Please refer to the Meditative Reflection article for today for a summary of thoughts regarding the Book of Jonah.
(1) Please look up 2 Kings 14:25 to get a sense of who Jonah is. He lived in the first part of the 8th century B.C.
(2) Factors to consider for him to go (the Hebrew word is to rise up, meaning to go immediately) to Nineveh (modern day Iraq) to the east:
a. How far does he have to travel?
b. What language might he have to speak?
c. Why would these proud Assyrians accept his words?
d. What other risks might he be taking?
e. How would you respond, if you were Jonah?
(3) What is the commission? If the city was so wicked, why should God care? Could He not just judge them from heaven directly?
(4) Instead, Jonah “ran away” (the Hebrew word is also “rose up”), boarding a ship at Joppa (a port city in the Mediterranean) and tried to head to Tarshish (likely Spain).
a. Why did Jonah run? Why did he wish to head to Spain, of all places?
b. Was he not afraid of the consequences of his action? And what might the consequences be?
c. Did he not care about God’s likely punishment of the Assyrians?
d. Compare his attitude with Abraham’s (in Gen. 18:22-33). What is the difference between them? What might be the reasons for the difference?
(5) The sailors on the ship are kind of like the crew members of today’s cruise ship, made up of people from many nations. Therefore, they all pray to their own gods.
a. These are supposed to be seasoned sailors. Why should they be so afraid?
b. How does the scene depict the typical relationship between pagans and their gods?
(6) With such a violent storm, how can Jonah fall into a “deep sleep”?
a. When you knowingly rebel against God, do you not experience an acute sense of peacelessness?
b. How then can Jonah manage to sleep so well, presumably totally oblivious to the storm which he definitely feels and knows its reason?
c. What does it say about his determination to face the consequence of his rebellion, no matter what? How hard is his heart at this time? (Refer to 4:1-3.)
(7) What would the captain notice of Jonah? Why would he care to wake him up?
(8) I think the decision and the outcome of casting lots might be prompted by God. However, is it right for us to play this “blame-game” whenever a severe disaster strikes our nation, our home or our church? When might it be justified and when might it not be? (Think about Job and what Jesus says in Lk. 13:4.)
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The book of Jonah is unique in that the entire prophecy is written in the “third person”. Second Kings 14:23-25 states that Jonah was from Gath Hepher, about two miles northeast of Nazareth, and that he gave a prophecy which was fulfilled by King Jeroboam II (793-752 B.C.).
God commanded Jonah to prophesy against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, at a time when the power of the Assyrian Empire was resurgent and posed a threat to Israel. Jonah did not want to speak to Nineveh, likely hoping that God would destroy the city and its inhabitants. The book was written after Jonah returned from his mission and had time to reflect on its significance. It graphically demonstrates that God is willing to have mercy on all who seek Him in humility and sincerity. The repentance of the people of Nineveh postponed the destruction of their city for approximately 150 years, until 612 B.C.
Many critics dismiss the story of Jonah as a myth or fable, rejecting the miraculous element of the great fish. This simply shows their inability to comprehend the supernatural nature of the God of the Bible. Controlling one fish is not a great problem for the God who can cause the sun to stand still or divide the Red Sea. Jesus treated the book as historical fact, comparing Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish to His own time in the tomb (Mt 12:40). Jesus also affirmed that the repentance of the Ninevites was genuine and contrasted their reaction to the indifference of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 12:41).
(Introduction to Jonah, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible)
(1) The questions asked in v. 8 are most interesting.
a. What questions do they ask?
b. Should not one question of “what have you done?” be enough?
(2) Why does Jonah’s answer terrify them, resulting in their rhetorical question, “What have you done”?
(3) At this point, what options does Jonah have in facing his situation? What does his decision to ask the sailors to throw him overboard reveal about him?
a. Repentance?
b. Unrepentance?
(4) Why do the sailors not want to throw him overboard? Does it not rescue them form harm’s way immediately? Who might be more righteous?
(5) What have the sailors learned from this incident?
a. Before the calming of the sea, whom do the sailors pray to?
b. At the calming of the sea, whom do they worship?
(6) What lesson should Jonah have learned from this incident? Do you think he has learned it?
(7) The fact is, his first mission is now accomplished. Do you agree?
a. Is Jonah’s mission only to the Assyrians?
b. How does this serve as a precursor to Jonah’s mission to Nineveh?
(8) In what sense does Jesus liken himself to Jonah in Luke 11:29-30?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
As a prophet that God has used to prophesy and prophesy accurately (2 Ki. 14:25), one would assume that Jonah must have possessed certain spiritual qualities that makes him a “man of God”. But from what we read in the Book of Jonah, we see a prophet who is well-versed in Scriptures (as his prayer in chapter 2 indicates) and yet is so bent on rebellion when God’s will happens to conflict with his own will.
