Jonah 3
OGCEXAMINATION
CONSIDERATIONS
Why would God send a prophet of Israel to a great heathen city like Nineveh?
Do you think the literal meaning of Jonah’s name, dove, has any symbolical significance concerning his mission?
Is there sufficient evidence to establish the historicity of the experience of Jonah? What is the evidence?
ASSOCIATIONS
Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two.
1
2
Jeroboam II
capital of Assyria
Jonah
where Jonah was headed
Nineveh
coastal city of Palestine
Gath-hepher
the Pit
Tarshish
Jonah’s home town
Joppa
king of Israel
Amittai
dove
Sheol
father of Jonah
MEMORIZATIONS
Arise, go to _____, that great city, and _____ against it; for their _____ is come up before me. And God saw their _____, that they turned from their _____ way; and God _____ of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.
CONTEMPLATIONS
Why would God be concerned with the wickedness of Nineveh?
Did Jonah really think he could get away from Jehovah by going to Tarshish?
Why did God cause the storm?
Were the heathen sailors really converted to God?
Is it possible for a man to survive being swallowed by a fish?
How did the fish transport Jonah to Nineveh, an inland city?
Why did Jonah attempt to run away? How did he explain it himself?
Why was Jonah angry when God did not destroy Nineveh?
How is Jonah a type of Christ?
IN EVERY NATION SERMON ON JONAH
Truly I perceive that God shows not partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35
INTRODUCTION
I.
WHO WAS JONAH?
A.
His name means, literally, a dove. He preached God’s peace to the Ninevites
B.
Jonah was a citizen of the northern kingdom, Israel, He lived in Gath-heper in the days of Jeroboam II
C.
Israel was, in spite of its affluence, corrupt and decadent and ripe for the judgment of God
D.
Jonah was a prophet of God; sent by God to preach to Israel (2 Kings 14:25); a contemporary perhaps of Elisha, Joel and Amos
II.
WHAT WAS JONAH’S MISSION?
A.
Jonah was, we believe, to preach God’s judgment upon the wickedness of Nineveh, and upon Nineveh’s repentance and God’s salvation, they became an object lesson for Israel, that, … in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.
B.
THIS IS THE MESSAGE JONAH BRINGS TO US TODAY
God is no respecter of person
He hates and will punish wickedness wherever it is found
He loves and will reward righteousness wherever it is found
This three-fold message is to be delivered to the whole world through preachers
C.
Jonah’s experience became a prophetic type of the work of the Messiah in suffering death for sinraised from the dead to bring salvation to the world
III.
JONAH’S EXPERIENCE HAS ANOTHER LESSON FOR US
A.
God says Go!
B.
Man says No!
C.
The World, His Word can know
DISCUSSION
I.
GOD SAYS, GO!
A.
Through His word (Revealed Commands)
God’s word came to Jonah, how, we know not, probably directly
a.
God’s word had come to the Jews as a nation, earlier, that they were to be witnesses to the nations round about them of the one true God (cf. Deuteronomy 26:19; Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 28:9-10)
b.
But in Jonah’s day the Israelites were so much like their heathen neighbors God commanded Jonah to go bring the nations to repentance as a lesson for Israel
c.
Jonah was commanded to go into urban evangelism in a foreign country! Nineveh was about the size of St. Louis (600,000 pop.; approx. 18 sq. miles in size); its inhabitants noted for their cruelty against enemies, culturally sophisticated.
d.
There was no doubt in Jonah’s mind that God had called him. It was not an emotional experience Jonah had to wonder about.
e.
GOD DID NOT LEAVE ANY PROPHET IN DOUBT WHEN HE CALLED THEM THROUGH HIS WORD! GOD’S COMMAND TO GO IS UNEQUIVOCALLY PLAIN AND IMPERATIVE!
God’s word comes to every Christian whose heart is sensitive and fully surrendered to His will, saying, Go!
a.
Go. and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19-20
b.
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 16:16 ff.
c.
… what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2
d.
GOD’S COMMAND TO GO IS UNEQUIVOCALLY PLAIN AND IMPERATIVE IN THE N.T. Men today are called through the gospel. God does not single out individuals today and speak to them audibly as He did to Moses, Isaiah, etc. BUT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE ENTREATED TO GO SOMEWHERE WITH THE GOSPEL!
B.
God says, Go Through His Ways
God said Go to Jonah through the storm, the testimony of the heathen sailors, the 3 days and nights in the belly of the great fish.
Sometimes God does not get our attention until He hits us between the eyes with the proverbial two-by-four of trial and tribulation.
It was Paul’s blindness on the Damascus road that called him to hear God’s voice; it was Paul despairing of life that made him trust in God (2 Corinthians 1:3-11), and his thorn in the flesh that kept him from boasting (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Alexander Campbell and other great Restoration preachers were called by God through trying experiences
Wes Tuttle and wife directed to God’s call to evangelize through tragedy in the family; Roy Rogers and his wife
When such a call comes through providential working of God in our lives, whether we answer correctly or not depends upon whether we know, understand and are willing to acknowledge that God does call in such a way!
