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." 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.
A Christian woman was on an air flight reading her Bible. When the passenger sitting next to her saw her Bible he asked: “You really don’t believe all that stuff in there do you?”
The woman responded: “Of course I do, it is the Bible.”
The man said: “Well what about that guy that was swallowed by the whale?”
She replied: “Oh, you are talking about Jonah. Yes, I believe that. It is in the Bible.”
He asked: “How do you suppose he survived all that time in the whale?”
The woman said: “Well, I don’t really know. I guess when I get to heaven, I will ask him.”
The man responded: “What if he isn’t in heaven?”
The woman replied: “Then you ask him.”
Many skeptics find this story hard to believe. In another conversation, a man told a pastor “If you can prove to me that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, I’ll believe all that the rest of the Bible.”
“What do you think of Christ?” “Well, I think Christ was the wisest man that ever lived.”
“Well, let me show you that the wisest man that ever lived believed the story of Jonah when he read, Matt 12:40 “As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a fish so must the son of man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.”
it comes to the story of Jonah Jesus believed it and preached it.
book has great value in a number of areas. It is an excellent story on missions, on the love of God for the lost world. It points to Christ, cultural relationship, talks of nationalism, racial tension, rebellion, and pride as well as priorities of one’s life.
Jonah is a prophetic book because in some ways we see how Jonah also becomes a type of Israel, called of God to be a witness to the world, but disobedient in her commands, suffered discipline from God, and yet evidenced the grace of God.
begin the story with Jonah’s protest against Gods command for him to go and preach against the sin of this great, but ungodly city. Jonah’s protest turns to rebellion.
Even those called and those used of God are tempted to disobey. The sin of Jonah was, not fulfilling the complete plan of God and telling God no. He had good reasons in his mind, but ultimately rebellion comes when we refuse or neglect to obey our Lord.
Application: May we examine our own hearts to see where we are resisting God in our lives.
Prayer: Lord, work in my heart to submit to Your will in all things. May I be transformed through Your Word by the renewing of my mind.
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