SCRIPTURE: JONAH 1
INTRODUCTION:
Jonah was a prophet called by God to preach in the city of Nineveh in Assyria. Assyria was an evil empire, so when God told him to go there to call the people to repentance, he ran in opposite direction. Jonah hated the Assyrians and he wanted vengeance. However, when Jonah preached in Nineveh, the people repented and were delivered from judgment. Then Jonah was unhappy and complained to God. But God confronted Jonah about his lack of compassion.
This story is a picture of God’s love and compassion. It tells us that no one is beyond redemption. The gospel is for all who will repent and believe. So, we better look for ways to tell people about the gospel.
JONAH FLEES FROM THE LORD (vs. 1-17)
The Lord told Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the gospel. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and head for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and boarded a ship to flee from God. Then the Lord sent a violent storm with great wind on the sea. The storm threaten to break up the ship and all the sailors threw their cargos into the sea to lighten the ship. They also cried out to their gods to save them.
But Jonah was sleeping below the deck. The sailors called Jonah to get up. Then they cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. The lot fell on Jonah. So Jonah asked them to throw him into the sea. At first, they were hesitant but the sea grew wider than before. So, they took Jonah and threw him overboard. Then the raging sea calm down. The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. He was inside the fish for 3 days and 3 nights.
THOUGHTS
Nineveh was a powerful and wicked city. Jonah hated the Assyrians and did not want them to repent. He refused to share God’s love and mercy to them. So, when God asked Jonah to go there, he ran away causing him trouble. At the end, he realized it is better to obey than to run away because his disobedience had endangered the lives of the ship’s crews. We have great responsibility to obey God’s word because our disobedience can hurt others around us.