Some recruits to specialized service find many trials in their way before they finally get to the place they have chosen to serve. BUT DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, THIS IS GOD CALLING YOU IN HIS OWN WAY!
C.
God says, Go Through His Whispers to your Conscience
In a report by W. A. Cunningham, Eastern Christian College a few years ago, listing a report from every country in the world, there are 35 countries which would welcome U.S. missionaries, many of them where no missionaries have yet gone!
The longer we wait the more difficult it will be. Did you know that 19 of every 20 who become Christians do so before they reach the age of 25; after 55, only one in 300,000! YOUTH MUST BE WON!
Did you know 40 million people die each yearHOW MANY ARE LOST TO AN ETERNAL HELL?! Will God require their blood at your hands? 80 people die every 60 seconds! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAVE THEM! ABOUT ONE HALF OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION HAVE NEVER HEARD OF JESUS!
1,000,000 Christians serve 100,000 churches of the 180,-000,000 people in the U.S.; 27,000 missionaries work among the other 2.5 billion in the world; 91% of the population of the world has only 6% of the full-time workers for the Lord!
WHAT DOES YOUR CONSCIENCE TELL YOU NOW! LISTEN TO IT! IT IS SAYING, WOE IS ME IF I PREACH NOT THE GOSPEL!
II.
MEN SAY, NO!
A.
Men say, Send someone elsenot me! Whether Jonah said, Why me? or not, we can only guess.
But whom else would God have sent in Jonah’s dayJeroboam II? the heathen sailors? THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAN FOR THE JOB, JONAH! JONAH PUT HIMSELF ON GOD’S LIST OF AVAILABLES WHEN HE ACCEPTED THE LORD AS HIS SAVIOUR!
Who else will God send today? The bartender? other non-Christians? nominal, worldly-minded Christians? JUST AS HE ASKED IN ISAIAH’S DAY, GOD ASKS TODAY, WHOM SHALL I SEND, WHO WILL GO FOR ME? The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are so few!
Even so, my friend, THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN FOR THE JOB, YOU! YOU PUT YOURSELF ON GOD’S AVAILABILITY LIST WHEN YOU ACCEPTED HIS SON AS YOUR LORD! Do not say, Send someone else, YOU DECIDED TO GO FOR HIM WHEN YOU CAME UNTO HIM!
Young people who have had all the opportunities of Christian training in their homes are the ones who cannot say, Send someone else!
Parents, whose children want to go, dare not say, Send someone else.
B.
Men say, Don-’t send me there, send me somewhere else! One thing is certain about Jonah, he did not want to go to Nineveh!
But God knew bestGod knew Jonah and God knew Nineveh, and God knew that Nineveh would repent at the preaching of Jonah
It was a case of running away from God.
Men, even Christian men, want to do everything else under the sun, but preach the gospel.
Men, even Christian men, want to go everywhere except the place they are best suited for and where God is evidently leading them
Why? Selfishness! Laziness! MANY WILL NEVER HEAR THE GOSPEL BECAUSE MEN DECIDE AGAINST GOING TO THEM WHEN THE TASK APPEARS TOO DIFFICULT. THERE ARE NO CONVENIENCES THERE. THE PEOPLE WOULD BE UNRECEPTIVE
Peter said, Don-’t send me to the Gentiles, but God sent him and a great victory was won!
Paul said, Don-’t send me to Troas, but God did and a great victory was won!
God sent St, Patrick to Ireland as a slave-boy to prepare him for later missionary work there
Christ said Don-’t send me to the Cross, but God did, and your salvation was wrought
C.
Men say, Don-’t send me now, send me some other time Perhaps Jonah rationalized with himself, If God would only wait, I would go to Nineveh some day! BUT GOD SAID, NOW!
Moses said, Wait, God, I-’m not eloquent But God said, NOW, MOSES!
Jeremiah said, Wait, God, I am but a youth, But God said, NOW, JEREMIAH!
Esther said, Wait, God, for a more opportune time, But God said, NOW, ESTHER!
GOD’S TIME IS ALWAYS NOW. GOD’S DAY IS ALWAYS TODAY
This does not mean that we should forget preparation to preach the gospel. it does mean that we must go somewhere, everywhere opportunity permits, even while preparing for some particular field. WE CAN PREPARE AS WE GO AND WE CAN GO AS WE PREPARE!
God will not waitif you resist and refuse His call, you will be lost, like king Saul, or like Baalam, or the rich young ruler.
SAY NO! TO THE WORLD; SAY NO! TO SATAN’S ENTICING WHISPERS; SAY NO! TO SELF; BUT FOR THE SAKE OF MILLIONS OF LOST SOULS, DON-‘T SAY NO! TO GOD!
