Obviously, from their superstitious perspective, some god or gods are angry with somebody, and they are all suffering because of what this person has done. When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah fled as far as he could from God. Or whither shall I flee from thy face? The text reads they feared the Lord greatly, offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows (Jonah 1.16). if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. 601-604. It is a story of repentance. His words revealed his change of attitude: That which I have vowed I will pay. Except Jonah. (On the Christian view of "lots," see Dr. Pusey's Commentary, pp. Note that he also puts down good money in order to flee. Verse 2 of chapters 1 and 3 contain the same three Hebrew verbs: (arise), (go), and (cry). The crew, terrified out of their minds, throw all the cargo overboard and each prays individually to his own god, to no avail. Godwould not let him die. Despite his sin, Jonah does not lose his dignity. He spends three nights in the belly of the fish and with nowhere left to run, not even death, he finally repents. At Gods behest, Noah builds an ark, Abraham leaves his homeland, Moses returns to Egypt (where he is wanted for murder) to free the Israelite slaves. Jonah 1.1-2 should arrest ones attention. The simplicity of holiness is often far less onerous. (Comp. But on particular occasions, He reveals Himself and acts. Chapter 2 recounts Jonah in the belly of the sea monster where he prayed and gave thanks to God. and suffer great losses (by throwing their cargo overboard) on account of Jonahs sinfulness. Jonah slept. Summary- God appointed a worm to kill the plant that Jonah delighted in. that not everyone is willing or able to be corrected. The waves quickly enveloped him and overpowered his body. 3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C. 8Sennacherib boasted hemade Hezekiah a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage (Magnus Magnusson,Archaeology and the Bible, 1977, p.186). Somewhat like Judas, Jonah and many other sinners do not repent to the Lord but rather are merely ashamed of themselves. The arks lid was called the mercy seat (Exodus 25.17-22; cf. Consider their situation. What we do, or fail to do, affects others. Jonah 1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.". As a result, they cast lots to learn about this strange man. Do you have good reason to be angry (Jonah 4.4)? In the 20th century, we often like to doctor up the word of God. It is a luscious, heartfelt piece depicting the repentance of the Ninevites. Externally, Assyria was threatened by Arameans and Urartians and suffered famine and revolts internally. Paul raised Eutychus (Acts 20) from death but Eutychus died later. Why oh why did you send me on this mission? I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;You heard my voice. As our defiance deepens, the headwinds become ever stronger and the destructive forces ever more powerful. Jonah 1:14-16witnesses that only reluctantly did the sailors cast Jonah overboard, as he had commanded them to do. What is your country, and to what people do you belong? Jonah answered them, I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, How could you do such a thing? They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them. Why was Jonah disappointed in the repentance of the Ninevites? One cannot but be reminded of Jesus disciples experience in a storm on the sea of Galilee (Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.36-41; Luke 8.22-25). God pursues each of us to restore our broken relationship with Him (Genesis 3.8-10). Hi John just a few verses about the heart of the earth. When Paul made his defense before the Jews in Jerusalem they listened to him until he uttered the words,And He said to me, Go! Each man had cried to his own god (Jonah 1.5). If you wont do it for your own sake, then do it for oursbut call on the Lord! He would not have to go to Nineveh. Parallel Commentaries "Pol minume miror, navis si fracta est tibi, Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural, Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common plural. Because He remembered Hannah, He remembered the Israelites. 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? They were terrified. 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. 