Read the following quotations and discuss how they help us to understand the messages from the book of Jonah more clearly. “Whenever they are in need the children of God have the precious privilege of appealing to Him for help. It matters not how unsuitable the place may be, God’s ear of mercy is open … Continue reading –>
I was a troublemaker. I disobeyed my parents and teachers and questioned every authority. My parents weren’t religious, but they had strict standards. But I refused to follow their rules. One day as my mother traveled by bus to another city, a man stood up and talked about a book he was selling. The book … Continue reading –>
Read Jonah 4 . What important lessons did Jonah need to learn? How is his own hypocrisy revealed here? Jonah 4 reveals some startling things about the prophet. He seems to prefer to die rather than to witness about God’s grace and forgiveness. Whereas before Jonah had rejoiced in his deliverance from death (Jon. 2:7-9), now that Nineveh … Continue reading –>
After such a miraculous deliverance, when commanded by God the second time to go to preach in Nineveh, Jonah obeyed immediately. In his proclamation, Jonah (3:1-4) used language reminiscent of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). But in the original Hebrew, the word for “overthrown” (see Gen. 19:21, 29, Jon. 3:4) from Jonah’s proclamation can also … Continue reading –>
When Jonah was thrown into the sea, a big fish swallowed him up at God’s bidding. Jonah must have thought that death indeed was going to be the only way to escape the mission to Nineveh. But the big fish (not called a whale in the book) was an instrument of salvation for the prophet. Unlike Jonah, … Continue reading –>
In Jonah 1, the Lord wants to halt Jonah’s escape and so He stirs up such a severe storm that it threatens shipwreck. The seamen call on their gods for help. Due to the severity of the storm, they feel that someone must have provoked the anger of the gods. They cast lots to decide who … Continue reading –>
Not much is known about Jonah or his family background. Second Kings 14:25 tells that he lived in the northern part of Israel and ministered during the eighth century B.C. The same text reveals that Jonah predicted a territorial expansion of Israel’s kingdom. Nineveh was historically one of the three great cities of Assyria, an important … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1-4, Ps. 139:1-12, Isa. 42:5, Rev. 10:6, Matt. 12:39-41, 2 Chron. 36:15-17. Memory Text: “‘But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord’” (Jonah 2:9, NIV). Key Thought: The book of Jonah reveals, among other things, that God is more willing to forgive … Continue reading –>
“Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess … Continue reading –>