His dislike or even hatred of the Assyrians is, of course, unthinkable (4:1-3), but more unthinkable is his resolve to disobey God at all costs. Such stubbornness can be seen in the fact that he is able to fall into a “particular deep sleep” in the midst of a mighty storm (T.D. Alexander, TOTC, Jonah, 103).
I believe all Christians do at times go through a period of disobedience. For those who genuinely love God, it has to be one of the most miserable experiences in one’s life. The lack of peace will be so acute that it will drive us into sleeplessness and restlessness. And this lack of peace is in fact a blessing in disguise, because it is induced by the Holy Spirit to nudge us back to our knees of repentance.
But Jonah is different. He is so determined not to obey the Lord that he would find a ship to set sail away from Nineveh of the east to the far end of the west (likely modern-day Spain). He is determined to flee from the presence of God, although he knows full well that he can never outrun the presence of God (Ps. 139:7-8). But this is his gesture to God of his determination to disobey.
So, as the storm rages, he, of course, knows it is no accident. By being able to fall into a deep sleep, he is showing God that he is determined not to obey Him, no matter what. He is prepared to die in the storm rather than to preach to the Assyrians. Most readers would be alarmed to read of such stubbornness and rebelliousness. Unfortunately, I have seen Christians who are bent on their rebellion, like Jonah. One such Christian even told me, “I know it is a path of death and destruction, but I don’t care.”
What can one do to a person whose conscience is seared?
As we continue to read in the book of Jonah, “With man this is impossible, but not with God, all things are possible with God.” (Mk. 10:27)
(1) Where does Jonah utter this prayer?
(2) The prayer may be divided into the following sub-divisions, like the structure of many psalms:
Vv.
2-3: God’s deliverance
Vv.
4-6a: Lament (of his plight)
Vv.
6b-7: God’s deliverance
V.
8: Confidence expressed
V. 9: Vow and praise
(3) Now that he is temporarily “spared” in the belly of a fish, consider the following:
a. What is going on in his mind?
b. Does he have any remorse? Should he?
c. What best describes his inner condition at this point?
(4) Vv. 2-3: God’s deliverance
a. What does he do when he is being thrown into the sea and sinking?
b. Since he asks to be thrown into the sea, is he prepared to face death?
(5) Vv. 4-6a: Lament (of his plight)
a. What does he attribute his plight to?
b. How dangerous is his situation under the sea?
c. Does he utter any words of repentance?
d. What does he mean by, “yet, I will look toward your holy temple”?
(6) Vv. 6b-7: God’s deliverance
a. How does Jonah address God in his distress?
b. What can we learn from him?
(7) V. 8: Confidence expressed
a. Why would he suddenly compare himself with the pagans?
b. Does it mean he has changed his mind toward the pagans?
(8) V. 9: Vow and praise
a. Why does he say, “But”?
b. What kind of a vow does he make and why?
(9) See how many first personal pronouns can you count in his prayers (i.e. I, me and my).
a. Do you think he is now ready to obey his mission?
b. What changes, if any, has this experience brought upon him?
c. Do you think he has learned to identify with God’s heart toward the idol-worshipping pagans of Nineveh?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The
prayer by Jonah in the belly of a fish is most unusual in these ways:
(1) He experiences instant answers to this prayer. Verse 2 is likely a reference to the desperate cry he makes to God when he was sinking into the ocean. No matter how stubborn and determined one is to face death, no one really is prepared to do so, especially when he is sinking fast to the bottom of the sea;
(2) He knows God is forgiving. Although he knows full well that he is being chastised for his sins, God is a God of grace. As His children, once we turn to Him, He will listen, because He cares. As much as he is deep in the depths of the ocean, he knows that God is only a prayer away. So he says, “my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (2:7);
(3) But the amazing part of this prayer is that it is, in the truest sense, not a prayer of repentance. He never utters one word of confession. He never says sorry. He never tells God that he knows that what he has done is wrong and that he now is willing to obey! All he does is to cry for help;
(4) But the most amazing thing is that he has not changed his attitude towards the people of Nineveh. He still sees them as condemned idol-worshippers who “cling to worthless idols" (2:8), and sees himself as holier because he worships the “right” God (2:9); and
(5) If you care to count the number of 1st person pronouns (i.e. I, me and my), you can get a sense of how self-centered the whole prayer is.
The question is whether God has really listened to his prayer and rescued him as a result.
The rest of the story reveals that our God is indeed, as Jonah says, “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (4:2). The only problem is, he fails to see that he is the one in need of God’s grace and compassion!
(1) After what should be a life-changing experience, being rescued by God in the belly of a fish, what should Jonah have done immediately in response to God’s gracious treatment of his rebellion?
(2) Why does God have to ask Jonah to go a second time? Should he not be the one who would immediately embark on his mission trip after being rescued?
