Bible reading & studying in one year Jonah 1-4 By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying in one year   Jonah 1-4    12/22/2021   

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel music ; Pastoral ministry & Counseling

 

             The theme of the book of Jon - The book shows that the God of the Hebrews has concern for the whole world.

            History or Allegory - Some regard this book as an allegory, written about 430 B.C. to counter the exclusivism of Ezra and Nehemiah. In this view, Jonah represents disobedient Israel; the sea represents the Gentiles; the great fish, Babylon; and the three days in the fish’s bell, the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.

According to 2 Kings 14:25, however, Jonah was not only a real person but an accredited prophet from Gath Hepher near Nazareth. Further, Jesus Christ treated Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish as factual (Matt.12:39-41). And , of course, the book reads as a straightforward historical account. This does not rule out the presence of typical lessons illustrated by the historical incidents.

          The times   In 2 Kings 14:27 Jonah is connected with the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (793-753 B.C.) who had succeeded in reestablishing the power of Israel over most of the territory N.of Judah previously controlled by David and Solomon. No Assyrian inscription mentions a religious awakening such as that described in this book. However, during the reign of Adad-nirari III (810-783) there was a swing toward monotheism, which may have been the result of Jonah’s preaching. The awakening may have occurred in the days of AshurdanIII (771-754). The plague of 765, the eclipse of the sun in 763, and a second plague in 759 were events of the type regarded by ancients as evidence of divine judgment and could have prepared the people to receive Jonah’s message.

          Miracles    A number of miracles are recorded in the book: the calming of the sea before the crew lost their lives (1:15); the provision of the great fish and the preservation of Jonah in the fish (1:17); the disgorging of Jonah on land (2:10); the preparing of the vine (4:6), the worm (4:7); and the wind (4:8); and the salvation of many Ninevites.

The name Jonah means “dove”. Nineveh (v.2) Located on the E. bank of the Tigris River, more than five hundred miles from Palestine. Sennacherib made it the capital of Assyria about 700 B.C. Calah, however, about twenty miles S. of Nineveh and part of a city –state complex that included Nineveh, was the capital in Jonah’s time (Gen.10:11-12). Wickedness, included idolatrous worship and extreme cruelty to prisoners of war. Tarshish . Located in the S. of Spain near Gibralter, two thousand miles W. of Palestine. But no one can escape from the Lord (Ps.139:7-12).

Jonah fleeing 1:1-17

 

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” (vv.1-2).

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (v.3) Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. (vv.4-5). the sailors said to each other, “Come, and let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.” (v.7). the sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “Why should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” (v.11). “Pick me up and throw me into the sea.” He replied, “And it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”(v.12).  But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. (v.17)  

 

 Jonah praying 2:1-10

             

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said, “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grace I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, “I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple… When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.   

And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

         Apparently the sailors were convinced that Yahweh was the true God; thus, they offered a sacrifice to Him. We do not know what kind of great fish God prepared, though there are whales and sharks capable of swallowing a man. On the expression three days and three nights see note on Matt.12:40 From the depths of the grave (Heb.Sheol). Although Sheol refers to the place of the dead, the expression here means “from death’s door” and does not necessarily indicate that Jonah actually died.(Ps.30:3). Your waves and breakers. Jonah acknowledged that his punishment came from God. Jonah includes himself among those who forsake God’s grace for idols.

Jonah preaching 3:1-10

            

Then the Word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city – a visit required three days. (vv.1-3).

 

 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Niveneh, he rose from his through, took off his royal roves, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh.

“By the decree of the king and his nobles; “Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything’ do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” (vv.5-9)

When God saw that they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.(v.10)

 The king of Nineveh. Either Adad-nirari III(810-783) or Ashurdan III(771-754), sackcloth. A symbol of sorrow and repentance, it was coarse, dark cloth unfit for normal wear.( Rev.6:12) Sitting in the dust was a sign of helplessness and despair. God had compassion on Nineveh, so didn’t bring upon them the destruction.

  Jonah learning 4:1-11

         

Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord. “ O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents form sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.  (vv.1-3)

          Because he knew that God would spare the Ninevites if they repented, and he did not want these enemies of Israel to be spared. Jonah preferred to die than to be reconciled to the gracious will of God. A shelter. (v.5) of branches under which Jonah would wait the forty days, hoping for the destruction of Nineveh.   

 

“But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”  “I do,” he said, “I am angry enough to die.” But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city? (vv.4-11).

         God provided a vine (v.6), probably the castor oil plant, whose large leaves provided welcome shade from the sun’s heat,. Its swift growth was an act of God. God used the vine as an object lesson to teach Jonah this important truth: if Jonah was justified in being so upset about the loss of a plant to whose existence he had contributed nothing, was not God justified in showing glove and concern for the people of Nineveh, whom He had created? The population must have been around six hundred thousand if there were a hundred and twenty thousand children. Many cattle (v.11) a final touch of irony, as if to say, “Jonah, even if you approve of the destruction of hundreds of thousands of people, think of the waste of livestock that would be involved!”   

 

 

Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.