what did god do to teach jonah a lesson

It says, For God so loved the world.. by Shelby Faith. Did he leap for joy and shouted hooray? We could be preaching, but our hearts may not be in preaching. "Lest we forget lest we forget!". Jonah 3 & 4. Jonah would have to travel this by horse/camel. 6 It has been estimated that Samaria, the capital of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel, may have had some 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants in Jonahs dayless than a fourth of Ninevehs population. Sometimes when we read Jonah we shake our heads and go seesh really? He gets tossed around by a storm and swallowed by a whale (or big fishwhatever floats your boat). Did they repent when a prophet preached to them? We read: Now Nineveh herself proved to be a city great to God. (Jonah 3:3) Three times, the record of Jonah quotes Jehovah as referring to Nineveh the great city. (Jonah 1:2; 3:2; 4:11) Why was this city great, or important, to Jehovah? How did Jonah show faith and courage as he preached in Nineveh? This was at least part of the reason why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh - he was afraid they would repent, when all along he wanted God to judge the Assyrian capital. This is both an indictment of Jonah and all who treat Gods grace as proprietary, and a challenge to begin to see the world through the eyes of God who created it. It has spiritual ramifications that affects both our spiritual life, and daily life. Are we there yet? God have mercy! He is the weeping God ofJonah 4in human form. The Lord provided a gourd or plant that protected Jonah. The Bible record is silent. God punishes Jonah by having a large fish or whale swallow him whole, but Jonah is later reconciled and forgiven. PlusFULL access to my printables vault! Jonah remains today a powerful lesson on compassion, on purpose, and obedience. God has won Jonah's heart back in the right direction, so he commanded the fish to grant him bail and asked Jonah the second time to go preach in the city of Nineveh. 2. I would love to hear from you! It is the book itself. Thank you for having available online. That is exactly what happened later on.Zeph. God plans to bring unity to all things under Christ - Ephesians 1:10. One of those is the way the historical account is conceived and recorded. They are the same people who have killed a lot of Israelites. I enjoy the Bible study and I want to be a blessing to others. When he determines to bring punishment on the wicked, he first uses his representatives on earth to issue warnings, for he is eager to see the wicked do what the Ninevites didrepent and change their ways. The Bible states that the Lord had Jonah caught by a giant fish for three days and then vomit him up (presumably near Nineveh). 4) A storm threatens to overturn the ship. His most recent book is a second edition release: Hit by Friendly Fire: What to do when Another Believer Hurts You(Resource Publications, 2022). You have remained in right site to begin getting this info. On the contrary, he is reasonable, adaptable, and merciful. He is the recipient of the Legion of Merit. Milton has also served as chancellor and president of seminaries and is the author of more than thirty books. Had he learned to speak the Assyrian tongue? Last week we looked at the Jonah 1 & 2 and God's Mercy on a Reluctant Prophet. In his mind, they deserve nothing but death. Expressing hope that the true God would soften upon seeing their repentance, the king said: God may . Fr. We must realize we dont see it all, we dont understand it all. After all, he felt sorry for the plant only because it had benefited him personally. God's command to him remained the same; he was still to preach repentance to Nineveh (see Jonah 2:10-3:4). However, had he allowed Jehovahs discipline to work a thorough change in him? There is a multitude of slain, a great number of bodies, countless corpses - They stumble over the corpses - because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through her harlotries, and families through her sorceries.". Prophet Jonah disobeyed God and attempted to escape, but God caught him red-handedly. 17 The despondent prophet left Nineveh and headed, not home, but eastward, where some mountains overlooked the region. God's Love vs. Jonah's Anger. And Jonah has good earthly reasons why, but God looks beyond the earthly and looks through His spiritual eyes. If I go up to the heavens,you are there;if I make my bedin the depths, you are there.If I rise on the wings of the dawn,if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,your right handwill hold me fast.If I say, Surely the darkness will hide meand the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be darkto you;the night will shine like the day,for darkness is as light to you. 6. Lesson 48, November 21-27. Jonah's obedience to God, albeit reluctant, brought about great results, results that only God could bring. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me;All Your billows and your waves passed over me (Jonah 2:1-3 NKJV). But none of these factors made the city important to Jehovah God. But those things need to bow down to Gods ways. I have learned 5 keys from the life of Jonah that I want to share with you! They abstained from food. Jonah 4:2 is remarkable, also, in that it demonstrates that when God shifts His affection on the people we should expect conversion. The Lord controlled the elements of weather (Jon. So, Yahweh "sent out a great wind on the sea." As a result, Jonah was thrown to the sea and God saved him. Jonah did not like grace because it was not something which one could earn. He wanted to reach Jonahs heart. The fast was so great that even animals fasted and cried out to God! Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly: Jonah was still in the belly of the fish but he knew it was enough that the LORD had heard his cry ( You heard my voice ). Is it True for Christians That 'Once Saved, Always Saved'? However, as the story unfolds we can see how the Lord draws him from fear . Its been an amazing journey to take a deeper look at this Old Testament prophet. 1) That while our love for others fail, God's compassion knows no ends. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. Ninevah was a city in Assyria. For this article, we will take a quick look at some things that Jonah's life and ministry teaches us today, in a world where man-centered Christianity has grown, and many are looking for the real deal about Christ. I am passionate about inspiring people to find their God-given purpose in life. For in placing the question as He does, the Lord God requires each and every one of us to give a response. Of course, we know that you and I cant flee from God. Jonah was the prophet who served during the reign of Jeroboam II in the Eighth Century before Christ. Why werent Adam and Eve told to plenish instead of replenish? But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. A Heartless Prophet, Jonah 4. The essential nature of God and His mission in the world should be a powerful motivation as well as a source of confidence as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission. As a result of his rebellion, the Lord sent a wild storm. These are only 5 thingsthere are more! At one time their ancestors had known the Lord but over time the people had drifted away and taken a different path, one . Jonah's lack of response indicates that he got the point. James Taiwo Click to tweet. Give me the ability to do whatever you ask of me. This post may contain affiliate links. Can you elaborate? Jonah 1-4. Post by James Taiwo author ofBook of Prayers|Pinnacle of Compassion|Bible Application Lessons|Success Express Lane|Bible Giants of Faith& others. But dont forget to download my free Jonah character study pdf! Jonah found Nineveh to be a huge city full of wrongdoing. (b)How did Jehovah deal with his distressed prophet? (a)What object lesson did Jehovah teach Jonah? What gets missed is Jonah's repentance . (b)What lesson do we all need to learn? Could you imagine how many times you would hear your kids say. What kind of journey lay ahead of Jonah, and how did he feel about his destination? No; it fulfilled its purpose as a warning. 2. Jonah Goes to Nineveh Main Point: We should share God's grace with others. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). . We all have our opinions, and ideas about how things should happen or be. When the ship is threatened, he tells them to throw him over, willing to give his life to do what he thinks is best for Israel. He is just doing it just for the sake of preaching. We need to realize who the Ninevites were. Jonah was then swallowed by a great fish and was brought to Nineveh. All rights reserved. The story of Jonah demonstrates why God so often leads us one step at a time without telling us more. Jonah was a prophet in Israel (the Northern Kingdom, see 2 Kings 14:25). God would use Israel to reach the entire world with His love and grace and forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ. I like this commentary, indeed there are great lessons to learn from Jonah's situation. 10,11. Jonah admits that he worships the God of heaven and earth and that right now, he is fleeing from God's direct command. We can come to think that we are blessed to be in the family of God because of something of value or usefulness that impresses God. Yes, that means precisely what it says: Jonah was preferring death over the advance of Gods grace to Nineveh. They are the enemies of Israel. When we accept Jesus and our Lord and Savior, then we need t to not just talk the talk but actually walk the walk. 4 Jonah did not see Nineveh as Jehovah did. People listened! 