i looked at the paper. Side note on Vs 15- 16 (Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. If you look into history, Nineveh became the capital of the Assyrian Empire and has eventually conquered Israel and drove them into slavery. Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,Lest we forgetlest we forget! . God told Jonah to go preach a message of repentance to the people of Ninevah. Hes actually ANGRY at God. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Conversely, when there is authentic revival from on high, when people repent and when we receive Gods grace and mercy through Jesus Christ His Son, balance and harmony return to the community. Jonah, that prophet that tried to run away from God, continues to bring us lessons on obedience, running away from God's commands, a hatred that stops one from sharing the Gospel, and many more. 9. Give me the ability to do whatever you ask of me. These people were extremely cruel towards Israel and caused a lot of problem in the past. Notice, out of the four chapters of Jonah, the words of his preaching was only one sentence. The record of Jonah ends there, so we dont know what happened to Jonah after that, but we can hope that he learned what the Lord wanted him to learn and that he repented of his attitude and actions. God knows the future - Isaiah 46:10. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. But those things need to bow down to Gods ways. Jonah sits in the heat of Northern Iraq and is so outdone with Gods grace to his enemy, seething that he has lost a gourd with its leaves to shade him, that he despairs unto death. What can we learn from the Ninevites repentance? Long story short they toss him overboard, but before doing so they ask God to forgive them. The mandate to preach repentance is inexorably linked to the announcement of Gods grace and forgiveness. God is omniscient - Psalm 139:1-6. Jonah would not weep over a people who came close to destruction, but "Jesus, the true prophet, did.". Jonah admits that he worships the God of heaven and earth and that right now, he is fleeing from God's direct command. Jonah 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." They are the same people who have killed a lot of Israelites. His life and ministry, recorded in but four chapters, brings so many lessons to Christians old and new. 1) God gave Jonah a job, but Jonah didn't want to do it. Obviously, He did not. Icried out to theLordbecause of my affliction,And He answered me. An encyclopedia hit the nail on the head as it described the lesson that God taught Jonah through the worm destroying the plant that gave him such delight in an emotional and tiring time in his life. 6. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. JONAH would have plenty of time to think. In what ways might some find themselves disagreeing with God, and what lesson can we learn from Jonahs example? turn back from his burning anger, so that we may not perish.Jonah 3:6-9. 3. 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. (b)What lesson do we all need to learn? The Lord provided a gourd or plant that protected Jonah. To top it off Nineveh is 800 miles away. TIMELINE: Jonah is a prophet during the reign of King Jeroboam II. 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