Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 1:1-3
Bob Marcaurelle 2 Kings 14:23-25
THE MAN WHO RAN FROM GOD
Most of us have felt the desire to get away from it all. We want to fly away and be at rest (Ps. 55:6). We even want to get away from God (Job. 7:19, 10:20 TEV) but as the black preacher said, “Where would you go?” (Ps. 139:10). Jonah, a popular preacher during the reign of Jeroboam (793-753 B.C.; 2 K. 14:23-25), learned this the hard way. We have a holy God who will not let us off, a faithful God Who will not let us down, and a loving God Who will not let us go. Now let’s watch Jonah run.
I. RUNNING FOR GOD (2 K. 14:23-25)
The first half of the Eighth Century (700’s) was
1. A Golden Age of Prosperity.
Under Uzziah (Judah) and Jeroboam (Israel) God’s people prospered. Jeroboam restored Israel’s borders to the extent it knew under Solomon. The hated Assyrians were fighting for their life against internal problems and invaders from the North (Uratu People). National pride in Israel was at fever pitch and foreigners were completely outcast.
. 2. A Golden Age of Preaching.
All right The prophet who predicted this restoration was Jonah. He could have been a pupil of the great Elisha. He was a contemporary of Amos, Hosea, Joel and Isaiah. Thirty years (722 B.C.) after the death of Jeroboam, Assyria destroyed Israel (2 K. 17). Before God sends His judgments, He sends His preachers to call the people to repentance, so they might escape. One of these was Jonah, the Billy Graham of his day.
II. RUNNING FROM GOD (1:1-3)
When God called Jonah to preach to Nineveh, the capitol city of Assyria, he rebelled. He ran in the exact opposite direction by catching a ship to Spain. Why did he run?
1. Prejudice.
Jonah has been severely criticized as a bigot (Patterson), elder brother (Whyte, Lk. 15), and as one we can neither love nor think well of (Kitto).
While some prejudice was present, his main reason was an intense patriotism (love of country), coupled with bewilderment as to why God would spare the nation (4:1-3) that was going to destroy his country.
3. Pity.
These Assyrians were unbelievably cruel (Baxter). They left conquered lands covered with corpses. They skinned their victims alive, impaled them alive on poles and pulled their tongues out. Knowing this we don’t excuse Jonah’s retreat but we do understand it better. We see him as more than a narrow-minded bigot.
4. Prayer?
God sometimes asks us to do unbelievable things, like here and when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, or when He asked His Son Jesus to die on a cross. Abraham took three days to make a three hour journey to the altar and Jesus almost died in Gethsemane, praying about the cross. When a hard request comes from God, we all would spend much agonizing time in prayer.
III. RUNNING INTO GOD (1:4-3:2)
1. The Success. Jonah’s flight seemed successful. Satan had a boat. Jonah had the fare .
2. The Storm and the Sleep.
So exhausted and bewildered was he that down in the ship he fell into a deep, snoring (LXX) sleep. Then God shook the ship with a storm. The frightened sailors, as the people of the world will do in life’s storms, turned to their powers, their prayers and finally to God’s people (1:4-6). How sad to find the church asleep in the ship of salvation while a world perishes! Casting lots they found that Jonah was the object of God’s fury. Afraid to touch him because his was the God of creation (1:9), they kept rowing.
3. The Sea.
Finally, at his insistence, they threw him overboard and the sea was calm.
1) Jonah involved others in his punishment.
We never sin without hurting others.
2) Running from God he ran into God, like Paul (Acts 9) and the Prodigal (Lk.15). See him sink below the water into the arms of God (Ps. 139:9-10), where the roots of the mountains (2:5-6) are.
There he PRAYED to his God (2:7). Great convulsions surrounded him and great confusion gripped him as he found himself in slimy, smelly darkness (the famous fish).
He sat there thinking he was in Sheol (2:2).
Still alive, he REDEDICATED his life and would serve God if he ever got another chance (2:8-9).
The fish vomited him up on dry land, probably near Joppa, and God repeated His commission (2:10-3:2). We always come back to the will of God at the point where we left it and repent at that point. The important thing here is not that God could or would prepare such a fish. Anyone who denies the miraculous must discard much of the Bible, including the resurrection of Jesus. The important thing is that God won’t let us go without a fight. He protects us, preserves us, forgives us, and re-commissions us.
IV. RUNNING WITH GOD (3:3-10)
Jonah’s rededication wasn’t sincere. Emergency prayers seldom are. He went to Nineveh like a machine. His was a “wind me up, have to do it” kind of ministry. With no love he walked for three days from the suburbs to the center of the city and cried, “Forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (3:4).
Then the real miracle took place. Close to a million people (if 4:11 refers to little children), from the palace to the shacks, repented. It was the greatest turning to God in all the Bible. God, who honors His Word (Rom. 1:16) and His name (Mt. 7:22) can even bless through an unfaithful servant.
Lesson: Success is not always a sign of spirituality. Jonah ran with God, praying life’s highest prayer, “Thy will be done” (Mt. 6:10, 26:42). The trouble is he really said, “Alright, God. I can’t resist you. Have it your own way.”
V. RUNNING-AGAINST-GOD-(4:1-11)
Seeing the handwriting on the wall for Israel, Jonah went to brokenness (4:3) and bitterness (4:1). He, like Job, stood nose to nose with the Almighty and set forth his complaints. God didn’t strike him dead (He never does that to honest doubters). He showed him he still loved him. First He showed His
1. Watchcare (4:6).
He sent a plant (castor oil) to shade him. This said, “Jonah, I still love you and will take care of you.” God sent the
2. Worms and the Wind (4:7-8).
The worms ate the plant and the fierce wind blew in his face. This said, “Even though I love you, I will ask you (and Israel) to give up your comforts and face the fierce winds of suffering” (1 Pet. 4:19). Then God gave the (3) Witness (4:9-11). He said, “If you or Israel suffer, it will be for a purpose. It will be to reveal my suffering love to the lost (Assyria).” Years later, on Calvary, God went through what He asked Jonah and Israel to go through. He left the shelter of heaven and let the winds of hate blow Him into hell itself to reveal and offer His love to us.
Outline Studies in Jonah Sermon 2
JONAH- THE MAN AND HIS BOOK (1:1-3)
The only prophet Jesus directly compared with Himself was Jonah. C. H. Cornill said he could not read the Book without tears. J. B. Tidwell called Jonah the most Christian Book in the Old Testament. Obviously there is more to Jonah than controversy over a big fish.
I. THE HISTORY OF JONAH
1. Allegory.
Was Jonah real or mythological? There have been three answers. Jonah represents Israel. He is swallowed up by the whole (Babylonian captivity) so he might repent and fulfill his evangelistic mission to Nineveh (the Gentile nations).
2. Parable.
Jonah is a parable written after the Babylonian exile (538 B.C.) to shake the Jews loose from their nationalism and make them aware (like Isaiah 40-53) of their mission to the whole world.
3. History.
There are several good reasons to accept the historical view of Jonah.
(1) He is mentioned in 2 Kings 14-25 as the son of Amittai (see Jon. 1:1) and the prophet who predicted the political restoration of Israel under Jeroboam.
(2) The Book is presented as pure history and if it is an allegory or parable why doesn’t it have some stated lessons?
(3) If it is parable or allegory then it is the ONLY EXAMPLE of an historical character so used in the Bible.
(4) The strongest argument comes from Jesus who told the people of His day that “at the Judgment the people of Nineveh who repented at the preaching of Jonah will rise up and condemn this generation” (Mt. 12:41) because of their failure to repent at His preaching.
(5) The Miracles?
The miracle of the fish is not only possible but probable. God’s miracles are meaningful. They come at strategic points to confirm the written Word and new junctures in salvation history. Elisha, who may have been Jonah’s teacher worked miracles.
