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Jonah is a reluctant missionary. Like Ramon Lull in the year 1291 he had
second thoughts about carrying out the Lord’s command! Critics have long
attacked this particular Old Testament book.
It is regarded as unhistorical … a parable …
There is no indication of this, and it is obvious
that the Lord Jesus regarded it as true (Matthew 12:39-41).
* * * * * * * * * * * *
1. The Directive He Received
“Go to Assyria!”
But HOW did God speak to His servant?
A dream? A vision? An inspired utterance? An audible voice? …
We do not know.
More important is the question … “How does God speak to us today?”
There are four avenues used by God to reveal His
will to man today …
(a) The
Scriptures. (God’s Word!!)
(b) The
Spirit’s Witness to one’s own heart
(c) The
Saintly Advice of mature believers
(d) Circumstances … if God is calling He will
open the door. But circumstances alone
are not sufficient. Jonah even found a
ship going to Tarshish … but God’s Word had said, “Go to Nineveh”, capital of
the Assyrian empire!
Some folk think they are in God’s will because they
are free from troubles. Huh! Paul was in God’s will and he had plenty of
troubles. On the other hand here is
Jonah … disobedient, sleeping soundly in the midst of a hurricane!! (1:5)
…………………………………
2. The Disobedience He Displayed
A look at a map will reveal Tarshish (Spain?) is the
opposite direction to Assyria. Notice
the ‘down’s in the story …
·
Down to
Joppa, the sea port today known as Jaffa (v. 3)
·
Down
into the ship (vs. 3b, 5)
·
Down
into the sea (v. 15)
·
Down
into the belly of the fish (v. 17)
Disobedience to God’s call is always a downward road. Jesus slept during a storm for He was sure of His Father’s presence. Jonah, on the other hand, slept because he thought he had escaped God’s presence! (vs. 3a, 10).
The storm ceases … and they make harbour safely.
………………………………
3. The Deliverance He Experienced
Verse 17 tells that God had prepared a great fish to
swallow Jonah. The New Testament quotes
this passage as being historical … you cannot have imaginary Ninevites who
repented at the imaginary preaching of an imaginary Jonah rising up at the Last
Day to condemn literal Jews who did not repent at the literal preaching of a
literal Jesus! (J.S. Baxter.) Read
Matthew 12:39-41!!
…………………………………………..
4. The Divine Drama He Illustrated
(a) The Sailors become an illustration of
storm-tossed humanity on the sea of sin.
(b) Their Situation is desperate. Death seems imminent.
(c) Their
Self-effort avails
nothing. No man can save himself!
(d) Their
Sacrifice …
they are saved by the sacrifice of God’s prophet … a reminder that it was the
death of One greater than Jonah Who gave His life voluntarily to still the
storm.
(e) Their
Salvation …
as a result of that sacrifice they reached the harbour … nd the Heavenly shore
awaits those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus. Have you?
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Over and over again the Old Testament illustrates the exciting New Testament truths of our Redemption. We neglect to read its pages to our spiritual detriment.
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1. Jonah
Praying
From the depths of the Mediterranean Sea Jonah cries
out to the only One Who can deliver him. Chapter 2 records his prayer … written
in the past tense because it was recorded at a later date. He acknowledges his
folly (v. 7) in forsaking the Lord … and he rededicates himself to His service
(v. 9).
And God commands His sea-creature to deposit Jonah
upon the shore (v. 10).
* * * * * * * * * *
(2) Jonah Preaching
Off he goes to Nineveh and delivers the word God has
given him (v. 4).
The ensuing revival may well be explained by
faithful preaching coupled with the fact that the people of Nineveh knew of
Jonah’s experience. The Fish God, Nina,
from when Nineveh derived its name, was depicted as a woman giving birth to a
fish.
Thus the preacher may have been received with holy
awe. In church history the conversion of a king, leading to the conversion of
all his subjects, is not rare.
Nineveh repented and the Hand of Judgement was
stayed!
* * * * * * * * * *
3. Jonah’s Pouting
Imagine an angel reading the Book of Jonah. He (or it?) would have no trouble believing
the story of the great fish … but they would be dumbfounded by the events
recorded here!
A revival … a million converts … and the preacher is
sulking. This leads us to the reason
for Jonah’s flight (chapter 1) … “I knew,” he says to God, “that You would
forgive them! AND I DIDN’T WANT YOU
TO!!”
Why not?
Because Jonah considers his God to be the exclusive
God of the Jews and nobody else.
Despite the fact God had chosen the Jews to be His witnesses to the
Gentile nations.
The love of God is broader
than the measure of man’s mind …
and the heart of the Eternal is most
wonderfully kind! (Faber)
Why! He even
loves Assyrians!! And sinners!! And me!!
But Jonah was like those Pharisees of our Lord’s day
who would cross the street if they saw a Gentile ‘dog’ coming! It was a narrow, bigoted, exclusiveness that
had caused Jonah to flee!
The withering of the plant causes Jonah some
annoyance (v. 9), the shade is gone (v. 8), and God points out that Jonah’s
sadness over a perishing plant is not to be compared with His sadness over a
perishing people! (v. 11.)
This is the thrust of the book. Not the story of a great fish but the story of a
great God Who loves all, “red and yellow, black and white, Jew and Gentile!”
… And He has no pleasure in the death
of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11).
Jonah probably wrote the book himself as a confession
of his folly.
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Jonah
Into the mouth,
so gaping and wide,
the prophet of
Israel slithered inside;
down into
darkness he quickly did slide –
and sat in the
dark and the damp … terrified!
But there in
that prison that God had prescribed
Jonah lifted
his voice; to the Lord he now cried,-
“This isn’t the
place that I want to reside,
and I’m really
not fond of a submarine ride…”
With a hic and
a burp Jonah was cast outside,
so he splashed
to the shore with the incoming tide;
the people who
saw him were all goggle-eyed
and he had a
revival that spread nation-wide!
The part I like
best – and it can’t be denied,
is that Jonah’s
a picture of Christ crucified;
three days and
three nights and then out did he stride
from that
prison unique he had once occupied !
(D.P.)
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