III.
THE WORLD, HIS WORD CAN KNOW
A.
Many will be Receptive:
Jonah probably reasoned on the docks of Joppa: I have preached for years in Israel with no success in getting my own countrymen to repent, how does God expect me to reach foreigners!
But Jonah was in for a big surprise! The whole city received his message from the king down to the lowliest slave.
Why? Probably two reasons: First, they were probably thoroughly disillusioned with their own sinful lives and ready for a message of hope; second, there was evidence in the person of Jonah himself of the truth of his message!
Thousands upon thousands received the gospel in the first century for the same two basic reasons
Thousands upon thousands are ready to receive the gospel today, I am convinced, because of the first reason, but they have not accepted it yet, because it has not yet been evidentially presented to them. Jonah did not play upon the emotions of the Nineviteshe appealed to the evidences available! Jonah knew why he believed and was able to tell the Ninevites why they should believe!
Campus ministers are finding many disillusioned young people who want something solid, true, abiding, factual. This has been the experience of Roy Weece at University of Missouri; of Alan Bemo with Chinese students on Taiwan; of Gordon Souder in Canadaall over the world.
There is a constant barrage of requests coming to Ozark Bible College, and of other Bible Colleges I-’m sure, for trained young people, both men and women, to go to the far-flung limits of our globe. Requests from other missionaries; requests from the peoples of other nations.
B.
Many will Repent
. the king arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. and decreed that the whole city should do likewise
When God saw. how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.
Almost whole cities repented when Paul preached
Millions were saved from the apostate Roman church by the courageous preaching of Martin Luther
Millions have been brought back to Biblical Christianity as a result of the faithful, sacrificial work of Restoration pioneers
Thousands have been won to Christ just recently by dedicated young people; Joe Garman, graduate of OBC in Korean evangelistic crusades won thousands to Christ; the Reggie Thomas team in Africa including 4 OBC students) won thousands to Christ in just the summer months of school vacation.
Ted Hurlburt, in a very candid article about Bible College training, entitled What About the Preacher Shortage? Christian Standard, Feb. 3, 1968, writes: Young people, the fields are white unto the harvest! The message of Christ will still be valid after the last -hippie-’ has had his long hair cut and after any other new fad has lost its momentary popularity. Bible Colleges need more studentsstudents longing to have their convictions of a saving Christ developed so as to effectively communicate His salvation to a dead, doomed, and damned world.
The Lord says to you as he did to Paul at Corinth: Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you,. for I have many people in this city. Acts 18:9-10
Yes, even the intelligentsia, the sophisticated-set, need the gospel and are willing to hear and repent Joplin Globe, Dec. 2, 1967, Pastor Preaches Gospel to Moonport Congregation. After extensive intimate talks with members of his -moonport-’ congregation. he concluded, -from what they told me that they needed basic, simple-’ exposition of Christian doctrine. While they were highly educated in electronics, etc.,. they were -biblically and theologically illiterate.-’ They wanted help in understanding the -person and nature of God-’ and in relating -His teachings and purpose to their own daily lives. -’ After five years at the Cocoa Beach church. he says he has found that the gist of his message needs to be the straight -good news of the gospel.-’
C.
Many will reject
The Bible is a book of history. It is candid, frank, accurate and realistic. It is not a philosophical-idealistic book of theories
Nineveh repented, but Jonah’s own people, Israel, went stupidly, blindly, rebelliously on its merry way to destruction.
This is what discouraged Jonah. Jonah was not a sadistic cold-blooded, monster whose consuming passion was to see innocent women and children slain by God. Fairbairn says, Jonah was downcast because the example of severity had been withheld, which he thought would operate so beneficially upon the minds of his countrymen and without which he seemed to have no means to attaining the great end and object of his life.
All of God’s efforts to bring Israel had failed thus far. Now God sought once more to move them from their downward plunge by working upon them through jealousy and shame while at the same time giving them an example of His mercy and love when repentance is shown. Jonah, like Elijah of old, was waiting for God to speak out of a whirlwind or with fire, but God spoke in a still small voice of forgiveness. The Jews expected Jesus to speak with judgment upon the Gentiles if He were the Messiah. PREACHERS HAVE A REPUTATION OF THINKING THEY KNOW BETTER HOW TO DO THINGS THAN GOD DOES!
So God teaches Jonah a lesson with the gourd. Jonah was distressed when it died because he needed it for shade. So, God needed to save Nineveh as an example of what He would do for Israel if she repented. God’s cause would suffer if Nineveh should be destroyed. SO, IN SPITE OF ALL MAN CAN DO AND IN SPITE OF ALL GOD DOES, MANY WILL REJECT. Many are called, but few are chosen.
Isaiah was told, when he had asked, How long, O Lord, Until cities lie waste and without inhabitant. Very few paid attention to Isaiah.