10 How did Jehovah react to the Ninevites repentance? And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. Obedience is the key to receivingGods benefits! He gets on the boat and flees Jerusalem. For instance, Jehovah had shown him mercy, saving him from drowning, holding back punishment for his rebellion, and giving him a second chance to carry out this assignment. Then, God asks a question to Jonah, which echoes through the ages down to our own lives: Jonah 4:10-11 (ESV): And the Lord said, You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. Learning to show mercy is often difficult for imperfect humans. The sign of Jonah was an expression used by Jesus to refer to Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Jonah 1:17). Thank you. Jonah is mad at the Lord, so the Lord tried to teach him. God is trying to teach Jonah that God can bless whoever He wishes, whenever He wishes. (b)What do we learn about Jonah from the preaching work that he carried out? . Did that solve Jonahs attitude? The story has a long interpretive history and has become well . I AM JOSHUA and Im on a mission to help fellow Christians build a closer and more intimate relationship with God. Jonah meets big fish, big fish eats him, Jonah decides if he gets out of fish alive he'll do what God says, fish throws up, and out comes a very stinky Jonah. Icried out to theLordbecause of my affliction,And He answered me. Sometimes God will ask us to step out or step up. And is the founder of Think About Such Things. He will establish his abiding presence with his favorite children. But did He? So, please feel free to drop me a comment or take a look at my similar posts in my Christian Faith Articles page! From the wind to the fishes of the sea, and even pagan sailors, all respond to God in obedience. Don't just take the Ninevites words for it; listen to the Apostle Paul: "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hathenabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (b)Why can we be sure that Jehovahs judgment was not in error? Isaiah was called to preach to a derelict people: "Jerusalem is ruined, and . The book of Jonah is remarkable for several reasons. The psalmist in Psalm 139 makes it pretty clear: Where can I go from your Spirit? 5) He is thrown into the water. By so doing, the Lord is showing Jonah that his priorities are more then a bit messed up. Nineveh was a great wealthy city with many people ( Jonah 4:11 ). God who dearly loves his children also has a special mode of correction for his children. It seems that at this time Nineveh had a sea-oriented religious system and sea-themed Gods. (6) When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. An encyclopedia hit the nail on the head as it described the lesson that God taught Jonah through the worm destroying the plant that gave him such delight in an emotional and tiring time in his life. I think not. Join me now as we explore Gods word and discover what it takes to become a true Christian! Visit the Jonah Bible lesson plan for further ideas to supplement this. When we look at Jonah 4, Jonah calls God "a gracious God and merciful." Then, in Ephesians 2, Paul says that God's nature is "rich in mercy." As Christians, we know that God is making. Jehovahs righteous anger against Nineveh simply abated. Rather than the story being only about Nineveh, or about God's message, all of the lessons seem to be centered in the person of Jonah. When God called Jonah to go and warn the violent and . (see Jonah 3:4) Such a preaching could sound pretty condemning and scary, and it is: it's a message of judgment. So great was this monumental world capital that considerable remnants of Nineveh remain to this day. Short little Melissa style summary and insight: *If you are not familiar with the story of Jonahspend some time reading it. God used the bottle-gourd plant to teach Jonah a lesson in mercy, 20 God reasoned with Jonah, saying that the prophet was feeling sorry over the death of a mere plant that had sprung up overnight, one that Jonah neither planted nor caused to grow. Thats it. (a)How does Jehovah show that he is reasonable, adaptable, and merciful? The truth is that mans sin has a devastating effect upon creation. In faith, Jonah knew that he would be delivered. Based on what happened to Jonah's life, we can simply conclude that there's no point in trying to run away from God, from running away from His purposes, and in trying to achieve our own will and not His. In truth, though, his answer is there. How did Jonah react to Jehovahs mercy on Nineveh? 