Why? Because God was instituting the office of the Prophet. The deliverance of Nineveh was a mighty act of God, necessary if Assyria was to fulfill its purpose by destroying Israel (Habakkuk). God sent a man, swallowed and vomited up by a fish, to convince them of his authority and lead them to repentance.
Miracles, like church bells, call us to listen to the Word. We must make up our minds about the supernatural. If we throw Jonah out because of the great fish we must throw the Four Gospels out because of the Resurrection.
4. Personal Parallels.
1) About Ourselves. We too run from the will of God. Glovis Chappel says that for the Christian there are only two cities on the map - Nineveh (the will of God) and Tarchish (Our will).
2) About the Church. Like Jonah and Israel the church, by failure to evangelize, or support world missions misses its reason for salvation (Gen. 13:3).
3) About God. God is a God of love who is patient with His rebellious children (4:6). He loves the Assyrians in spite of their cruelty and iniquity (1:2). He calls on us to suffer, if need be, to share that love. What He asks of us He has done Himself. Jonah was plunged into the depths to save Assyria. Jesus was plunged into death to save the world, or more personally, to save you and me.
II. THE HUMANITY AND HONESTY OF JONAH
The Book of Jonah is pure biography. Like Paul in Romans 7 this honest preacher draws the veil from his soul. It is he who tells us of his rebellion, his prayer from the belly of what he thought was hell. This shows him to us in two ways.
1.The Prophet.
Like Jesus, Jonah was a prophet (preacher). Prophets did some predictions but most of all they spoke for God. Many of their messages, coming directly from God (revelation) became part of the Bible (inspiration) known as the Prophets. Prophets date back to the time of Moses (Deut. 18:15-22). In the prophetic line were men like Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha. In the Eighth Century came the Golden Age of prophecy with Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea and Isaiah. They were a different breed of prophet.
(1) They spoke to the nation as a whole rather than to individuals.
(2) They wrote their messages down. Application: The great periods of church history have been the periods of great preachers. God had only one Son and He made Him a preacher. It is through the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21) that God saves this world.
1) Preaching Through Lives.
Jonah’s messages are not recorded. His sermons to Israel are long gone. But the sermon of his life will be in God’s Word until Jesus comes. It is what we ARE, far more than what we SAY that changes lives.
2) Preaching Through Lips.
This is not a plea for non-doctrinal preaching. It is not nice preachers but gospel preaching (Rom. 1:17) that saves. It is the truth that sets men free (Jn. 8:32). Our task is to emphasize both life and lips by “preaching the TRUTH in LOVE” (Eph. 4:15).
3) The Preaching Through Preachers.
Human beings have been classified as men, women and preachers. Jonah helps show that prophets are part of the human race.
(1) They Have Sins. Laymen don’t have a monopoly on rebellion (1-3), anger (4:1) or selfishness (4:5). The weakness and the wickedness of God’s best servants is a matter of record (Abraham, David, Elijah, Peter, etc.).
(2) They Have Shortcomings. Like Jonah they are bewildered and frustrated by the demands of God. Their call is hard because of its audacity - who dares speak for God (Ex. 4:1).
Because of its responsibility - they will give an account for every person under their charge (Acts 20:26).
Because of its loneliness (1 K. 19:14) - they are isolated by their call from their fellow man.
Because of its demands (Ex. 18:18) - they have four full-time jobs as preacher, visitor, administrator and counselor and they are on call 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Application: I tell young men who feel the call to full time service, “Be sure you are called! It’s the only way you will stay.”
(3) They Have Sorrows. Like their Master (Lk. 19:41) preachers cry. They bleed when they are cut and they hurt when insulted and treated unfairly (2 Cor. 11). An honorable preacher does not want preferential treatment. He despises petting. What he wants and deserves is the Golden Rule - treat him the way you want to be treated. Here are a few tips on:
“The Care and Feeding of Shepherds.”
(1) Tell him when he helps you.
(2) Correct him in love for the good of the church.
(3) Do what you can in the church so he will have time to be a preacher and a pastor instead of a janitor and bus driver.
(4) Pay him what most of the members make so he can support his family and feel self respect.
(5) Make his faults the topic of conversation - to God alone.
(6) Love him in spite of his faults.
(7) Above all, pray for him regularly. He carries loads no layman can see.
Outline Studies in Jonah- 3 Jonah1:1-3
RUNNING FROM THE WILL OF GOD (1:1-3)
One of the most amazing things about the all-powerful God is that He asks for our help. An even more amazing thing is that the people who claim to love Him so often refuse.
I. THE DEMAND OF GOD’S CALL
1. The Channel Of It –
In the midst of his popular ministry (2 Kings 14:25) God called Jonah to go preach against the wickedness of Nineveh, the capitol city of Assyria. How the call came we do not know. It could have been a voice ( 1 Sam. 3), vision (Acts 10:9), dream (1 K. 3:5) or a deep impression (Heb. 11:24-27). What we do know is that God asked Jonah’s help.
2. The Character Of It.
God’s call is
(1) Personal. It was from the personal God to a person who had been CREATED, SAVED and DEVELOPED for just this task. Like Esther, Jonah had come to the Kingdom for just such a job as this (Est. 4:14). Being personal it was
(2) Powerful. Whether the call is accepted or rejected we are never the same once it comes. Accepted we go from conquest to conquest in the land of Promise (Josh. 1:3). Rejected we go to wander in the wilderness (Nu. 14:33). It is also
(3) Persistent. God, as we shall see, doesn’t give up easily on us. He keeps on pleading and working but the time will come when He places us on the shelf and turns to someone else.
All this applies to a Christian’s call to ministry but it is also true of His call to the lost. In many ways God personally calls the lost to salvation. They too are never the same. The gospel to some brings a slow death, to others life (2 Cor. 2:15). God keeps pleading (Lk. 13:34) but there is a point of no return (Mk. 3:28, Gen. 6:3).
3. The Causes Of It.
Cause number one is
1) God’s Character of wrath (1:2) and love (4:2).
The two go together for you cannot truly love righteousness unless you hate sin. Wrath is God’s settled opposition to sin in every form (Rom. 1:18). Love is God’s settled determination to deliver sinful people from sin and its effects. A holy God hates sin and loves sinners. All too often, we, His people, love sin and hate sinners. This is sad because, being His body (Eph. 1:23), we are the ones through whom He expresses His love (Lk. 10:25-37). Cause number two is
2) God’s Claim.
We are His because of creation (Rom. 9:21) and salvation (Acts 9:15-16). We are His slaves (Rom. 1:1), not our own property (1 Cor. 7:23); we have been bought with a price, the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:19).
II. THE DEFECTION FROM GOD’S CALL
Jonah could not stomach this call to preach to Israel’s enemies (Nah. 1:11), see them repent and be spared (Jon. 4:1-3), and thus help those survive who would soon (less than 50 years) destroy Israel (2 K. 17:1-7). He did not argue like Moses, weep like Jeremiah or seek signs like Gideon. He just ran in the opposite direction (Spain). He left the presence of God (e.g. the place of ministry or service - Ex. 29:11, 2 Ch. 7:14, Ex. 16:9).
1. The Reasons For Running.
The text suggests three reasons we run from the will of God:
1) Difficulties.
Nineveh was “great” in size, strength, wickedness and paganism. Like Moses (Ex. 3:11) we often try to run because we think God has given us too hard a task. Jonah’s name means “dove,” an emblem of the holy Spirit (Lk. 3:22). When God appoints us to serve, He anoints us with the power to serve. Difficulties should make us stronger because we trust in God rather than ourselves. The early church turned the world upside down because they knew they couldn’t do it. We fail to make a dent, with all our size and strength, because we think WE can do it.
2) Dangers.