(3) No one is indispensable. Why does God choose to remind Jonah to go? Why doesn’t God use someone else?
(4) If God can really send someone else to accomplish His mission, why then would God insist on calling Jonah again?
(5) The Bible only records one sentence that Jonah has said in his proclamation:
a. Would it be because that’s really all he has said?
b. Does it indicate that Jonah really never cared to introduce the Lord to the people, including who He is, His love and forgiveness?
c. What might his intention be for such a brief message?
(6) What is the immediate result of his proclamation? How can you explain this very unusual response from the people?
(7) From the response of the people and the king, consider the following:
a. How can we know that their repentance is genuine?
b. How sweeping is their repentance?
c. What is the purpose of their repentance?
(8) Does God really intend to destroy the people and their city? What does this reveal about God’s character and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ today?
(9) What are the valuable lessons you have learned today about evangelism? List them out one by one.
Although the Bible has not told us what happened immediately after Jonah was spit out of the belly of the fish onto dry land, one thing was quite certain ― he did not volunteer right away to go to Nineveh. The Lord had to speak to him a second time to ask him to rise up (i.e. to go immediately) and obey the mission originally given to him.
I have no idea where the fish spit him out, probably along the Mediterranean coast, and Jonah might have simply gone home. This was probably when God renewed His call to him.
From the rest of the book, we do know that Jonah has not really changed his dislike or even hatred towards the Assyrians. This explains why, even in his prayer, there was the absence of remorse, and also why he did not volunteer to resume his mission even after such a miraculous encounter of God’s grace.
But the key question for me is, why did God still renew His call to such a hard-hearted servant? I am very sure, if God has preserved some 7,000 people loyal to Him during the time of Ahab, He would have had many other prophets He could have sent to accomplish His mission in the time of Jonah. Why did He give Jonah a second chance?
I do not think that God was giving Jonah a second chance to prove himself or to succeed in the mission. As it turned out, God wanted to change Jonah into someone who would not only obey grudgingly to Him, but someone who would share and identify with His heart. In other words, He wishes His servants to be like Him.
In the testing of Abraham in Genesis 22, God has succeeded in molding him into someone who shares His heart, in that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son for God, just as God would sacrifice His only begotten Son for the descendants of Abraham.
I think I am right in saying that God is equally interested in (or perhaps even more interested in) molding His servant in knowing and imitating His heart than the completion of His mission.
(1) Upon the repentance of the people of this city, what might the angels in heaven be doing? (Lk. 15:7)
(2) How different is Jonah’s response from the angels? Why?
(3) How can you describe an “evangelist” like Jonah?
(4) Why then is he willing to “obey” the second time?
(5) In what way is he like the older brother of the prodigal son (in Lk. 15)? In what way is he worse than the older brother?
(6) If you were the Lord, would you be hurt by Jonah’s answer in v. 3? How would you deal with a person like Jonah?
(7) How does God deal with him, instead? Why?
(8) How does Jonah answer the question posed by God in v. 4? What kind of an answer does he give through his action?
(9) Does Jonah know that it is God who has provided the leafy plant? How might he interpret God’s action in v. 6 at the time?
(10) Does Jonah know that it is God who has also caused the withering of the plant, the scorching wind and the blazing sun? How might he interpret God’s action? Does he get God’s message at this point? Why not?
(11) It is apparent that God’s objective lesson has not worked, so He has to bare His soul (so to speak) before Jonah:
a. What is the root problem of Jonah according to God?
b. Can you describe the heart of God with which He desires Jonah to identify with by calling him and giving him a second chance?
(12) Read John 3:16 and try to paraphrase these familiar words, substituting “the world” with the people of Nineveh.
(13) Who were the people of Nineveh then and who are they now?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The patience that God demonstrated to Jonah was remarkable, to say the least. Repeatedly, Jonah remained stubborn and asked to die, if God would not destroy the people of Nineveh, in spite of their genuine repentance.
While I am at a loss to explain why Jonah, a prophet of the Lord, would harbor such hatred towards the Assyrians, I have come across Christians who hold grudges against people who have wronged them before, to the point that they could not rejoice over the repentance of their “enemies”.
I think one of the key problems with Jonah and those who are like him is their failure to recognize that they themselves are desperately in need of God’s grace. If we all get what we truly deserve, we will all end up in eternal damnation.
John Newton, sometime after he had penned the famous hymn, Amazing Grace, pointed out why he had found God’s grace amazing: It was not only that he did not deserve His grace as a wretched sinner, but also that His grace was “unwanted”.
Indeed, whether we wanted Him or not, He died for all of us anyway, pouring His grace over us, wishing that we might open our hearts to receive Him.
One writer likens the grace of God to the air around us. We are surrounded by air that seeks to permeate into our life, but it is up to us to open ourselves to take it in and have life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16) The fact that we have made the choice to believe is His grace, His gift. (Eph. 2:8)