[JON:1:1-17]; [JON:2:1-10]; [JON:3:1-10]; [JON:4:1-11].
Lesson 320 - Junior
Memory Verse
"I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9).
Notes
The Prophet's Call
Back in Israel's history lived a prophet by the name of Jonah, who was ordained of God to tell the Chosen People things that were to happen to them in the future. We are not told much about his work in Israel, nor what he spoke concerning the Israelites [2KG:14:25]), but an unusual incident occurred in his life to which a whole book of the Bible is devoted. God called Jonah to go to preach to a heathen city. It was a large city, and the people were very wicked. God saw their wickedness, and decided it was time to send judgment if the people would not repent. God, in His mercy, wanted to give them one more chance.Whosoever Will
Jonah may have thought it a waste of time to go to Nineveh. They were not God's Chosen People, so why should he bother to preach to them? Or he may not even have wanted them to repent and be saved. He may have wanted the blessings of God to come upon Israel only. There are people today who think that only a chosen few are going to be saved, and no one else is good enough. But we are happy for the words of Jesus: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" [JHN:3:16]). And the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah cried out: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat" [ISA:55:1]). Those words offer salvation to everyone. Whosoever will may come and be saved.A Foreign Missionary
Here was an opportunity for Jonah to be a foreign missionary, but he refused to take it. He turned and ran from the call of God. At Joppa he found a ship that was sailing for Tarshish, so he took passage in order to get as far away from Nineveh as he could, and to try to hide from God. But he could not run from God. God is everywhere, and He saw Jonah get on the ship and start sailing out to sea. May we ever remember that nothing we do is hidden from God. God had given Jonah a work to do, and that call stood. Things were going to happen to Jonah that would make him willing to go to Nineveh. Jonah was sure that no one knew where he was, and he went down into the bottom of the ship and went to sleep. What a relief it was that he was not going to Nineveh! But his rest was to be very short. Soon a fierce storm arose, and there was great commotion on the ship. The seamen were hurrying about, throwing things overboard in order to lighten the ship so it would not break in pieces. As they worked they were crying to their heathen gods to save them from death. Still Jonah slept!Spiritual Slumber
How like people who have backslidden from God was Jonah! They go on in their sins, thinking they are having a good time. Satan has soothed them to sleep, spiritually, and they are not alarmed by the sin and threatening judgment all around them. If they do not waken in time, judgment will overtake them and they will be lost forever. The shipmaster, a sinner, had to come to waken Jonah to spare him from death. He told him to pray to his God, the God of Israel, and ask for His mercy so that they would not all drown.Living for Others
God had sent this storm to punish Jonah, and all the people on the ship had to suffer with him. No person lives only to himself. One who lives a godly life brings blessings to others just by being good. And likewise, an evil person makes others unhappy because of the kind of person he is. Just think of all the trouble that Jonah brought to the mariners of the ship on the way to Tarshish because of his disobedience. The storm was so unusual that the seamen thought there must be someone to blame. They cast lots to find out who it was. God let the lot fall to Jonah. When Jonah was found out, he told the men all about God's call for him to go to Nineveh and that he was running from it. There was still some good in Jonah. He asked the seamen to throw him overboard so that the storm might stop and the rest of the men be spared. Of course they did not want him to drown, and they rowed hard to try to ride out the storm; but finally they had to give up -" and overboard did Jonah go. Immediately the storm ceased. But that was not the end of the story. Jonah did not drown, as one would have supposed. There were still more than 120,000 Ninevites who needed to hear the Word of God, and God still meant that Jonah should go to preach to them.The Prepared Fish
God had prepared a fish to swallow Jonah so that he would not drown. Many people do not like to believe that a whale could swallow a man, and that the man could remain alive inside it. Jesus confirmed that it happened [MAT:12:40]). Besides that, there are records in modern days of a man having been swallowed by a whale and the whale captured and the man removed alive. It is possible for a whale to swallow a man, and the man live. But in Jonah's case, it was a specially prepared fish that God had waiting to receive Jonah when he was thrown from the ship. Inside that fish Jonah prayed.Jonah's Prayer
Let us observe Jonah's prayer. He prayed as a lost sinner who is in trouble, and God heard him. His prayer sounds very much like that of David, which perhaps Jonah had read: "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" [PS:34:6]). Think of the mercy of God! Even when we have caused our own troubles, if we repent and call upon God, He will hear us and deliver us from them. Now Jonah was willing to do anything God wanted him to do. And it was not yet too late. Out of the belly of the fish he prayed, and far up in Heaven God heard. No matter where we are, we are never too far from God for Him to hear our cry. But we must be honest. We must mean what we say when we promise to follow Him wherever He leads us. And did you notice that Jonah brought thanksgiving into his prayer? The Apostle wrote: "With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" [PHL:4:6]). Jonah was desperately in earnest, and had to have an answer to his prayers; so he was grateful for God's mercy, and he was willing to pay his vows. Again we notice how his prayer was like that of the Psalmist, who prayed: "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" [PS:50:14-15]). First, we thank God for His mercies and His past blessings, then we pay the things we have promised to God; then we get the blessing.To the Work
Jonah had prayed and God had heard him and caused the fish to vomit him upon the land. Can you imagine how Jonah felt when he saw the land and sky, the trees and grass? For three days and nights he had been in pitch-darkness inside the fish, with seaweeds wrapped around his head, and now he could see again. He had no time to rest nor even to think about it, for immediately the call came again: "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." God's message had not changed. Jonah had had some strong discipline to fit him for the task, but the work of God was still the same. Jonah got right up this time, and started for Nineveh. He preached exactly what God told him to preach: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."The Revival
The result of that sermon was such as every evangelist hopes for. The whole city repented. When the king heard Jonah's message, he took off his royal robes and put on sackcloth. He sent word into all his realm that everyone should humble himself and pray and fast. No one, not even the animals, was to eat any food nor drink water while they called upon God to forgive them. He told them they were to cry mightily unto God. They were to pray until they received an answer. They were to pray in such a way as to show God they meant what they said. That was true repentance, which brings salvation. They were not only to repent of past sins, but they were not to sin any more. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" [ISA:55:7]). This heathen king of Nineveh knew that it was necessary to forsake one's sins in order to be saved. How happy Jonah should have been that all the inhabitants of that great city turned to God! Think how happy we are when we see one soul pray through to victory. How great must have been the rejoicing when 120,000 people gave their hearts to God! What a miracle " a much greater miracle to see that many people repent at once than the fact that Jonah came out of the fish after three days! But Jonah wasn't happy. He had preached that the city would be destroyed in 40 days, and now it was not going to happen after all. So Jonah pouted. He went out of the city and made himself a little booth and sat down and wanted to die. Then God showed Jonah an object lesson. He caused a gourd to grow in the night to give shade to Jonah as he sat in his booth. Jonah was happy for it. But the next night a worm ate through the stem and the plant died. Again Jonah was left sitting in the sun, and it made him angry. God asked Jonah to be reasonable. Jonah had had nothing to do with making the plant grow. Why should he be so concerned when it died? How did that plant compare with the people of Nineveh? Should not God show mercy to those many people who in their ignorance had been sinners?