Nineveh was also “great” in its cruelty. The prophet’s life would be in great danger. Like Elijah (1 K. 19:2-3) we often run out of fear of what people will do to us or say about us (Jn. 19:38). The safest place on earth is behind the shield (Gen. 15:1) in the center of God’s will. Safety is not the absence of danger but the presence of Christ.
Jonah’s reason was neither of these. His was:
3) Distastefulness.
He was not afraid of hard work or death (1:12) but of what God would do for Nineveh (4:1-3). He would forgive them and they would survive to destroy his country. His distaste grew out of his unbridled patriotism. He loved his country too much. How much is too much? When we love anything (country, family, life, etc.) more than we love God (Lk. 16:25-27). It grew out of pride. God’s thoughts and ways are not ours (Is. 55:8-9). They are far beyond us. And so is His wisdom (Rom. 11:33-36)
APPLICATION Like Jonah we often think we know better than God what is right for ourselves, our family, our church or our country. It also grew probably out of his prejudice. While he is not the super bigot some people call him, he, like us, probably would rather minister to his own “kind.” Too many of us see God as “white, middle-classed and Protestant.” In so doing we fail to really see our brothers and sisters. Who are they? Anyone in need (Lk. 10:25-37).
From God’s word in general we add a fourth reason,
4) Disobedience.
Too many of us choose sin or selfishness over service. We are disobedient to God’s will revealed in the Scriptures. Until we are obedient in these general areas, we are not ready to serve in His specific area of calling. What are these? God’s revealed will is for us to be (1) saved (2 Pet. 3:9). To be (2) Spirit filled (Eph. 5:18). To be (3) sanctified (1 Th. 4:3). To be (4) submissive (1 Pet. 2:15). And to (5) suffer (1 Pet. 4:19). Too many of us are praying to know the will of God while we are not doing the will of God we know. It is when we “acknowledge Him in all our ways” that He “directs our paths” (Prov. 4:6).
2. The Results of Running. We can run but we have to “pay the fare.” Jonah found three things:
1) A Ship. The devil had a boat waiting. Favorable circumstances and the absence of pain or difficulties do not mean we have gotten by with disobedience. God may want us to come back without a whipping.
2) A Storm. The storm was disciplinary, intending to teach Jonah and call him back. It was also damaging. Sooner or later others will have to pay for our disobedience.
3) A Shield (Gen. 15:1). Jonah was sound asleep (1:5) and God had his eye on him. The worst thing about running from God is that one day we run out from behind His shield and are turned over to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5). Still in His permissive will, we miss the blessings of His desired will. The lesson is clear - don’t run! If you are running - go back now!
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 1:4-6
ASLEEP IN THE STORM (1:4-6)
What a shame it is for the church to be asleep while the world around it is perishing and sinking into a Christless eternity. Over and over, God’s Word tells His people to wake up (Rom. 13:11, 1 Cor. 15:34, 1 Th. 5:5-8). As the old time preacher said, “If the sleeping folk will wake up, the sinful folk will confess up, the stingy folk will pay up and the complaining folk will shut up - then we will have revival.”
I. THE SHIP
Whenever we want to get away from the will of God, especially when it comes to evangelism, the devil has some comfortable ships waiting. What are their names?
1. Belief.
William Carey was opposed by strong Calvinists who believed that “if God wants to save the heathen He can do so without us.” How many fail to witness because they believe it is the preacher’s job to witness; or if people are interested they will come to church without our going; or one religion is as good as another, etc.
2. Unbelief.
How many are comfortable in the ship of salvation and do not witness because they do not really believe in hell; or that God will reject sincere people; or that Jesus is the only way to God; or that human nature can be changed.
3. Social Action.
Many do the appreciated work of ministering to physical needs but refuse to do the often unappreciated work of witnessing. Social action and evangelism are not competitors, they are partners. We must, as Christians, minister to mind (teaching), body (healing and helping) and soul (witnessing).
4. Fellowship.
We use the church to escape from the world. We love our own and go no farther. When the river of Christian fellowship stops at the church it slowly becomes a swamp. We must get off our pleasure cruise, man the lifeboats and “rescue the perishing.”
5. Procrastination.
The devil’s favorite tactic for hindering God’s good people is to get them to put off praying, Spirit filled living and witnessing until a better time. Almost all of us intend to be better Christians tomorrow. How sad when death comes to us or to one we know is lost and we are fresh out of tomorrows (Jn. 9:4).
II. THE STORM
Outside the will of God there is nothing but a stormy trip on a troubled sea for both the church and the world. Look at this storm. It was
1. Delayed.
Jonah’s defection seemed successful. All was calm and peaceful. God wants us to come back on our own, not because we are being punished.
2. Divine.
The “laws of nature” are the “servants of God” (Ps. 119:91). The wind and waves obey Him (Mk. 4:41). The miracle here is in the storm’s TIMING and its TARGET.
3. Disciplinary.
For Jonah the storm was God’s loving discipline, teaching him that “the way of the transgressor is hard” and that God loved him enough to drive him back to Him (Ps. 119:67-72).
4. Damaging.
For the sailors and any others in that region the storm was a crisis of grave proportions. These were not innocent victims suffering because of Jonah. They had enough sins to deserve punishment. But when the world suffers because of the failure of a sleeping church or Christian, we must bear the responsibility. A person who goes to hell deserves to go, but his blood may be charged to the account of those who refused to witness (Ezek. 33:6, Acts 20:26).
How much of this world’s suffering is our fault because we refuse to be the salt that prevents corruption and the light that dispels darkness (Mt. 5:13-14)? How much do our loved ones suffer because we are outside the will of God? None of us lives to himself (Rom. 14:7).
III. THE SAILORS
These struggling sailors, fighting the elements portray mankind as it goes down to defeat battling the winds of sin and suffering. Man without God is doomed to defeat. He has problems he can’t solve, burdens he can’t bear, sins he can’t conquer, and guilt he cannot remove.
1. Their Efforts.
These sailors show us how he tries. He tries
1) His Powers.
This is the gospel of humanism. Its theme is the sufficiency of man. It enthrones man and dethrones God. The bitterest of men are those who have tried to go it alone. He tries
This is the gospel of religion. Shakespeare had his sailors cry in a storm, “All is lost to prayers! to prayers!” For many, religion is an emergency measure rather than a way of life. Jesus is not the highway on which they travel but the spare tire they look for when stranded on the devil’s highway.
3) His Preachers. This is the gospel of Christianity. The shipmaster ran to Jonah, fast asleep in the lower part of the ship, and called on him to pray. The world rebukes the church when it does not do its job. The world perishes because we are unconcerned and uninvolved.
2. Their Evangelism.
The frustrated attempts of man to cope with life gives encouragement to the church in its evangelism. All through Jonah the heathen are presented in a favorable light. What an encouragement for witnesses. God has some people prepared and ready to receive the gospel. Do not look at all lost people as arrogant defiers of Christianity. See many of them as hurting people, tossed on the wind and waves, needing, and in many cases, wanting the hand of a God who loves them. When people are in trouble they are ripe for the gospel.
IV. THE SLEEPER
The shameful thing is that in the hour of opportunity the church is often asleep. Jesus slept in faith during a storm (Mk. 4:35-41). Jonah slept because he could not face the fact of his faithlessness. He dulled his conscience and refused to face his rebellion. We do the same. We say prayers but do not go too deep or get too specific or else God might show us where we are wrong. We go on playing church. We have been “doped by the devil.” We need to wake up to holy living (Rom. 13:11, 12; 1 Cor. 15:34), to prayer (Mt. 26:40), and to evangelism (John 9:4).
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 1:7-16
THE BEAUTIFUL RESULTS OF CHASTISEMENT (1:7-16)
Even God’s storms are acts of love. His fierce winds are meant to drive us to Him for shelter. We see this happen in the case of Jonah (representing the saved) and of the sailors (representing the lost). God’s righteous anger drives the saved to confession (1:9) and the lost fo conversion (1:16). These are the two beautiful fruits of God’s storms.