3 When Jehovah ordered Jonah to Nineveh the second time, the prophet obediently headed east on this long journey. Jonah was a prophet who supported Israel at a time when Israel was threatened by Nineveh. The scripture reported, His life and ministry, recorded in but four chapters, brings so many lessons to Christians old and new. Its not always easy or fun, but at the end of it, there is a beautiful reward. It states, "Yahweh scolded him for taking pity on a plant that he did not make grow, while feeling no sorrow for thousands of people in Nineveh." We read in Jonah 3:4: Yet, forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying. To learn more visit and subscribe: https://michaelmilton.org/about/. Jonah has two different responses to God's . The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. Jonah was a prophet and the Lord told Him to go and preach against Nineveh, which was the capital of the Assyrian empire. (b)What did the king of Nineveh do in response to Jonahs proclamation? It only stopped when Jonah was thrown overboard (see Jonah 1:15). This lesson shows the importance of believers obeying God's command to. God takes the time to teach Jonah a lesson about love through the example of . Biblearena BibleArena - All Rights Reserved| Sitemap. Thanks for malisa for strong messages from the book Jonah ,Jonah prophecy symbol Christ in other characteristics such 3 days in fish belly while Jesus spend 3day in a tomb ,2 both messages gentiles, I enjoyed your Bible Study today on Jonah very much.. it was a blessing. Imitate Their Faith. God was working in Jonah's life through his fish experience. Here is a perfect heartperfect in generous lovenot excusing, not harshly condemning. For, Jonah, this is unthinkable and so, HE FLED! Through games, drawing their own comic strip, a DIY Big Gulp of Jonah toy, and a Jonah in a Big Fish puppet, kids learn that God is compassionate and gracious. Before him lay a journey of more than 500miles (800km), an overland trek that would take him about a month, perhaps even longer. Did not his anger over Nineveh spring from motives that were likewise selfisha prideful desire to save face, to be proved right? There are treasures to be learned and applied in every chapter. . The stubborn servant felt the heat of hell until he repented. Jonah prophesied in the mid-700s BC, a time when Assyria was not as powerful as they had been in recent years. I hope they will fail., Oh why cant my angry boss just be gone., At times, we are so busy in saying that, I hope he gets what he deserves.. The pagan city of Nineveh, the capital of an Ancient Near Eastern Empire, Assyria, was the epicenter of antagonism toward Israel, and yet, this enemy of God became the object of God's love and grace. Jonah was doing the bare minimum. We read: To Jonah, though, it was highly displeasing, and he got to be hot with anger. (Jonah 4:1) Jonah even uttered a prayer that sounds like a rebuke of the Almighty! We pray, OLord, please do not let us perish for this mans life, anddo not charge us with innocent blood; for You, OLord,have done as it pleased You. Jonah 1:14, Then the fun stuff happens Please observe picture below. What did God do to teach Jonah a lesson? Enable me with the strength to be conscious of your expectations and meet them! Disobedience is a big deal when it comes to God. Nineveh was a Gentile city, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and had no covenant with God. After God delivered him, Jonah traveled to Nineveh and prophesied that the Lord would destroy the city because of its wickedness. It is important to note that the Northern Kingdom of Israel was at odds with Assyria and Ninevah was a great city in Assyria. Copyright 2023 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. In what ways might some find themselves disagreeing with God, and what lesson can we learn from Jonahs example? How well are we doing our job? Jonah, after receiving God's command, quickly ran away to a place far away from Nineveh: Tarshish. from the presence of the LORD. The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. Key Verse: I want to complete the work the Lord Jesus has given me.He wants me to give witness to others about the good news of God's grace. In his heart of hearts, he knew that they deserve nothing but punishment and death. Why arent prophets giving us specific signs to watch for? Could we be like that brethren? Now there is potential for a bit of Irony here. Jonah would have to travel this by horse/camel. In fact, the narrator uses the same grammatical structure as in Jonah 4:1. 5 Nineveh was ancient, being among the first cities that Nimrod established after the Flood. That warning was based on the Ninevites bad ways, which subsequently changed. 7,8. An encyclopedia hit the nail on the head as it described the lesson that God taught Jonah through the worm destroying the plant that gave him such delight in an emotional and tiring time in his life. The fish did not chew him up - it just swallowed him and Jonah was safe inside. Even if Jonah obeyed God from the start, it would still have been easier to send an angel or to appear as a pillar of cloud. Jonah repented while in the belly of a fish; God heard his voice and saved him.

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