Jeremiah was so discouraged, he wished he had never been born, but there was a fire in his bones and he could not quit.
Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Peter and Paul. all had their moments of discouragement, their failures, their enemies, BUT THEIR VICTORIES FAR OUTWEIGHED THEIR DEFEATS, AND THEY KNEW THAT ULTIMATE VICTORY WAS ASSURED! They may lose a battle here and there but the war would be won!
Bill Junkins, former President of Midwest Christian College, writing about having left the ministry from discouragement and returning to the ministry wrote, Love your calling as a ministry sent to you by the Lord himself. It is the highest calling on earth. It is an invitation and challenge to walk with God where God walked when he visited our planet as our loving, serving, suffering Savior.
CONCLUSION
I.
JONAH, THE RELUCTANT PROPHET, TEACHES US:
A.
God Says, Go!
B.
Men say, No!
C.
The World, His Word Can Know
II.
LET THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAK TO YOU THROUGH THESE WORDS OF HIS:
A.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)
B.
For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)
C.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. For the love of Christ constrains us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
MY FRIEND, THERE SIMPLY IS NO WAY FOR THE BILLIONS DOOMED TO AN ETERNAL HELL TO KNOW GOD AND BE SAVED, EXCEPT YOU BECOME A PREACHER AND TELL AS MANY AS YOU CAN!
THE WHITE MAN’S BOOK OF HEAVEN
In the fall of 1832 five Indians traveled to St. Louisin search of the White Man’s Book of Heaven. They had heard about it from explorers and traders. It took them seven months to reach their destination.
When they arrived they were received by General Clark and entertained for the winter. However, two others died during the winter months, leaving only two of the original five. In the spring, when they were ready to leave, General Clark gave them a banquet. During the banquet one of them gave a farewell address. Finally, the two survivors started back to their tribe, but one perished on the way and only one of the five ever saw his tribe again. Following is the touching speech that was made at the banquet by the Indian who had traveled so far in search of the White Man’s Book of Heaven, *only to be shown images and burning candles and never once a copy of the Bible.
I came to you over the trail of many moons, from the setting sun. You were the friends of my fathers, who have all gone the long way. I came with an eye partly open for my people who sit in darkness. I go back blind to my blind people. I made my way to you with strong arms through many enemies and strange lands that I might carry much back to them. I go with both arms broken and empty. Two fathers came with us. They were the braves of many winters and wars. We leave them asleep here by your great water and wigwams. My people sent me for -The White Man’s Book of Heaven.-’ You took me to where they worship the great Spirit with candles, but the Book was not there. You showed me the images of the Great Spirit and the pictures of the good lands beyond, but the Book was not among them to tell us the way. I am going back to my people in the dark land. You make my feet heavy with gifts, and my moccasins will grow old with carrying them, and yet the Book is not among them. When I tell my poor, blind people, after the more snow, in the Big Council that I did not bring the Book, no word will be spoken by our old men or by our young braves. One by one they will rise up and go out in darkness and they will go a long path to other hunting grounds. No white man will go with them and no White Man’s Book of Heaven will make the way plain. I have no more words.*
What a fearful catastrophe! What a terrible denunciation! Would to God there had been a Christian with a copy of the Bible, who could have met the need of the Indians, sent as they were by the Spirit of God. What, I wonder, will the people of St. Louis of that day have to say when they stand before God? But now may God speak to our hearts, lest we, too, fail Him. May we do what we can to give The Book of Heaven to those who do not have it. Remember, a thousand tribes still wait in darkness and midnight gloom for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How will we excuse ourselves if we, too, fail Him in this dark day and hour?
But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel. and they shall afflict you (Amos 6:14).
With the Assyrian campaigns into the west under their king, Shalmaneser III (859-824 B. C.)whose commanding figure we see heredisaster loomed ahead for Israel and Judah. I set out from Nineveh and crossed the Tigris is how this monarch begins his account of his first campaign against Damascus. In the fighting which led up to the Battle of Karkar in 853 B. C. King Ahab of Israel, who took part in the Syrian coalition against Assyria, had his first encounter with Assyrian troops. FROM: THE BIBLE AS HISTORY IN PICTURES
By Werner Keller - Wm. Morrow Co.
Jonah 3:1-3
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING WITH GODTHE COMMISSION RENEWED
TEXT: Jonah 3:1-3
1
And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of Jehovah. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days-’ journey.
QUERIES
a.
Why was Jonah now ready to go to Nineveh?
b.
What is the meaning of a … city of three days-’ journey
PARAPHRASE
And God’s word came to Jonah a second time. God commanded Jonah, Arise and go to Nineveh. I warn you as I did before, Nineveh is a great metropolis, and you are to preach to its inhabitants the message that I alone shall give you to preach. So the converted Jonah arose and journeyed to Nineveh just as the Lord had commanded him. Now Nineveh was such a large metropolis that it would take a man three days to walk all the way across it.