I. THE CONFESSION OF THE SAVED
Here Jonah goes from the ugliness of rebellion to the beauty of repentance. How did this come about? First there was
1. Exposure (7).
The sailors cast lots (like we would draw straws) and, like the accusing finger of God, it fell on Jonah (1:7). Until we point out men’s sins they will not turn from them. Like Nathan (2 Sam. 12:7), John the Baptist (Lk. 3:19), and Paul (Gal. 2:11), we need to “preach the word and convince, exhort and REBUKE” (2 Tim. 4:2). Jonah was exposed, like modern Christians as sleeping (Eph. 5:14), sinful (1 Sam. 15:23), and secretive (nobody knew a child of God was around). What a shameful indictment when we belong to “Christian’s Anonymous.”
2. The Examination (8-10).
The world puts the church on trial. They ask, what is
1) Your Profession?
What is our business? On the secular level are we honorable people engaged in an honorable profession (1 Th. 4:11-12)? On the sacred level, what is our business as churchmen? As Christians? Is it serving God and obeying the Great Commission? They why do less than five percent of our people share their faith? They ask who are
2) Your People?
God’s people are to be set apart (2 Cor. 6:17), different (Eph. 4:17) and despised (Mt. 5:11). The church’s biggest problem is that it is too much like the world. We have to live on a higher level to lift anyone up.
3. The Explanation (9-10).
Jonah, knowing God had found him, stood up and confessed his God and his sin (10). He was not ashamed of who he was. He was a “Hebrew,” the name Jews used in their dealing with Gentiles (Gen. 40:15, Ex. 3:18). It was a despised name. He was not ashamed of Whom he served - “The God of heaven who made the sea and dry land.” Until we are proud enough of our God and our Gospel to accept ridicule we will never influence others for either (Rom. 1:16).
4. The Execution (10-12).
To spare these heathen sailors Jonah bowed beneath the rod of God and became his own judge and jury. He reached great heights of love and courage when he said, “Throw me overboard” (12). We have here
1) Submission to the Wrath of God.
Jonah was ready to take his trip to God’s woodshed, even if it meant death.
2.) Strength in the Face of Death. Like Samson and Stephen he faced death bravely. Unlike Samson, however, he did not want to carry the pagans with him. Like Stephen he died with love.
3). Sacrifice For the Wicked. Dying to save these sailors is an example of human love. Closeness to one another in the storms of life breeds love. There is little prejudice in intensive care waiting rooms, just fellow human being hurting. It is also a type of divine love. Eight hundred years later the sinless Son of God let man throw him into the angry waves of Calvary, and accepting that sacrifice delivers us from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9).
II. THE CONVERSION OF THE LOST
While God’s storm was at work chastising Jonah, it was also at work converting the sailors. Look first at
1. The Forerunners of Their Conversion.
They were
1) Confused By God (1:10).
They were frightened and bewildered. How often does God use trouble or simply the gnawing anxiety of our humanity to turn us from our false gods and empty pursuits! An anxious heart is often the first evidence of the presence of God. They were
2) Confronted With God (1:9) by Jonah.
We sugar coat the “hard parts” of the character of God and avoid speaking of His wrath and righteousness. Thus we rob hurting people of their only hope. As Vance Havner says, “We are not to make the gospel acceptable; we are to make is available.” It is through preaching (our witness) that God has chosen to confront lost people (2 Cor. 5:20, 1 Cor. 1:21). They were also
3) Confronted With Godliness.
Jonah was a good but not a perfect example of godliness. He stood up for God and faced death unafraid. It is our lives not our sermons that do the most good. But Jonah was imperfect. He was a runaway. God can and does use imperfect Christians and an imperfect church. It is no excuse but is an encouragement that “God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.”
Look second at
2. The Fruits of Their Conversion.
Jesus said we are recognized by our fruits, by the new life that comes out of our new birth (Lk. 6:44). What fruits do we see here?
1.) Sympathy (12-13).
They refused to throw Jonah overboard but kept on rowing. Motivated by fear of this storm hurling God and care for his prophet they showed love which is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and an evidence of salvation (1 Jn. 3:14).
2). Supplication (14).
They begged God for mercy. What breathing is to a newborn baby, prayer is to a newborn child of God. It was said of Saul, when he became Paul, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11).
3. Submission (15).
They obeyed God and threw Jonah overboard. This is a picture of repentance where we throw out of our lives what God tells us to. It is a type of faith because it shows that our deliverance comes only through the sacrifice and death of Another.
4. Sacrifice (16a).
They feared God and offered sacrifices. Here we see the solemn awareness that we are acceptable to a holy God only on the continual benefits of the sacrifice of Jesus (1 Jn. 1:7).
5. Sanctification (16b). Their vows pointed to the future, what they would do when back in port. For the saved, conversion is the beginning. Sanctification is the continuing. And glorification is the culminating.
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 1:17
THE GREAT FISH
The main character of Jonah to most people is the fish. Thomas Carlisle said, “I was so interested with what was going on inside the whale that I missed seeing the drama inside Jonah.” The other extreme is to ignore the fish altogether. When Jonah sank below the waves, God sent a “great fish” (not necessarily but probably a whale) to swallow him. He kept him alive in the fish’s stomach for three days and nights and then the fish vomited him up on dry land. Today we look at this remarkable rescue.
I. SEE IT AS A MIRACLE
1. Is It Possible?
Our answer to this is, “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). It is serious business to deny the supernatural because it amounts to a denial of God Himself or at least His personal touch in our lives. Its possibility is seen in 1) History. J. Sidlow Baxter gives several accounts of men swallowed by sperm whales who lived to tell about it (Explore the Book, Pg. 152). The “Encyclopedia Britannica” will actually mail, on request, a four page verification of the possibility of Jonah being kept alive in a whale. It is seen in 2) Theology. We “believe in miracles because we believe in God.” W. A. Criswell says all this discussion of whether or not a man could survive in a fish’s stomach is ridiculous. God could have furnished it with shag carpet, cover TV and air conditioning, if He chose. An even more important question is
2. Is It Probable?
We know God could do it but would He? The answer again is yes. God uses miracles at strategic times in the drama of redemption. It is His way of getting our attention and assuring us of His involvement. He gave them under Moses (The Exodus), Elijah (The institution of prophecy), Christ (The arrival of the Son of God) and the Apostles (The writing of the New Testament and the inclusion of the Gentiles in salvation). Here, in sending His mercy to the despised Assyrians, it is highly likely that He would put His signature on it with a mighty miracle.
At Pentecost, the church’s commission to preach to the Gentiles, was authenticated with the miraculous, so was Jonah’s. In the final analysis we do not believe in the miracle of the fish because it is possible or probable, but because we believe in the infallibility of the Bible. God says it and that settles it.
II. SEE IT AS A MESSAGE
God’s remarkable rescue of Jonah has some abiding lessons for us. It speaks of the following:
1. The Power of God to Preserve.
A Christian is invincible until God is through with him. The raging sea will not become a grave until God gives the word. God says to us, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. . . You will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday” (Ps. 91:5-7). Our death is not in the hands of fate, but in the hands of God.
2. The Practice of God to Delay.
The fish did not rescue Jonah when he first hit the water. It came after he had sunk to the bottom (2:6), when seaweeds had wrapped around his head (2:5) and when all hope seemed gone (2:7). God delays His deliverances. Abraham is stopped from killing Isaac at the last minute (Gen. 22:10). The disciples row all night before Jesus comes to still the storm. Peter is delivered from prison on the eve of his death (Acts 12:6). Jesus will return when the plight of the church seems hopeless (Lk. 21:28). Why? To drive us to the deeper levels of prayer for deliverance (2:2) and the higher levels of praise for deliverance (2:9).