6The Hebrew reads, , a great fish. On account of selfishness and sexual misbehavior, many families have been torn apart. The Psalmist wrote God founded the earth upon the seas (Psalm 24.1-2). This word is used for Gods hurling the storm, sailors tossing ballast from the ship, and Jonah being cast into the sea (Jonah 1.4, 5, 12, 15). When spoken, it brings men to salvation. Mr. Reade went on to say, "It contains forty-eight verses and 1,328 words. Rob, Thanks as always for your helpful suggestions. Yom Kippur in the Community. Defiance also indicates a lack of faith because it comes from the Latin . He said, While I was fainting away,I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple (Jonah 2.7). But God would have us reach out to the sinner, to correct with love. Jonah hated this idea because Nineveh was one of Israel's greatest enemies and Jonah wanted nothing to do with preaching to them! God heard him and asked a question. Gods statement to Jonah reminds one of Jesus parable of the laborers of the vineyard (Matthew 20.1-16). Too many wander around in a kind of delirium, a moral sleep, talking about their rights and insisting that what they do is nobody elses business. Yet all the while the storm winds buffet and others suffer for what they do. The Lord was the first to be resurrected. 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. 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. The sailors, captain, king, nobles, citizens of Nineveh responded to Gods mercy. His words revealed his change of attitude: . The simplicity of holiness is often far less onerousand less costly as well. Its another classic example of archaeology confirming the Biblical record. Since the Assyrians did not record military defeats, Sennacherib did not record his failure to destroy Jerusalem or capture its king (Hezekiah). It presents two very different stories about repentance. God is aware of all man does. The mariners, fearing for their lives, also lose wealth. Hmm, now why does this description seem so familiar? A gigantic storm was raging. Jonah had gone down () to Joppa (Jonah 1.3), down to the ship (Jonah 1.3), down to the hold (Jonah 1.5). But the entire city of Nineveh responded to Jonahs message. The next few verses demonstrate Gods grace and power: 14Then they called on the Lord and said, We earnestly pray, OLord, do not let us perish on account of this mans life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.15So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Whether he did or not does not affect the Lords statement of his own death. That Jonah thought he could run from God shows his foolishness, typifying mans foolishness in thinking he can escape God (Jeremiah 23.24). Lord (Jonah 2.9). the story told by Cicero of Diagoras (de Nat. This is futility. The text states 120,000 did not know their right hand from their left (Jonah 4.11). The captain and sailors could not comprehend how anyone could sleep through such a storm. Its a pretty bad day for a prophet when those whom he is supposed to address, must turn and call, First there comes the pointed question, What are you doing asleep?. Jonah had appeared during a time of national distress and its rulers could ill afford divine wrath by aninvading army, famine, earthquake, epidemic, or flood. If we had Jonah's faith, our evangelistic efforts might be multiplied exponentially. The Lord upbraided their lack of faith (Mark 4.40; Luke 8.25) but Jonahs sailors became believers. , Joshua 22:16-20 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? In effect, God says to Jonah, Now, where were we?. God replied to Jonah:Do you have good reason to be angry (Jonah 4.4)? We read: Then Jonah began to go through the city one days walk; and he cried out and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown (Jonah 3.4).9. 1 Samuel 10:20, etc. What is your country? Do you have any idea how your behavior, your sins, are affecting the rest of us? Jonahs repentance is expressed in a long, strange, and beautiful poem that is spoken within the fishs belly, and the language indicates that he is ready to change direction: The bars of the earth closed upon me forever. He was a hard case, preferring death to life (Jonah 4.3, 1.12). Jonah prefigured the fulfillment of this promise which will culminate in the Messianic (Millennial) kingdom. This order extended to humans as well as animals. And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons?!. Tell us, they said, what is your business? The Bible has no shortage of characters who heed divine calls. Jonah provides instructive lessons. To all this pain can be added many other sufferings. What they feared is unimportant. Jonah 1.12, 4.3, 9). Jonah (his name means dove) was a prophet from Gath-Hepher,1 a town a few miles north of Nazareth (2 Kings 14.23-25). At this point, Jonah has not only disobeyed Gods command to go to Nineveh, he has willfully endangered a ship full of innocent strangers. The message couldnt be clearer: Jonah is going in the wrong direction. The story of Jonah teaches compassion by not following the prophet's example. He did not provide sunlight for it. The great majority of it. Similarly, in our own culture today a good deal of pain and loss results from the defiant, selfish, and bad behavior of many. In the end, the men must hand Jonah over to the Lord. The phrase, or like expression, the word of the LORD came governs the books structure and occurs twice (Jonah 1.1, 3.1). Rather than heed this call, Jonah flees in the