SUMMARY
God gives Jonah another chance to surrender to His will for the prophet’s life. Jonah obeys.
COMMENT
Jonah 3:1. THE WORD OF JEHOVAH CAME UNTO JONAH THE SECOND TIME. Jonah has had a conversion experience! He has been raised to a new life. Physically he had come to the point of no returnexcept by the power of God he had returned! Spiritually he had died to himself and was raised a new spiritual man. John Noble, the American who spent over ten years in Russian prison camps relates a similar conversion experience in his book, I Found God In Soviet Russia.
Mr. Noble, when first imprisoned, was forced to go nine days without even the slightest morsel of food. Here is what he says: With my last strength, I struggled onto my knees and earnestly asked the Lord simply to close my eyes this night and release me from my mortal suffering. I said, in effect, -Dear Lord, I give up; I can-’t go on any longer. I have no way out but through Thee. Lord, close my eyes and take me to Thee, or if it be Thy will that I must go on, give me the strength to do so, and lend me Thy hand to guide me. My will is broken, Thy will be done. Amen.-’ I committed my soul entirely to the hands of the Lord. Unworthy of His grace though I was, I felt prepared to die. This time, I had not prayed that my will be done but that the Lord’s will be done. I was completely submissive to that will. By committing my life to Christ without reservation, I had the amazing experience of being born again of the Spirit. It was the most wonderful, miraculous sensation I have ever experienced. This is somewhat the same experience Jonah describes himself feeling in the belly of the great fish when he had no other place to turn than God. After his experience in the sea, he probably preached like one raised from the dead. Macaulay characterized Demosthenes-’ oratory as reason made red hot by passion. Jonah’s was the Word of God made red hot by conversion of the orator, The prophet had died, as it were, and been brought back to life again. It always requires an experience like Jonah’s to make a good preacher!
So God called Jonah again to go to Nineveh. God would not suspend His concern for the souls of that great city just because one of His prophets disobeyed. Furthermore God’s mercy and love is long-suffering toward the wayward prophet. God is rich in mercythe riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. leads to repentance (Romans 2:4) if we will but respond.
Jonah 3:2. PREACH UNTO IT THE PREACHING THAT I BID THEE. What was the preaching that God bade Jonah preach? At the first command God told the prophet to preach against that wicked city. His task was to preach against wickedness. Then we learn from Jonah 3:4 that he cried, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. All this, of course, was to the end that the people would repent. This message of repentance still needs to be preached today. Jesus referred to Jonah’s preaching comparing it to His message, for His message was, Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Peter on the day of Pentecost preached, Repent and be immersed, everyone of you. Paul, to the philosophers of Athens preached, … now he commandeth all men everywhere to repent. The reason these men preached repentance was they preached. the preaching that God bade them preach. This is still good advice for all preachers: preach only that which God commands. Preach His Word, from His Book. We live in an age in which society tends to dictate to the preacher, and social pressures and modern theological trends seek to obscure the propositional revelation of God, His Word, the Bible. Peter wrote, If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). Men who do not declare from the pulpit, Thus saith the Lord, are not fit to stand in that sacred spot.
Jonah 3:3 SO JONAH. WENT UNTO NINEVEH. AN EXCEEDING GREAT CITY, OF THREE DAYS-’ JOURNEY. This time Jonah went according to the word of the Lord. There is no running away this time. There is not even any reluctance. He has learned his lesson. he has a new heart in the matter. he is a new man for God.
Because archeologists have not yet found evidence that Nineveh is as extensive a city as three days journey would seem to indicate, some scholars have accused this book of being historically inaccurate. But must we assume that we know all there is to know about the metropolis of Nineveh and pronounce the book of Jonah irrevocably inaccurate?! There are a number of possible answers to this alleged problem; (a) the statement could refer to the circumference of the city; (b) the statement could mean that journeying leisurely, stopping to preach at likely spots, it would take three days to journey the length or breadth of the city; (c) or, more likely, it could mean that a journey across greater Nineveh, including its suburbs (of which we spoke on Jonah 1:2), would take three days. The city was great, not because it impressed God by its size or fame, but because God was concerned with the many souls in it which were lost and because it would be an almost overwhelming task, in the eyes of Jonah, to preach against it.
QUIZ
How had Jonah changed? What experience had he undergone?
Why did God not cast Jonah off after one disobedience?
What did God bid Jonah preach? Is there a lesson for us in that?
Is the note about a city of three day’s journey inaccurate?
Jonah 3:4
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING WITH GODTHE CRY FOR REPENTANCE
TEXT: Jonah 3:4
4
And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
QUERIES
a.
How far did Jonah go into the city in a day?
b.
Why did Jonah give a time limit of forty days?