3. The Power of God to Purge.
The Great Physician knows how and where to touch the heart of His erring children and bring them back. The fish was God’s scalpel, God’s medicine, God’s cure for Jonah. God can touch us just right. He used a donkey to reach Balaam, a parable to reach David, a look to reach Peter, an earthquake to reach a jailer in Philippi and a storm and a fish to reach Jonah. The whole world is full of invisible couriers, robed and ready for service.
III. SEE IT AS A TYPE
1. Of Jesus.
God could have spared Jonah in any number of ways but He chose one that would pre-figure the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Mt. 12:40, 16:4). Jonah portrays the death and burial of Christ as He was in the ground three days and three nights. He portrays death on behalf of others, the difference being of course that Jesus was sinless and was the Son of God. He portrays by his deliverance the resurrection. Setting a time limit on His stay in the grave, our Lord affirmed the fact of His resurrection. Our Lord, though pre-figured by Jonah is greater than Jonah. He is greater in His person (the Son of God), His character (sinless), His message (love more than judgment), His sacrifice (He went through death) and His resurrection (from the dead).
2. Of the Jews.
What happened to Jonah also happened to Israel. They rejected God’s commission to share Him with the Gentiles. They were submerged in the storms of war from Assyria and Babylon. They were swallowed up by the Babylonian captivity, purged of many sins and miraculously rescued by Cyrus the Persian. And from them came the Messiah, who was the Savior of the world.
3. Of Us.
In our baptism we identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 6:1-12). In our service, death to self must become a way of life. We are to bear our cross daily (Lk. 9:23) and to die daily (1 Cor. 15:31). It is only when we, like our Master, are willing to be thrown into the angry waves of suffering for others, that we help others. The law of service is sacrifice. “We bless,” said John H. Jowett. (Mt. 10:24). “Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all of us go free? No, there’s a cross for every one, And there’s a cross for me.”
IV. SEE IT AS A SIGN
God promises us that the people of Nineveh will rise up at the Judgment and condemn those who refuse to believe Jesus because they believed Jonah and Jesus is far greater (Mt. 12:40). Our “sign” from heaven, authenticating the ministry of Jesus is the resurrection. Any thinking person is obligated to investigate the claims of Christ for if He did not rise from the dead Christianity is a farce (1 Cor. 15:17) but if He did then it is the truth that leads to life (Jn. 10:10). By it God says to the human race, “This is My Son. Listen to Him.”
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 2:1-9
PRAYERS FROM THE BELLY OF HELL
The depth of our prayers is usually in direct proportion to the depth of our agony. When we are driven to the edge of despair we find ourselves storming the gates of heaven with a boldness, an intensity and a power we never knew we had. Prayer rises out of troubles like heat rises out of fire. This is the theme of the Psalms (120:1, 30:3, 28:1-2, 130:1-2) and the message of this chapter. “I called to the Lord out of my distress,” said Jonah, “and He answered me: out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and Thou didst hear my voice” (2:2).
Jonah did not wait three days to pray (as some suppose), nor does the bulk of his prayer (1-7) concern his dilemma inside the fish. This is really a hymn of praise, built largely on the Psalms (69:1, 42:7, 31:22, 5:7, 18:5, 116:3, 16:10, 30:3, 142:3, 77:10, 50:14, 3:8) where Jonah tells us what he prayed while sinking in the water (1-7) and while sitting in the fish (8-9). We have never, like Jonah, been swallowed up by life’s waves and thus we need to learn the art and value of prayers from the “belly of hell.”
I. SINKING IN THE WATER (2:1-7)
Cast into the raging sea, sinking into certain death, Jonah was in
1. A Horrible Situation (His Plight).
He called it the “belly of Sheol” (death). The waves and billows engulfed him (2:3) as the waters closed in (2:5). He was wrapped in seaweed (2:5) as he sank to the “roots of the mountains” (2:6) where he knew the iron “bars” (2:6) of the pit (2:6) of death awaited him. Worst of all, he felt abandoned by God (2:4).
But Jonah, like many others before (David in Ps. 40) and since (Peter in Acts 12), found that his horrible situation became
2. A Hopeful Situation (His Prayer),
… because it drove him into the arms of God in prayer. Look first at the
1) Cause of His Prayer (2:3).
It was God, not the sailors who had thrown him overboard (v. 3). It was God’s waters which now closed in on him (v. 3,5). Jonah was strong, sullen, stubborn and silent when it came to prayer.
He did not pray in the hurricane, he slept. He did not pray when the lot exposed him as the rebel. But he did pray in the ocean, God has the weapons to reach our stubborn hearts. He says, “In their affliction will they seek Me” (Hos. 5:15). Fiery serpents did it for incorrigible Israel (Nu. 21:7).
The cut of the Assyrian slave-lash did it for Manasseh (2 Ch. 33:12-13). The death of a baby did it for David (2 Sam. 12:13). The ocean terror did it for Jonah. Let us pray when the first storm comes and not wait until it takes a horrible situation. We can save ourselves much trouble by returning to God at the first sign of trouble.
2) The Character of His Prayer.
It was
(1) An Emergency Prayer.
A rebel cried out in an emergency and the Father came running. When we say, “I have not prayed in the calm so I will not presume to pray in the storm,” we are not being pious but proud. We never deserve to have a prayer answered.
(2) An Overcoming Prayer.
It overcame the hindrance of circumstances. There was no hope, yet he hoped. Trusting in reason he would have drowned but trusting in God he was delivered. The laws of nature were against him but the love of God uses those laws for our good.
The ravens spread food for Elijah (1 K. 17:4). The lions made friends with Daniel (Dan. 6). The fire refuses to burn the brave Hebrew boys (Dan. 3). And a savage sea-monster saves Jonah. His prayer overcame doubt (v. 4). His fear said, “I am cast out of Thy sight” but his faith responded, “Yet I will again look toward Thy holy temple.” Whether this was a glimmer of hope (Lange) or magnificent faith (Pusey), we need to know that even though we may feel abandoned by God, we will never be abandoned by God.
(3) A Biblical Prayer.
Jonah bathed his prayer (1-7) and his praise (8-9) in the words of Scripture. His prayer was “the simple and natural utterance of a man well versed in Holy Scripture and living in the Word of God” (Keil). Faith comes from the Bible (Ro. 10:17). Faith gives birth and power to prayer (Js. 1:6). Our Lord spoke seven times from the cross; five of these sayings were rooted in the Old Testament Scripture. The highest form of prayer is to take God’s own words to God and expect Him to honor them (Is. 42:21).
(4) A Life Changing Prayer (8-9). O
ut of the depths rose a new Jonah. The same is true of us. Trouble produces character (Ro. 5:4). In life’s depths we plumb God’s depths and our depths and find ourselves with our feet on the rock and a new song of hope in our heart (Ps. 40).
(5) An Answered Prayer (2-7).
At the moment of death God sent His fish. Our prayers are always answered one way or another. A lady on a ship looked composed in a terrible storm. When asked why, she said, “I have two daughters. One lives in America, the other lives in heaven. Either way this ship goes is alright with me.”
II. SITTING IN THE FISH (2:8-9)
Jonah loved God and was ready to serve Him but was unable because the fish which rescued him now imprisoned him. He had learned some powerful lessons. He had “a story to tell to the nations.” The big question was, would God let him tell it? Convinced of God’s love and power Jonah tells us in vs. 8-9 what he prayed inside the fish. His return to God involved three things:
1. Penitence (2:8).
Jonah said, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (NIV). This is true of idol worshippers but is also true of those like Jonah and Israel who put anything above God. Browning tells of a woman who threw her children, one by one, to the wolves as she drove her sled through the snow. We throw away the best in pursuit of unworthy goals. What profit is there, said Jesus, if we gain the whole world and lose our soul (Mt. 16:26). Jonah confessed the sheet stupidity of his sin.
