A PROPHET RESIGNS

#101                     A PROPHET RESIGNS

Scripture         Jonah 1:1-2:10, NIV                                                                                                

Orig.     7/1/1964

Rewr.    5/17/1989

Passage: 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 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.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.  But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 

6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”  7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

Purpose: Beginning a two-part series on Jonah, here telling the story of a prophet who resigns his commission.

Keywords:      Bible Study                 Disobedience

Series:   Old Testament Prophets

Introduction

              The story contained here is relatively simple.  God calls a man by the name of Jonah to go to a place called Nineveh to denounce her wickedness.  Nineveh was a real place, Jonah was a real prophet.  But instead of occupying himself with what God has called him to do, Jonah, for reasons of his own, chooses to disobey.  In fact, he acts upon the call by going in the opposite direction.

              His reasoning does not reflect deep spiritual insight, but it certainly does reflect the posture of  man who believed in God’s power to redeem.  It was potential to success that drove him to other considerations.

              On board that ship, they encounter a storm.  Jonah is thrown overboard as a compensation to Jehovah, and is at once swallowed by a “great fish.”  Three days later he was disgorged back near where he boarded the ship.  The three days had given him time to re-think  his position, and when the call came to  him again to go to Nineveh, he concurred.  True to God’s original expectation, when Jonah preached, the Ninevites repented.

              Jonah left Nineveh in a huff, found a place to observe what would happen, and angrily waited.  He wanted God to give them what they deserved.  A small plant grew up and shaded the prophet.  Then the plant died, and Jonah again became angry.  He then had to face up to the principle teaching of the book that God, unlike Jonah, was more interested in the needs of the people, than he was for the tenure of a worthless plant.

I.           There are Background Questions to Consider.  V1,  “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying. . . .”

              We need to authenticate Jonah.  II Kings 14:25, “According to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher.”

              Amaziah is dead, Uzziah comes to the throne.  Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom.  Thus, we learn he is a real person, that his home was in Galilee, and that he lived about 800 B.C.  He comes from a devoted family.  Jeroboam’s reign was one of material success.  In fact, it seems to have been Jeroboam II who kept Assyria at bay.

              We do not need to prove that Jonah wrote the book.  It doesn’t contain oracles or visions.  It contains life episodes told in the third person.  Could have been written immediately after Jonah’s time, or 200 or more years later. 

              The book has a strong historical following:  The book of Tobit (14th Century, BC); Josephus; Philo (1st Century Jewish  philosopher). The early church accepted it.  Christ quoted it (Matthew 12:38f—“no sign except”).

              It is  important to deal with the book as a possible allegory.  Those who say it is spurious, a fake, we will ignore.  There is spiritual truth given on occasion through allegory.  There is no  other Biblical event where a historical figure was used in allegory, telling a story figuratively or symbolically.  Jonah stands for Israel/Has been commissioned to make Yahweh known to Gentiles/Refuses/Is swallowed up in exile/Repents/Given a 2nd chance.

              Where the grumps have a problem, of course, is with the fish.  Most refer to it as a “whale” though the text indicates “great fish” (special).  Baxter calls it a “prepared” fish.  Greek of Jesus refers to sea-monster which indicates Jesus’ belief.  There are stories of whales taken in which were human remains.  One seaman, James Bartley, disgorged stated he could have lived to starve.

              We need to think through his possible reasons for refusal to go to Nineveh.

·         A natural fear of another culture.  Their inhumanity was well-attested.

·         People, then and now, have a deep protestation against other religions.

·         The prophet wanted to be among the known of Israel, not wasted in Assyria.

·         Believing God to be a redeeming God,  he would not be the instrument of delivery.

·         To escape God, “flee from the presence of the Lord,” v3.  Psalm 139:8, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in sheol, behold, thou art there.”  At home, reminders are everywhere.  At Tarshish (?)

·         Simply, he did not want Nineveh spared.  4:2, “I fled . . . for I knew that thou art a gracious God.”

              We can piece together what Jonah’s rationale must have been.

·         Prophesied during Jeroboam’s reign.

·         Jeroboam II’s son Zechariah reigned six months.

·         Assassinated by Shallum (1 month).

·         Assassinated by Menahem (10 years).

·         But early on, Assyria is mentioned.

·         Later prophets will point to struggles with Assyria.

·         There is an earlier struggle with Syria.  See II Kings 13:5f. See Bib. Illus. Sp83p82.

·         Apparently, Jonah reacted against what would be a nation of power.