PARAPHRASE
When Jonah began his day’s journey into the city, he found a suitable place and a fitting opportunity for beginning his preaching, so he began to preach, saying, Forty days from now and this great city of Nineveh will be destroyed by Jehovah God!
SUMMARY
Jonah begins his doom song to Nineveh.
Jonah 3:4. HE CRIED. YET FORTY DAYS, AND NINEVEH SHALL BE OVERTHROWN. Jonah did not go into the city one full days-’ journey and then begin to preach. The text definitely indicates that he started on his first days-’ journey and then sometime during that beginning of the journey he began to preach. The word overthrown is from the Hebrew word which means literally, destroyed from the very foundations, and is the same word used in speaking of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Lange says of the forty days: Forty days are here a round number, meaning after a short time, whose term Jonah measures by the period of the deluge. K & D say: The respite granted is fixed at forty days, according to the number which, even as early as the flood, was taken as the measure for determining the delaying of visitation of God. What purpose God had in assigning exactly 40 days to Nineveh’s period of probation it is idle to speculate. He most certainly would extend His grace long enough for all to hear the message and make response, but His grace would not be extended forever. Furthermore, Nineveh’s cup of sin was running overGod’s cup of wrath was filled to the brim and about to overflow. Nineveh had had many opportunities to know and repent and now their judgment was fixed and announcedif repentance did not come with haste, the sentence would be executed.
QUIZ
How far did Jonah go into the city before he began to preach?
Why did God assign the time of 40 days for repentance?
Jonah 3:5-10
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING WITH GOD THE CONSEQUENCE OF REPENTANCE
TEXT: Jonah 3:5-10
5
And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6
And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7
And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water;
8
but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from the violence that is in his hands.
9
Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.
QUERIES
a.
How would the Ninevites know God and to fast?
b.
Why have the animals fast also?
c.
Does God change His mind (repent)?
PARAPHRASE
When Jonah preached what God said He was going to do to Nineveh, the people of Nineveh believed God. Then they decreed a certain period of abstinence from eating or drinking called a fast. At this time, as a sign of mourning over their sins, they dressed themselves in harsh, irritating garments of haircloth. Even men of luxury, ease and importance did these things, as well as the people of low estate. News of Jonah’s preaching and the penitence of the people reached the king of Assyria and he was moved to repentance. He stepped down from his throne, took off his royal robes and dressed in haircloth and sat in ashes, a further act of humiliation to atone for his sins. And the king made an official proclamation, saying, Let no one, not even the animals, eat or drink any thing during this time of fasting. Let this be a time of national penitence. Let everyone, even the animals, be dressed in robes of haircloth manifesting our repentance, and let everyone cry mighty prayers of supplication for forgiveness unto Jehovah God. Let every man and woman stop doing the violent and wicked things they are doing and turn to doing good. Then it may be that Jehovah God will fulfill His promise to be merciful to those who repent and will withhold His fierce wrathwe do not wish to perish. And God took account of their works of repentance as they stopped their wickedness and turned to doing good and He was pleased. Just as He had already decreed from the beginning, God withheld the wrath He said He was going to visit upon Nineveh. Because they repented, God spared them.
SUMMARY
Nineveh’s repentance is nationwide, in high and low places, and is manifest in cessation of wickedness as well as in religious acts.
COMMENT
Jonah 3:5. AND THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH BELIEVED GOD; AND THEY PROCLAIMED A FAST. It is interesting to note that belief came before repentance in this case. In fact, it is a scriptural principle taught throughout the Bible that belief must always precede repentance. How can a man be motivated to perform works of repentance if he does not believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6). Too much of the time preachers are guilty of expecting nominal Christians to lead lives of repentance when their belief is only nominal! Conviction must come before conversion! Persuasion precedes penitence!
After assent comes action. Jonah uses the same word for believed that is used to describe Abraham’s faith (Genesis 15:6; cp. Exodus 14:31; 2 Chronicles 20:20). It is a word that signifies saying yea and amen to God’s Word as it is revealed. A fast was declared by all the people of Nineveh. It was a national penitence. Men of fame and importance and wealth mourned their sins, as well as the poor and unknown. The sackcloth was a prickly, coarse garment woven of goats-’ hair. It was usually worn over other garments but sometimes next to the skin. It was designed to be irritating and afflicting to the flesh.
Jonah 3:6. THE KING OF NINEVEH. COVERED HIM WITH SACKCLOTH. That the mighty king of the mightiest nation on earth would humble himself so is evidence of the tremendous impact of Jonah’s work. Fasting is abstinence from food and drink. It is a form of afflicting or chastening the flesh and in this way chastening the soul. The second external sign of repentance was wearing sackcloth. The third sign was the use of ashes. All of these religious acts go back to the time of the patriarchs (cf. Genesis 37:34; Job 16:15; 2 Samuel 13:19). Ashes upon the head signified man’s recognition of his own insignificance (cf. Genesis 18:27) and was a sign of self-abasement.