2. Promise (2:8).
True repentance includes s desire and a determination to do better. Jonah vowed to be obedient to the written Word of God and offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Lev. 7:12-15). I also believe he included in his “vow” obedience to the revealed will of God for his life, which meant going to Nineveh. God’s Word and God’s will become the guide and goal of the truly repentant Christian.
3. Patience (2:9b).
Patience means “waiting without worrying” and when Jonah said, “salvation (deliverance) belongs to the Lord,” he was submitting his future into the hands of God. The only One who could get him out of the fish was the One who put him in. Miracles come when we acknowledge our sin (penitence), rededicate our lives (promise) and wait upon the Lord (patience).
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 2:10-3:3a
THE GOD OF THE SECOND CHANCE
Unlike Jonah, the fish obeyed God and vomited him up on the shore (2:10). Where he landed we do not know. It was probably near Joppa, but could have been nearer to Nineveh. At any rate, after he probably took a much needed bath, Jonah may have gone to Jerusalem to pay his vows. The command “arise” and go could mean that Jonah had settled down (Pusey) and was waiting to see what God wanted him to do. At this point in life he was confused. Was God through with him? Was he on the shelf (1 Cor. 9:27)? No. He was about to meet “the God of the second chance.”
I. THE STRONG MERCY OF GOD
God forgives (4:2) and forgets (Heb. 8:12) our sins but He does it in a strong way that does not encourage us to sin again. The Bible says, “There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared” (Ps. 130:4). First there was
1) Judicial Forgiveness
…which dealt with Jonah’s RIGHTEOUSNESS. The sins of a Christian are cleansed by the blood (1 Jn. 1:9). This does not mean we lose our salvation (Jn. 10:28) but it means we must see all sin as “crucifying the Son of God afresh” (Heb. 6:6), so we will hate it and turn from it. There is
2) Paternal (Fatherly) Forgiveness
…which dealt with his RELATIONSHIP. Sin does not break our relationship with God, we are always His children after salvation; but it does break our fellowship. When a Christian is forgiven he does not receive salvation, he never lost that, he receives the JOY of salvation (Ps. 51:12). Finally, there is
3) Official Forgiveness
..as a child of God and his official function as a prophet of God. Full reinstatement means that God trusts us with His work once more. We do not want merely ENJOYMENT but also EMPLOYMENT. Thus forgiven David says, “ will teach transgressors Thy ways” (Ps. 51:13). Forgiven Peter is told “Feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:17).
II. THE SPECIFIC MANDATE OF GOD
God’s forgiveness and reinstatement does not come like a shower but like an arrow. It goes straight to the point of our defection and return. Jonah was given
1) The Same Method,
“Go.” God’s word to the church is still “Go ye” (Matt. 28:18-20). God does not tell the lost to “come and hear” but He does tell the church to “go and tell.” In this modern age there is still no substitute for a personal word and a personal visit. When the church, like Jonah, is revived, “God’s word will be, “Off your seat, on your feet and into the street.” He had
2) The Same Mission,
“Go. . .to Nineveh.” The point of defection is the point of return. The young preacher who lost the ax head was told to retrieve it right “where it fell” (2 K. 6:6). We are to return at specific points and confess specific sins and return to specific tasks.
3) The Same Motive,
“Go to Nineveh. . .THE GREAT CITY.” Why was Nineveh great in God’s sight? Was it architectural greatness? political? cultural? No! Its greatness was that of sin and therefore of need. The only motive that will sustain us in a difficult ministry and keep us at our post day in and day out is the love of Christ working through us (2 Cor. 5:14). Our love will rise and fall like mercury, a victim of its changing surroundings, but the love of God is as steady as the sun. Finally, he had
4) The Same Message.
In 1:1 Jonah was told to cry against Nineveh’s sins and his message was unchanged (3:2,4). It was
1) Righteous Preaching.
He preached the love and mercy of God (4:2) by preaching the wrath and judgment of God (3:4).
The biggest heresy being preached in modern pulpits is “God is love!” Twhen it implies that is one that loves people “in their sins” and one that “would never let anyone go to hell.” We need more preaching of righteousness (what sin is), retribution (what sin will lead to) and the necessity of repentance. The love of God is a demanding and a delivering love. It was also
2) Revealed Preaching.
Verse 2 should be in every pulpit, “. . .proclaim the message I give you.” Revealed preaching is Biblical preaching. It is the “thus saith the Lord” proclamation of a herald. This is what Moses preached (Deut. 18:18), and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:7), and Paul (1 Cor. 11:23), and even Jesus (Jn. 7:6).
Illustrations tire. Great thoughts weary. Learning bores. Experience confuses. But the Bible is like the dawn, it is ever new, ever fresh and ever beautiful. “Give me the Bible,” said Spurgeon, “and I could preach forever.”
III. THE STRONG MAN OF GOD
Jonah’s metal was tested in his “fishy furnace” (1 Pet. 1:7). Like Job after his suffering and David after his sinning, he could never the same again. He was, no doubt,
1) A Stronger Man.
His faith in God was giant size. He who had been thrown into the waves and swallowed by a fish had no problem walking into the heart of heathenism and proclaiming judgment. He did not fear those who could destroy the body because he feared Him who can “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). All things work together for good (Rom. 8:28), even our sins! He was also
2) A Submissive Man.
Unlike Jeremiah, he did not whine. He went because he was told, where he was told, when he was told, as he was told, to do what he was told, in the way he was told. He learned the hard way that the best thing we can do for God and ourselves and others is to obey Him. But still and all, Jonah was
3) A Sinful Man.
He is not much better as a person. He goes to Nineveh because he has to. His was a “wind me up, have to do it” ministry. He preaches with no love or emotion (3:4). He pouts when God spares his converts. Truly evangelism is “one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread” or one sinner telling another where to get help. Truly God’s riches come in clay pots (2 Cor. 4:7). Truly, even we who preach have as our highest claim to fame the title “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Truly, God draws beautiful straight lines with a lot of crooked sticks. Because of all this he was
4) A Seasoned Man,
… ripe and ready for the Master’s use. Preachers say, “Hide me behind the cross. Get me out of the way.” This is not quite right. We should pray for the cross to be seen through us! We cannot mimeograph truth. It must pass through us like light through a prism. Preaching from the mind reaches minds; from the heart reaches hearts; from the soul reaches souls. Jonah had sinned and been forgiven; had suffered and been delivered; had prayed and been answered. . .and that made him a powerful preacher.
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 3:3-10
THE GREATEST REVIVAL IN THE BIBLE AND IN HISTORY
The real miracle of Jonah is not the great fish but the revival that brought a hundred and twenty thousand (4:11) people to their knees in repentance. This was not a revival meeting; it was a revival.
We have no way of knowing the value of Nineveh’s repentance. Was it evangelical repentance that led to their individual salvation? Or was it national reform that spared their nation for a few more years? Most scholars do not believe the Ninevites were “saved” in the spiritual sense of the word. This reform was never mentioned in their records. They apparently returned to their old cruel ways and in two hundred years (612 B.C.) the city fell as predicted by the Hebrew prophets (Hah. 1-3, Zech. 2:13-15).
However, we must take into account the commendation of their repentance by Jesus. To those (and to us) who did not repent at His preaching, He said, “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here” (Matt. 12:41).
There are many who believe that God will judge the heathen by the light they receive and those, like Cornelius (Acts 10) and the Ninevites, who live up to their light, will be saved. God knows what each person would have done with the gospel and will judge them accordingly. They are not saved by their “works” any more than Christians are. They are saved because God chooses to include them in the atonement, in the saving benefits of the cross.
This is no “liberal” view even though it is not the common view of the Church. It is held by orthodox scholars such as W. T. Conner (The Gospel of Redemption), A. H. Strong (Systematic Theology), Rene Pache (The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture) and even G. Campbell Morgan (Exposition of Acts). It is also the belief of Billy Graham. Justin Martyr, one of the first heroes of church history believed it (Google Inclusivism)
This does not make it right or true, but it helps us witness to people who cannot accept a God who sends people to hell without a chance to be saved. We can tell them they do not have to believe that to become a child of God.
