Why was Jonah disappointed in the repentance of the Ninevites? That fear had been realized. So much suffering, so much expense, so much extra mileage could be avoided if we just obeyed God. For the most part, Gentile salvation is rare. Our present age, the Church age, which has lasted for nearly 2,000 years since the Apostle Paul, exemplifies this fact. And it has said, "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.". Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Prophets: Jonah 1:7 They all said to each other Come (Jon. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. Now he had gone down into the sea monster to the depths of death (Jonah 2.6). God heard his prayer and delivered him. From one end of the Mediterranean to the other, God pursued Jonah, and Jonah ended up right back where he started, with the call of God, in Israel. Our first instinct should always be to respect the dignity of every personeven great sinnersand strive to bring them to the Lord with loving correction. Three days later, in a figurative rebirth, the fish spits Jonah up onto the land. In Jonahs day, they were Israels great enemy. Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god. This familiar expression is found in many books of the Bible, occurring 92x (e.g., Genesis 15.1; 2 Samuel 7.4; 1 Kings 6.11, 16.1, etc.) Twelve years ago, they found out that their baby boy, Jonah, was diagnosed with a fatal rare disease, Sanfilippo Syndrome. He said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Similarly, in our own culture today a good deal of pain and loss results from the defiant, selfish, and bad behavior of many. He revealed he was a Jew and despite his disobedience, he declared he feared the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.4Jonah retained his testimony and witness. Through Jonah, the Ninevites received salvation. He pouted and expressed anger. 3For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. Judges 7:13,14 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along, Isaiah 41:6,7 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage, Joshua 7:14-18 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man, Judges 20:9,10 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; , 1 Samuel 10:20,21 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken, Joshua 7:10,13 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Rebirth, it seems, is short-lived. It is of course the children who suffer the most pain and injustice as a result of so much bad adult behavior. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy. Many people today talk about victimless sins,. Rob, Thanks as always for your helpful suggestions. This will be the Day of the Lord, first revealed in Psalm 2 and expanded upon in detail by the prophets. We might have expected Jonah to be pleased. Yet You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God! Now that of course is extremely important. All the while, they continue to ramble on about their right to do as they please. 2 Chronicles 36.23; Ezra 7.21; Nehemiah 2.20; Daniel 2.18-19, 37, 44). IX. The last thing Jonah thought God would do was send him to the Assyrians (Jonah 1.1-2). I believe Jonah didnt go, nor was the intent of God that he go to preach the Gospel but rather he was to preach judgement. 1 Samuel 10:20, etc. Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish. And then theres Jonah, the prophet of God, who is supposed to be an exemplary person, yet finds repentance nearly impossible. Those who are morally alert do not say such things; those who are in the darkness of delirium, in a moral slumber, say them. His remembering is not that He forgets but that he gives heed to something. To all this pain can be added many other sufferings. The book of Jonah ends with God having the last word: 10Then the Lord said, You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. - with those thoughts in mind, let me invite you to turn to the closing verses in the book of Jonah. - we left Jonah last week in quite a pickle.. - He was a prophet of Israel.and God had told him "arise, and go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry against it, because their wickedness had come up before the Lord." - well, Jonah didn't like that idea because Ninevah was in Assyria..and the Assyrians were enemies of Israel. Jonah did his best to escape one great fish, only to be swallowed by another. He realized he could not escape God and looked to Him for deliverance. He did not want the city to be spared, because he knew that the Assyrians would eventually conquer Israel. Jonah was called to preach the word of warning to the city of Nineveh, but he ran in the opposite direction. You cared about the plant, which you did not work for and which you did not grow. 4So I said, I have been expelled from Your sight. He was at such peace he was sleeping through a storm that had everyone else petrified with fear. In most cases, He allows man to do as he will and manages His plan behind the scenes. The silo was located in a remote area, surrounded by large farms. Bren, Your email address will not be published. Better that way. The sailors, captain, king, nobles, citizens of Nineveh responded to Gods mercy. Thanks for all. Background To defy means to resist what one is told to do, openly and boldly. The kings proclamation indicated that like Jonahs sailors he had abandoned his gods and recognized Jonahs God (). Its always a longer journey when you disobey God. V. Dressing Down-The captain came to him and said, What are you doing asleep? 2 I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. The arks lid was called the mercy seat (Exodus 25.17-22; cf. Waves roiled the ship, smashing into its sides and onto the deck. He then asked the laborers if he did not have the right to do what he wanted with his own money. Jesus told the Jews the Ninevites would judge them because they had repented because of Jonahs preaching and that He was greater than Jonah. Of all the prophets, Jonah is perhaps the most reluctant; his struggle with sin is not hidden. God does not save us merely for our own sake, but alsofor the sake of others with whom our life is intertwined. 