It would be well to discuss here the question, in what respect was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites (Luke 11:30)? Jesus said there, For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The words in the original Greek are somewhat more expressive than the English version. The Lord and Jonah were not merely equally signs to the people among whom respectively they delivered the message of God, but they were signs of the same kind (kathos egeneto Ionas), according as, or in the same manner as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be.
In what respect, then, was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites? We are inclined to agree with Fairbairn, that Jonah was not simply as the Lord’s prophet to the Ninevites, but as himself a wonder in the earth; being one who had, in a manner, tasted of death, and yet had not seen corruptionwho had been sent into Sheol because of sin, and now again returned to witness for righteousness among the living, and show them the way of salvation. We believe that some way or another the people of Nineveh must have had evidence by eyewitnesses (other than Jonah himself) of Jonah’s miraculous experience. Fairbairn, again, Unquestionably if Jonah, in respect to that portion of his history, was appointed to be a sign to the Ninevites (of God’s merciful dealing with him after his repentance); then as such, the thing wrought (the miracle) must have been open at least to their inquiries, and capable of being ascertained, so as to produce its due effect upon their minds. We cannot imagine the people of Nineveh (including the king himself) to be motivated to fasting and cessation of violence and wickedness on the mere cry of impending ruin by a stranger, of whom they were totally ignorant! By all the experiences we have had with motivating human belief and conduct we are compelled to suppose that before these Ninevites would make such a thorough-going response they would have investigated the credibility of Jonah’s authoritativeness. Jonah’s being a sign of God’s punishment of sin on the one hand and God’s forgiveness of the sinner on the other hand peculiarly fitted him to be also a type, symbol, sign to a future generation of his own countrymen in respect to the history of the Messiah’s work and kingdom. The Lord refers especially to Jonah’s humiliation or punishment (being in Sheol for three days and nights) as being the sign like unto which He Himself would be a sign. Jonah, whom they justly revered as a true prophet, had been sent to the depths of Sheol, but the Ninevites did not stumble at his humiliating experiencethey listened and obeyed his message. I will suffer a like humiliating experience. I am going in precisely the opposite direction you desire of the Messiah, Jesus tells the Jews of His generation, and you do not receive Me. This is why the Ninevites would stand up and condemn the Jews of Jesus-’ generationthey repented at Jonah’s preaching. Jesus meant to tell them that they were looking in the wrong direction for an undoubted seal of his divine commissionthe circumstances and nature of His Messianic work required that he should bear upon him the signs, not of heavenly splendor and power, but of profound humiliation, even to going down into Hades (death). But there is another aspect to the sign of Jonahthat of his resurrection. And this is intended to be included in the similarity Jesus makes of Himself and Jonah. He was to become to the world the sign that Jonah was to Nineveh only when He exhibited the power of God at the resurrection. There is manifestly a great difference between Christ and Jonah, as well as a similarity. Christ did what Jonah could not be said to dobore, in His humiliation and death, the burden of all men’s guilt and condemnation, and by His resurrection justified all who will believe. So the miracle of Jonah became a sign to his contemporaries of the wrath of God and the power of God and the love of God. He also typified the ultimate sign of God in Jesus Christ of the wrath of God upon all sin; the power of God over death; the love of God for penitent believers.
Jonah 3:7-8 AND HE MADE PROCLAMATION. LET NEITHER MAN NOR BEAST. TASTE ANY THING. LET THEM BE COVERED WITH SACKCLOTH. AND. CRY MIGHTILY UNTO GOD. TURN EVERY ONE FROM THE VIOLENCE THAT IS IN HIS HANDS. Why were animals involved? To show total repentance. The beasts were property and, as such, were considered a part of the person who owned them. Furthermore, animals live with men and are affected by the deeds of men (cf. our comments on Joe 1:18-20). Causing the animals to participate in the time of mourning and repentance is an ancient Asiatic custom. Herodotus relates that the Persians, when mourning for their general, Masistios, who had fallen in the battle at Platea, shaved off the hair from their horses, and adds, Thus did the barbarians, in their way, mourn for the deceased Masistios. K & D say, This custom originated in the idea that there is a biotic rapport between man and the larger domestic animals. the thought is that just as the animals which live with man are drawn into fellowship with his sin (Romans 8:19-23), so their sufferings might also help to appease the wrath of God. It is evident that withholding food and water from the animals would cause them to groan and cry out to God. This biotic rapport is expressed in Joe 1:18 ff. The kings order to put sackcloth on the animals shows how intense his desire for total repentance was. One of the most interesting things about the king’s decree is that of everyone turning from the violence that is in his hands. Their repentance was to be made manifest in ceasing to do evil and learning to do good (cf. Isaiah 1:16-17; and our comments on Joe 2:12-13). Repentance means a change of life and a change of attitude.
