The book of Jonah is so significant for understanding the biblical basis of mission, because it treats God’s mandate to His people regarding the Gentile peoples and thus serves as the preparatory step to the missionary mandate of the New Testament. But it is also important for catching a glimpse of the deep resistance this … Continue reading –>
Jonah 4:1-11 confirms that the greatest obstacle for God to get His prophet involved in world mission was not distance, wind, sailors, fish, or Ninevites. It was the prophet himself. Ninevite faith contrasted with Jonah’s unbelief and vindictive spirit. Jonah is the only person in the Scriptures who accuses God of being gracious, compassionate, and … Continue reading –>
Read Jonah 3. What great message is found here in the context of outreach and evangelism? 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(Jon. 3:1-2 NIV). Two verbs are important in the text. First, this … Continue reading –>
The three-day experience in the belly of the big fish became a type of the death and resurrection of Christ (Jon. 1:17-2:10; Matt. 12:40). God provided and directed the great fish. Although there are accounts of people who survived at sea after having been swallowed by a whale, we must remember that God provided this … Continue reading –>
Go to Nineveh! was God’s command to Jonah. In the Old Testament the usual appeal to the nations was come to Zion. God’s original plan was for Israel to live their religion, making the nation so attractive that other nations would come to them for guidance(Isa. 56:7). Jonah, as a forerunner of the disciples in … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Kings 14:25. What does this tell us about Jonah? In what kind of light is he presented? Outside the book of Jonah, the prophet is mentioned in one other Old Testament passage, 2 Kings 14:25. Here he is honored as a prophet that predicted Israel’s recapture of territory taken by Syria. Jonah was … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1-4, 2 Kings 14:25, Isa. 56:7, Isa. 44:8, Matt. 12:40, Rev. 14:6-12. Memory Text: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right (Acts 10:34-35 NIV). The Jonah saga is the … Continue reading –>
Centuries after Naaman returned to his Syrian home, healed in body and converted in spirit, his wonderful faith was referred to and commended by the Saviour as an object lesson for all who claim to serve God. Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet, the Saviour declared; and none of … Continue reading –>
Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant (2 Kings 5:15 NIV). In what way do these words help reveal the experience of salvation? See Rev. 14:12; 1 John 5:2-3; Rom. 6:1. It would have been easy for Naaman to return … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Kings 5:11-14. What does this account teach us about Naaman and some of the lessons he had to learn? What can we take from this for ourselves as well? Had the prophet Elisha personally met his prominent guest Naaman and employed exorcising gestures accompanied by magic formulas and other rituals so common in … Continue reading –>
