Text: Jonah 4:1-3Jonah 4:1-3
4
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
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.
3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Topic: Gleaning life principles from the Book of Jonah
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The book of Exodus tells us that Moses received a very clear command from the Lord at the burning bush. God had called him to be a deliverer of His people, and instead of responding to the call, Moses offered excuses (fear, speech, incapable).
The book of Judges tells us that Gideon received a very clear command from the Lord while he was beating out the wheat at the wine press at Ophrah. God called Gideon to deliver His people from the oppression of the Midianites, but instead of responding to God’s call, Gideon offered excuses (fear, lack of family prominence, youngest child).
In the book of Jonah, we also find a servant of God running from the calling of God, only not simply through excuses, but through a naïve response, fleeing the presence of the Lord! In Jonah 1:1-2Jonah 1:1-2
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.
, the prophet receives a very clear calling to preach deliverance to Nineveh.
Jonah 4:1-3Jonah 4:1-3
4
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
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.
3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
tells us why Jonah fled.
- Jonah knew that God delighted in mercy
- Jonah knew that God was longsuffering
- Jonah knew that if God was willing to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 righteous souls, He would most certainly spare Nineveh should the people repent.
Jonah did not disobey out fear, but he disobeyed because he was partial
- Jonah fled because he knew God well
- Jonah fled because he knew what kind of people the Assyrians were
- Jonah hated the Assyrian people
- The servant of the Lord is not free to choose his place of service
- Jonah was a true prophet
- Even though the Book of Jonah contains no prophetic message, it is still one of the minor prophetic books
- Jesus refers to the Book of Jonah twice
- Jonah was zealous for the Lord’s righteousness
- Jonah understood God’s character
- Jonah understood God’s grace and mercy
- Being a Jew he was a member of God’s chosen people
- Jonah understood God’s power
- Jonah 1:8-9Jonah 1:8-9
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
– God controls nature - Jonah 2:7-9Jonah 2:7-9
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
– God hears prayers
- Jonah 1:8-9Jonah 1:8-9
- Jonah was a good man
- He was passionate for God’s glory
- G. Campbell Morgan said: “A passion for righteousness, which makes us vindictive and incapable of forgiveness, even in the case of those as cruel as Nineveh, puts us out of fellowship with God.”
- Jonah was willing to go anywhere except to Nineveh
- The servant of the Lord becomes disobedient if he limits God’s call to service with any exception clause.
- Jonah understood God’s character
- Jonah was a true prophet
- God determines where we are to service
- God called the prophets to preach His message to a specific people
- Noah, the preacher of righteousness
- Jeremiah, the preacher to God’s stubborn people
- Jeremiah 1:8Jeremiah 1:8
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
– “Do not be afraid of their faces” - Jeremiah 1:17Jeremiah 1:17
17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. confound: or, break to pieces
– “Do not be dismayed because of their faces” - Jeremiah 5:3Jeremiah 5:3
3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
– “Faces would be harder than rock” - God called the apostles to preach to specific people
- God calls us to a specific task
- Jeremiah 1:8Jeremiah 1:8
- God called the prophets to preach His message to a specific people
Supporting Texts:
- Matthew 12:39-40Matthew 12:39-40
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 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. - Matthew 16:4Matthew 16:4
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. - Acts 10 (Peter’s calling)
- Acts 16 (Paul’s calling)
