I have prepared study sheets and answer keys for each devotion if you decide to follow along in your personal study.
I Am Jonah: Part 1 Study Guide
I Am Jonah: Part 1 Answer Key
Let’s begin with a little bit of scripture:
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3 NKJV)
Jonah was a Prophet of the lord, meaning he travelled and preached/shared God’s message to different communities. The book of Jonah is different from any other in that it focuses on Jonah, not the message or people it was delivered to. In the first three verses we see that the word of the Lord (God’s commandment) came to Jonah, he was to (1) go to Nineveh, (2) and preach against it because of their wickedness. Also we see Jonah’s response…no. His determination to avoid doing God’s will led him to extremes. To the point that we actually paid to get away from God’s presence (verse 3). Instead of going to Nineveh, he paid to go roughly 2,500 miles away from God in the opposite direction to a city called Tarshish (that distance is nearly the width of the United States, from East to West Coast). What a fruitless effort. Yet somehow Jonah really believed that he could get away from God.
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| (His journey should have been the red arrow from Joppa to Nineveh. However he paid to travel from Gath-hepher, to Joppa, to Tarshish almost 2,500miles away in the other direction. The black line shows roughly the course he finally took with God’s help). |
Let’s continue reading:
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:4-6 NKJV)
Due to Jonah’s disobedience and attempt to run away, God sent a storm. Jonah slept through the storm while the others called on their “gods.” Jonah’s ability to sleep should come as no surprise. He had obviously hardened his heart against doing the will of God. His choice of the lowest part of the ship as the place for his slumber highlights his determination to get as far away from the Lord as possible.
How often have we hardened our hearts to the will of God? We live in the mist of people heading to hell, and yet never find time to give them a decent chance of hearing the gospel. Simply giving out a gospel tract or sharing something as simple as “God loves you” could change their destiny.
It took the captain of the ship to finally wake Jonah. How often has it been the world that prompts us to take action? Sometimes it's while we are compromising our stand as Christians that someone challenges our Christian belief.
Jonah's seemingly remarkable calmness (or should we say slumber) in the mist of a storm should not be mistaken as faith, but rather as the condition of a backslider. He had successfully cut himself off from the activities of God around him. The consequences of his actions are obvious. Several souls could have perished. His disobedience was having a far-reaching effect. Disobedience and backsliding always do.
Jonah's sleep can only be a picture of the "spiritual sleep" many believers are engaged in today (Romans 13: 11-14). Spiritual sleep is being so unconscious of the leading of the Holy Spirit that we allow works of darkness, sin and the lure of our flesh to take us away from God's will without even realizing it. We become oblivious to the desire of God. We enter into spiritual sleep when we become so wrapped up and concerned with the affairs of this world, that spiritual things (and by that we mean the things of God) have no priority in our lives any more.
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. 17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:7-17 NKJV)
Casting of lots was a common means of discovering "the cause of a matter". Jonah knew he was the cause of their dilemma but kept quiet until discovered. He must have thought he really could escape from God. But all wrong doings are eventually exposed.
Jonah was asked several penetrating questions (verse 7). His desires of keeping his identity and wrong doing secret were completely gone now. Sometimes God will expose us publicly if we refuse to get right with Him in private.
Jonah eventually came to terms with the significance of his disobedience and made plans to fix what he had done. He offered to be thrown into the sea to save the men's life (verse 12). It's amazing what depths of sin disobedience can lead us into.
The men ignored Jonah and attempted rowing harder to overcome the obstacle of the storm. What sacrifice! But fruitless. Obedience is better than sacrifice. They had good intentions and tender hearts. They were doing all they could to avoid throwing a fellow man overboard. But they had no idea what they were up against. Finally the fear of losing their own lives made them ask for forgiveness before reluctantly throwing Jonah overboard. This resulted in the raging storm ceasing. Notice that there obedience eventually lead to their offering a sacrifice to God.
Obedience is always better than sacrifice. Sometimes obedience might look foolish, but if it's God's desire it will work out well.
Jonah was then swallowed by a large fish which ultimately saved his life and gave him time to think. He stayed in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. Jonah now is given 3 days and 3 nights to reconsider his response to God’s original commandment. Will he make the same mistake twice or will he follow God’s Will and preach to Nineveh?
We will look into Jonah 2 next week.
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