opposite direction on a ship to Tarshish, across the Mediterranean Sea (in ancient terms, this is basically the other side of the world). But you can't run from the God who controls storms and big fish. Amid the commotion, the captain finds Jonah, wakes him, and demands that he join the effort to save the ship by calling on his God. Online and in the booth, he has done voice work with studios in Tokyo and across LA. God does not save us merely for our own sake, but alsofor the sake of others with whom our life is intertwined. Jesus, declared, for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12.40). By Msgr. One night, when Hill was 15 years old, he and a friend snuck out in an SUV. Of all the prophets, Jonah is perhaps the most reluctant; his struggle with sin is not hidden. In a remarkable turn in the story, those who are not believers in the God of Israel dress down Jonah, who is to be Gods prophet, unto repentance! Comp. Solomon wrote, the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD (Proverbs 16.33). , 1 Samuel 14:38,39 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. So, too, are we when we defiantly indulge sinfulness. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. Ask Saul of Tarsus. The Ninevites repented from wickedness to righteousness. wrote Ninevehwas about sixty miles in circumference and twenty miles across. Jonahs ministry is the greatest exception. Its a pretty bad day for a prophet when those whom he is supposed to address, must turn and call him to conversion. He knew that God was compassionate and suspected that the city might repent and be spared. The other has Jonah alone with God. It reveals Gods greatness and mans pettiness. This mercy is available for nothing. Note that Jonahs defiance also endangers others. There is abortion, disease, teenage pregnancy, children with no fathers, and all the grief and pain that come from broken or malformed families. 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. In other words, get back in touch with God, from whom youre running. Einstein was wrong. I have a question about the scripture that reads: for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Since Jesus was not dead and buried for three nights, what does in the heart of the earth mean? It is true, however,that not everyone is willing or able to be corrected. Exceptions are Rahab, the harlot, Naaman, the Syrian general, Ruth, the Moabitess, and Nebuchadnezzar. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. 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. "Pol minume miror, navis si fracta est tibi,Scelus te et sceleste parta quae vexit bona.". He expected to die. Worldly sorrow brings death (2 Cor 7:10). ), king of Assyria, invaded Israel during Hezekiahs reign about 50 years later. Romans 9.15-16). The next thing Hill knew, he was waking up in the . Our age is characterized by Gods grace. We read: 7Each man said to his mate, Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Nineveh is the capital of Syria, the mortal enemy of Israel. The silo was located in a remote area, surrounded by large farms. 1. At the opening of his story, God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, one of the largest cities in ancient Mesopotamia, and the capital of Israels most dangerous enemy, the Assyrian empire. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple., ut You have brought up my life from the pit, O, Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple (Jonah 2.4). iii. The sailors repented from following false gods to trusting the one true God. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The kings proclamation indicated that like Jonahs sailors he had abandoned his gods and recognized Jonahs God (). Though battered and exhausted, this was their day of salvationthe best day of their lives. The Lord was the first to be resurrected. First, I do not have an opinion on this right now; I have not studied it enough. Jonah. Theres an irony here that cant be seen in the English. Does God repent? In other words, man rolls dice but God makes the spots come up. No worries. Soph. To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea. May Bob Pierece's prayer also be ours: "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." We run from Godjust as our first parents did in the garden (Genesis 3.8-10). God commanded Jonah to travel northeast to Nineveh. Nineveh was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris river, opposite the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. The passage reveals Jonahs thinking and motivation in fleeing God. If a learner starts displaying a skill learned in DTI within natural environment, we might say that the learner: Has generalized the skill from DTI to the natural environment. Jonah was called to preach the word of warning to the city of Nineveh, but he ran in the opposite direction.
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