Chambersburg Bible Church

Text: Jonah 1
Topic: Investigating Theology in the Book of Jonah

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What wisdom can we glean from Jonah’s life and about our great God that will keep us from making the same mistakes that Jonah made?

• It is impossible to escape the presence of the Lord
  • God is omnipresent
  • John 4:20-24John 4:20-24
    20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. ²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  
    – God is not bound by geography
  • Psalm 139:7-12Psalm 139:7-12
    7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? ⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; ¹⁰ Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. ¹² Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. hideth...: Heb. darkeneth not the darkness and...: Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light  
    – “Where could I possibly go to escape the presence of God?”
    • Can I climb higher than God so that He can not reach me?
      • What if I ascend into heaven? – God is there!
    • Can I dig lower than the presence of God can descend?
      • Suppose I descend into hell? – God is there!
• It is impossible to escape the all-searching eye of God
  • Men and women attempt to flee the presence of God today
  • By denying His existence – atheist
  • The fool has said in his heart that there is no God
  • I do not believe, therefore, He does not exist
  • By denying His salvation – the lost
  • By avoiding His will

Supporting Texts:

• Proverbs 24:30-34Proverbs 24:30-34
  30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; ³¹ And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. ³² Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. considered...: Heb. set my heart ³³ Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: ³⁴ So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. an...: Heb. a man of shield  
  
• Jonah 1:1-10Jonah 1:1-10
  Jonah ^{1 1} Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Jonah: Gr. Jonas ² Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. ³ But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. ⁴ But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. sent out: Heb. cast forth was like...: Heb. thought to be broken ⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. ⁶ So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. ⁷ And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. ⁸ Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? ⁹ And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. the LORD: or, JEHOVAH ¹⁰ Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. exceedingly...: Heb. with great fear  
  
• Jonah 3:4-9Jonah 3:4-9
  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. ⁵ So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. ⁶ For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed 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: published: Heb. said nobles: Heb. great men ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?  
  
• Jonah 4:2Jonah 4:2
  2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.  
  
• Amos 9:2Amos 9:2
  2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:  
  
• Hebrews 4:13Hebrews 4:13
  13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  
  

Series: Lesson’s From Lot’s Life
Text: 2 Peter 2:1-102 Peter 2:1-10
2 ¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read ³ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. ⁴ For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; ⁵ And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; ⁷ And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: ^{8 9} The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: ¹⁰ But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. government: or, dominion  

Topic: Lot’s deliverance from Sodom pictures the Pre-tribulational rapture of the Church

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2 Peter 2 tells us that Lot was a righteous man. The Holy Spirit intends for N. T. believers to watch and learn from examples, both negative and positive, in scripture. The story of Lot’s Life is one such case which teaches a number of different, yet equally important lessons in the Christian life. In many of these examples, there are truths that affect us individually, but there are also which affect us universally.

When we investigate Lot’s life, we should learn truths about the end times

• God will judge and destroy the wicked
  • Understanding 2 Peter 2:1-32 Peter 2:1-3
    2 ¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read ³ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  
    in context.
    • In 2 Peter 1:16,19-212 Peter 1:16,19-21
      16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁹ We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: ²⁰ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. ²¹ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. in old time: or, at any time  
      we find Peter defending his testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, specifically the transfiguration of the Lord before Peter. Peter then illustrates that we have a testimony more certain than what he saw. We have the Scriptures, the Word of God.
    • 2 Peter 2:1-32 Peter 2:1-3
      2 ¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read ³ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  
        speaks of the false prophets of the day and God’s judgment against those who:
      • Preach wickedness
      • Promote wickedness
      • Practice wickedness

• Old Testament illustrations of God’s pending judgment
  • God’s judgment of the fallen angels (Verse 4)
  • God’s judgment in the Day of Noah (Verse 5)
  • God’s judgment of Sodom (Verse 6)

“When we read the story of Lot, God intends for us to see His resolve and determination to judge the wicked.”

• God will deliver the godly from judgment
  • God will rescue His own from judgment
  • Eschatological application

• We do not need to fear the Tribulation. We won’t be here!
• God knows how to judge the wicked
• He knows how to deliver the righteous!

Supporting Texts:

• James 1:23-25James 1:23-25
  23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: ²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. ²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. deed: or, doing  
  
• Matthew 12:40Matthew 12:40
  40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  
  
• 1 Thessalonians 1:101 Thessalonians 1:10
  10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.  
  
• 1 Thessalonians 5:91 Thessalonians 5:9
  9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,