Whatever our view of this, all scholars agree that we do have here an example or pattern of evangelical repentance that leads to salvation. From the lips of the prophets (Ez. 14:6), John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2-8), the Son of God (Matt. 4:17), and Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:38), we are commanded to “repent or perish” (Lk. 13:5). And these people of Nineveh show us the way.
I. REPENTANCE IS PRECIPITATED BY PREACHING (3:3-4)
The way God reaches the heart is through His general revelation in the world and His special revelation in the Word.
1. General Revelation in the World.
These people had heard no prophet nor seen any mighty act of God like the parting of the Red Sea. Why then did they repent so quickly? Because they had seen evidence of the Presence and power of God in creation (Rom. 1:20). As one man put it, “Atheism must be learned. It isn’t natural. There are no eight year old atheists.” In the struggles of conscience (Rom. 2:14-16) and the sorrows of history, they see something of the moral purity of God. All men are touched by God through creation and conscience. They know THAT He is, but not WHO He is (Acts 17:23). This shows the need for. . .
2. Special Revelation Through the Word.
God chose to make Himself known by revealing Himself to a select group of people (the Jews and then the Church) whom He then sent out as witnesses of that revelation (Matt. 28:18-20). A Christian’s reason for being is “to know Him” and “to make Him known.” To accomplish this we have been given the Holy Spirit to empower us (Acts 1:8).
Nineveh was prepared by God for revival. They were in a time of national upheaval. They believed in and were afraid of the Creator God of the Hebrews. They saw Jonah - a man delivered from a fish. All this added up to fear and faith and finally repentance. General and Special revelation had done their work.
II. REPENTANCE IS PRECEDED BY FAITH (3:5)
Those who feel doctrine is unimportant know neither the Scriptures nor human nature. People build their lives on their beliefs. The Ninevites “believed God” and then put on the sackcloth of repentance. This is always the case. Dwight L. Moody used to say the two deepest convictions of His heart were (1) He was a great sinner and (2) Jesus was a great Savior.
All kinds of beliefs lead people to the point of wanting and accepting salvation and we are to despise none of them. Here it was the fear of judgment. This is not the best motive but it is not unworthy. Modern preachers are too delicate to talk about hell but many people who listen to them need to be warned about the eternal consequences of choosing sin. Some will never be moved to righteousness until they face the fact that they will spend eternity in hell. As Vance Havner said, “I’d rather be scared into heaven than lulled into hell.”
III. REPENTANCE IS PRODUCTIVE OF FRUIT (3:5-10)
There is surface repentance which is temporary reformation and leads to death (2 Cor. 7:10). There is remorse that leads to shame but no inward and outward change (Matt. 27:3-5). There is sorrow over the consequences of sin (Acts 1:16-18) that has little relation to sorrow for sin (Lk. 15:17-21). True repentance that leads to life has beautiful fruits.
1. Sorrow (3:5b-8).
Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). Sackcloth and ashes showed they grieved (Gen. 37:24) over their sin. How sorry do we have to be? Do we have to shed tears to be saved? We have to be sorry enough to QUIT! “Repentance is to leave the sins we loved before; and show that we in earnest grieve, by doing them no more.”
2. Supplication (3:8-9).
They threw themselves upon the mercy of God in PRAYER. Their fear, sweetened by hope, led to prayer. Add need to hope and you get prayer. Prayer, the last resort of the sinner, is the first command of the Lord. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13, Lk. 15:18-20, 18:13, 23:42-43).
3. Surrender (3:8).
They turned from their evil ways and works. Every sin must go. We are not ABLE to give up any sin but we must be WILLING to give up every sin with God’s help. Those sins that hold on and overcome us must be hated and resisted till Jesus gives us the victory.
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 4:1-5
THE WEAKNESS AND WICKEDNESS OF GOD’S BEST
The Bible says that even we Christians are “barely saved” (1 Pet. 4:18). We see this in the case of Jonah. God has done nothing but show mercy - to Jonah, to the pagan sailors and to heathen Nineveh. But Jonah’s response was anger (4:1) and he expressed his displeasure in an angry prayer (4:2-3). Now Jonah is RUNNING AGAINST GOD. The root of his rebellion was despondency and the fruit of it was a depraved attitude and we will look at each of them.
I. THE DESPONDENCY OF GOOD MEN (1-5)
The root of Jonah’s displeasure was a deep despondency and bewilderment over the strange ways of God. He could not understand how God could save these cruel pagans who would one day destroy his country and subject it to terrible suffering. His despondency
1. Was Understandable.
Some of God’s finest servants have prayed to die. Moses did it under the pressure of responsibility and criticism (Nu. 11:15). Israel favored death over life when they ran into obstacles and lost their faith in God (Nu. 20:3). Elijah did it when he believed he was a failure (1 K. 19:4). Job did it in his suffering (6:8-10). Others like Jeremiah (20:14-18) and Job (3:3-13) expressed the wish that they had never been born. Job says men “search for death more than for hidden treasures” (3:21).
2.It Was Uncontrollable.
One philosopher has said “the contemplation of suicide has gotten many a person through a dark night.” However, our lives enter a living hell when faith abdicates the throne and despair begins to reign. We have cellars in our houses and we need to enter them every now and then, but we do not need to live in them. Sometimes God calls someone like Jeremiah to live in a perpetual low but for most of there will be hills and valleys.
As we go up and down on the scale of emotions, faith and dedication, the important thing to remember is that GOD NEVER MOVES. He is forever and always our loving heavenly Father. Because of this we can sing - My God is real, even when I CAN’T FEEL Him in my soul.
3. It Was NOT Unconquerable.
Was Jonah’s angry prayer sinful? The answer is “yes and no.” The attitude of despair and anger was sinful but the prayer itself was not because it was honest. But here we must be very careful.
We must never, in the name of honesty, commit the sin of presumption or blasphemy in prayer. Satan, like Job’s wife (Job. 2:9), will tempt us to say things in prayer, under the guise of honesty, that we do not really mean.
The author of Ecclesiastes was an “honest doubter” who, like Job and Jeremiah and Jonah, carried his case to the Almighty. But he himself gives this good advice, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few” (5:2).
But when you have weighed your words and your anguished or even angry prayer is honest, God will answer you and help you. Such an honest, earnest prayer will do more good than a thousand prayers of words alone. Hugh Martin says, “He (Jonah) does not seek a refuge from God. He makes God his refuge. . .this was the infirmity of a friend of God, and not the malice of an enemy.”
II. THE DEPRAVITY OF GOOD MEN (1-5)
Though we admire Jonah’s integrity and bravery we must not whitewash his attitude. He was rebelling against God. His problem was sin.
1. The Sin of Pride.
It was said of one man, “There, but for the grace of God, goes God.” We all, from time to time, have wanted to charge God with a mistake, or wanted to be God for a while. We should humbly seek the mind of the Lord, and submit even when we cannot understand, instead of charging Him with error or evil or trying to tell Him what to do.
2. The Sin of Prejudice.
We should see ourselves as members of the human race before we are members of a particular race, nation, denomination or group. Even the Pharisees loved those who loved them (Mt. 5:46). A Christian’s love must encompass all.
3. The Sin of Anger.
Anger is a terrible sin. It was the first sin after the fall (Gen. 4:6). It separates friends (Prov. 30:33), destroys homes (1 Sam. 20:30-34), divides churches (2 Cor. 12:20), marks us as carnal (Gal. 5:20) and sends people to hell (Matt. 5:22). “Whom the gods destroy,” says a wise old proverb, “they first make made.”