8But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands (Jonah 3.7-8). And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is on us. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. 270, 271.) He is the God of the second chance. Despite brevity, it is a powerful story of Gods grace to Gentiles and a reflective study into Gods character and mercy. Lord (Jonah 2.9). God was gracious and Jonah peevish. One problem with analyses of the size of Nineveh is to assume the city was only within the city walls. Except Jonah. Marcia is teaching Denise how to clean a kitchen. II. It is of course the children who suffer the most pain and injustice as a result of so much bad adult behavior. How much of our trouble comes from our sin? Jonah's story reveals God's missionary heart to us as well as Jonah's prejudice toward foreigners. I am not sure if I've ever heard the prophet Jonah held up as a model of faith, but that might warrant a second look. The phrasing of the order emphasized individual accountability and personal responsibility: that each may turn from his wicked way. The text reads: 7He issued a proclamation and it said, In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Guaranteed. The Lord knows. Jesus referencedJonah as a prophecy and type of His resurrection. We read: 5Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. It is a story of repentance. It is too easy for us to wish to destroy those who have harmed us, returning crime for crime, sin for sin. Nineveh was probably the greatest city in the world in Jonahs day. We are currently reading Jonahs story in daily Mass. This was a large army, even by modern standards. Salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2.9). 7While I was fainting away,I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. 2He prayed to the Lord and said, PleaseLord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Jonahs defiance sends him and others headlong into a stormthat grows ever deeper. It is true, however,that not everyone is willing or able to be corrected. But you can't run from the God who controls storms and big fish. Though battered and exhausted, this was their day of salvationthe best day of their lives. The cartoonish image of animals fasting and wearing sackcloth is meant to emphasize the totality of the citys repentance. Sigh. In an attempt to absolve themselves . Charles Reade, the English novelist, wrote, Jonah is the most beautiful story ever written in so small a compass.2The story has a clearly defined structure and is replete with figures of speech: puns, hendiadys, merism, chiasm, parallelism, etc. Jesus actually identified Himself with the prophet's three-day sojourn in the belly of the great fish, noting it as a foreshadowing of His own death . The other has Jonah alone with God. So easily they remain locked in self-deception and rationalizations, ignoring the damage they are inflicting upon others. Jonah doubtless had meantime complied with the captain's request, but, as the sailors saw, without visible effect. Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord" (comp. 3 For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me. he could not see beyond his fear of the Assyrians. Instead of fear, I thought a more appropriate word would be hatred. It presents two very different stories about repentance. No one is merely an individual;we are also members of the Body, members of the community, whether we want to admit it or not. Jonahs prayer was bitter: I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. I knew it. On account of selfishness and sexual misbehavior, many families have been torn apart. Jonahs ministry is the greatest exception. d. God not only plays dice, His dice are loadedand invisible. and less costly as well. The Lord Jesus Christ picked up our tab and paid it all. Jonah instinctively knows that if they repent of their sinfulness they will grow stronger. This time, Jonah obeyed. Patient-Home-4877 1 yr. ago Jonah was part of that. The teaching is clear: persistent and unrepentant sin brings storms, disturbances, and troubles. iii. A normal reading of three days walk indicates the time to cross Ninevehs metropolitan area. He said, While I was fainting away,I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple (Jonah 2.7). Stop with your self-justifying slogans and look at whats really going on! Jonah left the city and sat east of it. Did he fear that their redemption would make a mockery of his prophecy (that the city would be destroyed)? He gave this wayward prophet a second chance to fulfill the commission that was given. God commanded Jonah to travel northeast to Nineveh. The Lord then taught Jonah about His love for the people of Nineveh. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C. Note that he also puts down good money in order to flee. Perhapsyour god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish (Jonah 1.6). They were terrified. Finally, at 5 p.m. he hired the last group. Soph. Jonah's Commission Was Clear But Distasteful "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." a. Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. Jonah hated this idea because Nineveh was one of Israel's greatest enemies and Jonah wanted nothing to do with preaching to them! . wrote Ninevehwas about sixty miles in circumference and twenty miles across. Jonah is to warn the Ninevites that because of their sinfulness they now face divine destruction. Meanwhile, the gales grow stronger and civilization continues to crumble. This idiom indicates a child under the age of two. villains of the ancient world whose sins are so terrible they merit destruction. Because He remembered Hannah, He remembered the Israelites. 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