Jonah 3:9-10 WHO KNOWETH WHETHER GOD WILL NOT TURN AND REPENT. AND GOD REPENTED. We come now to one of the most perplexing problems of the Bible. Does God repent? The words who knoweth are not so much a question as they are an expression of hope. The very fact that Jonah, a prophet of Jehovah God, had come to warn Nineveh was an indication there would be hope if they should repent. God does not repent or change His mind! His will is immutable (Hebrews 6:17; Hebrews 12:8; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Psalms 33:11, Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 14:24; Isaiah 46:9-10; I Sam. 5:29; Psalms 110:4; Ezekiel 24:14; Zechariah 8:14, etc.). On the other hand, many scriptures may be cited which speak of God repenting (cf. Genesis 6:6; Exodus 32:14; 2 Samuel 24:16; Judges 2:18; 1 Samuel 15:11, etc.).
In the first place, often in the O.T. we find human characteristics attributed to God. This is called anthropomorphism which means to describe God after the manner of men. For example, we see with our eyes, and since we know that God sees all things, therefore we say God has eyes. This manner of describing God is a condescension or accommodation to our finite incapability of understanding and describing the infinite. This holds true with regard to God repenting. God is not ignorant, weak, fallible. He does not make mistakes which He regrets. He does not change His mind. He knows all things and sees all things from the beginning to the end. But events may take place which appear, from man’s viewpoint, to be changes in God’s mind. When in Genesis 6:6-7 God is represented as repenting that He had made man, does this mean God suddenly decided He had made a mistake in creating man and now regrets it and wishes He had never done so? No! Whatever God does is right and good. When He made man He saw that it was good. But, being a God of love, He made man with a freedom of choice. What pained the heart of God was that man had made the wrong choice.
Man’s freedom of choice brings us to the second point in this consideration. God’s moral law is immutable and unchangeable. When man abides within the revealed will of God it is God’s immutable decree that whatever happens to him will turn out for his blessing. When man, of his own free choice, insists upon rebelling against the will of God it is God’s immutable decree that whatever happens to him shall turn out to his condemnation and judgment. The repentance is up to manit is man’s responsibility, yes, PRIVILEGE, to change, so long as God shall grant him life and opportunity to do so! Man may change, but God does not for He is perfect in all His ways. To say that God does not change is not to say that God does not act!
Fairbairn, in pointing out the pronouncement of God upon sin and then His compassion upon repentance, says, … this manifests Him to be unalterably the same. Conducting his administration in righteousness, he must change his procedure toward men when their relation toward Him becomes changed. Abraham knew this principle of the Divine government when he said, That be far from thee to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that righteous should be as the wicked; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25) Ezekiel also, Hear now, O Israel! Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquities and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. So when Nineveh repented and changed their minds and deeds, for God to have gone ahead and punish them would have displayed Him as a God indifferent to the very basic distinction between right and wrong.
It is in connection with this and other eternal principles of the Righteous, Holy, Just, Compassionate, Longsuffering God that the Bible says God changes not,
Someone will say, If God does not change, why pray? Prayer is not to tell God what we needHe already knows that! Prayer is not to change the mind of GodHe is unchangable! Then what is prayer for? Prayer is both an inward and an outward manifestation of a dependent love for God. Prayer is an expression of relationship. That relationship is one of faith, trust, surrender, dependence, adoration, gratitudeof abiding in the will of one’s Heavenly Father. This is why prayer is of the utmost necessity! Man, being free to choose which relationship he will have toward God, must choose the relationship of abiding in His will in order to receive the blessings God has already determined to give him (cf. 1 John 5:14-15). God has anticipated our prayers before the foundation of the world. He has built the answer to our prayers into the very providential government and structure of the universe. He knows that we will pray and that we will pray in a spontaneous manner as a helpless child cries to his mother or father. God has put the universe together on a principle of personal relationships in which He answers prayer, Parents know how to answer petitions of children in anticipation. Even with their limited knowledge parents are able to anticipate the future to a certain degree. For example a mother, caring for the fevered little body of a sick child, provides the medicine, the drink of water and other comforts, before the night comes on, knowing that there will be a cry in the night. When the little one cries out in helpless dependence, the mother has planned the answer.
It is interesting to note in Jonah 3:10 that God saw their works. It was not until the repentance of the Ninevites was manifested through works that their salvation was effected by God! Works are both necessary for salvation and a result of salvation. This is a very plain doctrine of both the Old and New Testaments. Even belief is said to be a work by the Lord Himself (cf. John 6:29 and see comments in The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, pg. 238, by Paul T. ButlerCollege Press).
QUIZ
What personal response of the Ninevites toward God preceded their repentance?
How did the Ninevites manifest their penitent attitude?
How was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites?
How was Jonah a sign to the Jews of Jesus-’ day?
Why did the king of Nineveh decree that the animals should wear sackcloth?
Does God repent? Explain!
Why pray?