4. The Sin of Rebellion.
Jonah turned against God. He did not submit to the will of God and he did not finish the work of God. In his little booth he became a self-centered spectator (Ellul). He should have become to Nineveh what Calvin became to Geneva (Ellul) and discipled the converts of Nineveh in the way of the Lord.
Who knows the good he could have done for them and perhaps FOR HIS OWN COUNTRY if he had Christianized these pagans? The lack of follow up produces baby Christians who in one generation will have children who will go back to paganism.
The Great Commission includes follow up - “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:18-20). Evangelism is never complete until the evangelized has become an evangelist.
III. THE DELIVERANCE OF GOOD MEN (1-5)
In the next section (4:6-20) we will see how God dealt in love and power with His rebellious prophet. Jonah, like Job and Elijah, was delivered from his despondency. Like Peter and David and John Mark, he was forgiven of his sin. How do we know this? BECAUSE HE WROTE THE BOOK OF JONAH!
He, like Paul in Romans seven, exposes the foul corners of his soul. In so doing he exposes the sin of Jewish pride and exclusiveness and the sin of any and every Christian who does not do the will of God, especially when it comes to witnessing. Not all emotional distress, just as not all physical illness, is the result of sin.
But SOME IS! Therefore, the Bible says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (Js. 5:16). Confession, we say, is good for the soul! Yes, and we might add, “for the mind and the body too.”
Outline Studies in Jonah Jonah 4:5-11
GOD AND HIS WOUNDED SOLDIERS
God does not kick His wounded soldiers. When Jonah is at his worst, God is at His best. When Jonah reaches the depths of rebellion, God reaches the heights of compassion. Watch the Great Physician as He restores a sinful servant.
I. THE WAITING - “God, I’m Hurting” (4:5)
Jonah seems to have been still unable to accept the divine deliverance of Nineveh. Making a shelter of interwoven boughs and branches, he sat down, and probably hoping Nineveh would fall back into sin, waited to see if God would change His mind and destroy them.
1. He Sat in Savagery.
Nothing would have made him happier than for Nineveh and its people to be burned to the ground like Sodom (Gen. 18). Beneath the best of us lies the beast in us. David (1 Sam. 25:22) and the disciples are ready to kill over an insult (Lk. 9:54). When we hurt we don’t care who else we hurt.
2. He Sat in Selfishness.
His powers were used only to provide for his own needs (shelter). Preoccupation with personal comforts keeps many from becoming Christians (Lk. 14:16-24) and chokes the witness of the Word and keeps us from bearing fruit as Christians (Lk. 8:14). It drives us from our duty like Demas (2 Tim. 4:10) or into sin like Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). We may not be so calloused as to “fiddle while Rome burns” like Nero, but we can let our neighbors go to hell without lifting one finger, shedding one tear or offering one earnest prayer. We worry more about a scratch on our fender than a neighbor’s daughter on drugs. We are bothered more by a preacher’s extra five minutes when we have a ball game to watch than by the beer commercials that pay for it.
3. He Sat in Solitude.
The real root of his problem was that like David (Ps. 22:1) and even Jesus (Matt. 27:46), Jonah felt God had left him. Everything he believed about God had been turned upside down by the sparing of Nineveh and Jonah felt all alone in the universe. Corrie ten Boom survived the Nazi horrors by saying, “The devil can never dig a hole so deep that God cannot find you.” The presence of God made anything bearable. But when God seems gone, or your beliefs about Him totally wrong, then that is a hole which no one can stand. Jonah’s savagery and selfishness were the bitter expressions of his solitude.
II. THE WATCHCARE - “Jonah, I Love You” (4-6)
In the darkness of that awful hour God touched him. He “appointed” a plant (probably the Castor) to grow over his shelter and shade him from the terrible Eastern sun. For the first time in the Book Jonah was happy , “exceedingly happy.” It was not the plant that did this but what the plant represented. God did something for him PERSONALLY and this opens the floodgates of joy even when it is only a few leaves of shade. Most of our Christian walk is in the agony of “walking by faith and not sight” (Heb. 11:1) but every now and then we need the ecstasy of the evidence of things we can see. We’ve dreamed many dreams that never came true - We’ve seen them vanish at dawn - But enough of our dreams have finally come true - That make up want to dream on.
III. THE WORMS AND THE WINDS –
“Jonah, Will You Suffer For Me?” (4:7-8)
Joy turned to mourning as the God who gave the plant sent worms to eat its roots and kill it, and then sent the fierce East Wind (SIROCCO) to blow in Jonah’s face. Why? To show him that it costs, it hurts to be a servant of God. The Sovereign God of the universe Who controls storms, fish, plants, animals and circumstances wants to use us voluntarily. When we refuse and head to Tarshish we pay the price. The first is the painful price of sin. The second is the painful but purposeful price of service. The first is our chastisement. The second is our cross (Matt. 10:38, etc.). The worms and the wind teach us to have
1. The Right Attitude Towards Pleasure.
All earthly comforts are fleeting. All can be gone overnight. One slander can ruin a reputation. One germ can destroy the finest athlete. Enjoy life’s pleasures but don’t build your lives or stake your happiness on them.
2. The Right Attitude Toward Pain.
Pain is the price we pay for serving God. Jonah prayed to die because he saw pain as the evidence of God’s lack of concern. God let him live (the blessing of UNANSWERED prayer) to teach him that pain was often a sign of His presence and concern. We are not above our Master (Matt. 10:24). The Worms mean we will lose our comforts like Him Who left heaven, Who left Nazareth and Who had nowhere to lay His head (Lk. 9:58). The wind means we will face trials like Him Who knew Satanic temptation (Matt. 4:1), hatred and slander (Matt. 10:25), inner turmoil (Matt. 26:38) and even abandonment (Jn. 6:66) by His friends. “Must Jesus bear the cross alone - And all the world go free - No, there’s a cross for everyone - And there’s a cross for me.”
IV. THE WORD - “Jonah, Suffer To Show My Love” (4:9-11)
After the trials of a Christian comes God’s WORD to the Christian. The Bible interprets our trials, corrects our faulty views of God, and gives us the “truth that sets us free” (Jn. 8:32). We do not live on emotion or experience or understanding or appearances but on “every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). David said, “The entrance of Thy Words giveth light” (Ps. 119:130).
1. Notice the Arrogance.
Jonah’s anger got the best of him and blatantly blasts away at God (v. 9). Anger overrules good sense and conscience.
2. Notice the Argument.
God, in mercy, overlooks Jonah’s stubbornness and appeals to his reason. If he (Jonah) loves a plant and is grieved over its death, then how much more should God love this vast city and grieve over its death? (The 120,000 who don’t know “their right hand from their left” can either mean little children or the total population in their spiritual ignorance). God asked Jonah, like Nathan asked David (2 Sam. 12) to THINK (Is. 1:18). The Word of God is not a “Paper Pope.” Its authority is that of TRUTH. It is inward and living. Something is not true because it is in the Bible; it is in the Bible because it is true. God convicted Jonah from the depths of his own heart. Thus Jonah ends but he lives on in each of us.
A. How unlovely he is!
Scared! Bewildered! Rebellious! Brave! Prayerless! Prayerful! Obedient! Disobedient! Proud! Humbled!
POEM “Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd - There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud - There’s one that’s broken-hearted for his sins - There’s one that unrepentant sits and grins - From such corroding care I would be free - If I could once determine which is me.”
B. How honest he is
He opens the shade and bares his soul “warts and all.” But the foundation of his honesty is a God of grace, who knows us but loves us anyway. What better faith do we need for the future than that of a God who loves saved people, lost people, children and even cattle. And this God has the whole universe, from the fish in the sea, to the worms in the soil to reveal that love. The God of Jonah was supremely revealed on the cross where we Jonahs say: “Beneath the cross of Jesus, Two wonders I confess. The wonder of His matchless love, And my unworthiness.” Amen!
