Chicken Of The Sea

Introduction

SLIDE Jonah 1:1-3

“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai,

saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; SLIDE and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

SLIDE Jonah was a Jew.

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria (Upper Mesopotamia) (Syria/Iraq/Iran).

The Assyrians were a cruel, warlike nation.

They would regularly move south from their homeland into Israel.

They would capture people to take back as their slaves.

They would confiscate cattle, sheep, and crops; whatever they wanted.

They would torture men, women, children, & babies with glee.

They were a hateful, vile, ungodly people.

When God (Jehovah) called on Jonah to go and testify to the Assyrians,

he said, “Nope, No Way, Not me!”

Perhaps he was thinking, “They are hateful, mean, thieves, murderers,

demon-filled, terrible, horrible people, with no redeeming qualities of any kind. Let the judgment of God fall – and fall hard and long!. They deserve everything they get.”

Or he may have simply thought, “If I (a Jew) go into Assyria

and preach against them, condemning their sin –

they are most likely going to kill me!!

Nope, No Way, Not me – (Chicken of the Sea)

Do you know people like that?

Drunks, Drugies, Rapists, Murderers, Molesters, vile people.

You wonder why they are allowed to remain a part of the human race.

Are you somewhat like Jonah?

Are there people you would never witness to

because you are fine with them going to Hell?

Oh, we would never admit that – but we would never witness to them So, in practice, we don’t care if they go to Hell …..

Will God have to give you a “whale ride” to get you to

"...go into the world and preach the gospel to EVERY creature?"

SLIDE

As Jonah is cruising from Joppa (coast of Israel) to Tarshish

(running away from God)

Tarshish is as far from Israel that Jonah could get by Sea.

Bible Scholars debate, but most believe Tarshish is Spain.

God sends a storm (a storm caused by Jonah’s rebellion)

Jonah is taking a nap in his stateroom.

Jonah is sleeping, while the heathen were praying.

The heathen were concerned about their souls, their lives,

and Jonah just slept on……

The heathen were trying to save Jonah

rather than Jonah trying to save them!

They were trying to do any and every thing

they could think of to stay alive –

and all the while, Jonah had the answer –

but Jonah just slept on …..

SLIDE

We spoke, not too long ago from Micah 6:1-8.

One of the things God expects from us is “…..to do justly…..”

We discussed 3 things that “to do justly” entails:

Principle - a Bible truth given by God

Conviction - my belief in that Bible truth given by God

Standard - making my belief in that principle (from God’s Word),

and my conviction (my belief in that principle

from God’s Word) a reality in my life.

SLIDE How would this apply to Jonah?

The Principle (a Bible truth) is:

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it;

for their wickedness is come up before me.”

-God’s judgment is about to fall on Assyria

-Arise – get up, quit doing whatever you are doing

-Go to Nineveh – travel from where you are

into the Land of the Assyrians (to their very Capitol)

-cry against it – decry their sin, preach against wickedness,

let them know that Jehovah knows their sin

and is preparing for judgment against them.

-call for them to REPENT and turn to God for forgiveness.

The Conviction ( a belief based on a Bible truth) is for Jonah to

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it;

for their wickedness is come up before me.”

-Arise – I, Jonah, must get off my posterior

-I am to go to Nineveh – make travel arrangements from

where I am now, and go into the land of the Assyrians

(to their very Capitol)

-I am to cry against it – Jonah is to decry their sin,

Jonah is to preach against wickedness,

let them know that Jehovah knows their sin

and is preparing for judgment against them.

-I am to call for them to REPENT

and turn to God for forgiveness.

The Standard then, for Jonah, is to “Arise”,

make travel arrangements to go from Israel to Tarshish,

and preach against sin to NO ONE

and to call NO ONE to repentance and forgiveness