Jonah Challenge - The story of the big fish or Big God?

[Guest ninhao]

 

..... Why did he think he was going to get away with it and what was Jonah doing fast asleep in this ship running from God? Next, Jonah is in the belly of the fish for 3 days, and 3 nights. I get the allusion to Christ. But barring that, are we to think he didn't before think to ask God for help, or merely that God kept him there for that long for a greater point? Perhaps that question has less bearing if we switch to 'allegorical mode' but even with that the question remains.

 

 

Maybe God allowed Jonah to become 3 days and 3 nights journey by whale from the dry land before Nineveh. A nice comparison of the time between death( at repentance and symbolised by water baptism ) and resurrection ( the new repentant man in Christ  ).

 

Whales may travel ~ 15 km/hr which would mean Jonah was 1080 km from the shore before Nineveh when swallowed. ( this is a large assumption )

[GoldenEagle]

 

When I i think of the story of Jonah... I think God is relentlessly pursuing, loving, and saving people.

Thoughts?

 

God bless,

GE

 

Perhaps more relentless than we were taught or can imagine.  Consider this - the story of Jonah is a typology with Jonah being the type and Jesus being the antitype.  Jonah's story foreshadows the redemptive work of Christ.  Matt 12:40 states "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  Jonah's 3 days/3 nights of captivity ultimately resulted in all of Ninevah turning to God.  What did Jesus' descent into the earth accomplish?  1Pet 3:19-20 states: " After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,"  What did Jesus proclaim and what was the result?  In the very next chapter 1 Pet 4:6 states: " For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does." Eph 4:8 states "Therefore it says, 'When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.'"  When Jesus ascended to heaven he emptied hell of its captives - this is known as the harrowing of hell.  Just as Jonah's preaching saved all of Ninevah, the proclamation of the gospel eventually results in the salvation of all mankind.

 

Jonah

Was a sinful man

Disobeyed and ran from God - didn't go to Nineveh as God originally instructed him

Was swallowed against his will by a fish - remained for 3 days

Preached a message of destruction

Was upset by God's mercy towards Nineveh

 

Jesus

Was 100% man and 100% God - He was not sinful.

Obeyed God in everything including dying on the cross - fulfilling all prophecies concerning Himself/Messiah

Gave his life of His own will as atoning sacrifice for making - died physically and rose again by the power of God 3 days later

Preached a message of redemption

Is delighted when people come to know God through and in Him

 

Was it Jonah's preaching that saved all of Nineveh? Or the fact that the people and the king repented... And more importantly GOD decided to save them because he is merciful, patient, and forgiving?

The main character of this story is God and not Jonah IMO.

God bless,

GE

[Elhanan]

Jonah

 

 

Was a sinful man

Disobeyed and ran from God - didn't go to Nineveh as God originally instructed him

Was swallowed against his will by a fish - remained for 3 days

Preached a message of destruction

Was upset by God's mercy towards Nineveh

 

Jesus

Was 100% man and 100% God - He was not sinful.

Obeyed God in everything including dying on the cross - fulfilling all prophecies concerning Himself/Messiah

Gave his life of His own will as atoning sacrifice for making - died physically and rose again by the power of God 3 days later

Preached a message of redemption

Is delighted when people come to know God through and in Him

 

Was it Jonah's preaching that saved all of Nineveh? Or the fact that the people and the king repented... And more importantly GOD decided to save them because he is merciful, patient, and forgiving?

The main character of this story is God and not Jonah IMO.

God bless,

GE

 

Not sure I understand your point.  The answer to your first question - not one or the other but both.  Second answer - yes. I'm assuming you understand Bible typology.

[GoldenEagle]

 

Challenge:

1. What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah? Try doing this by memory without reading the book first.

2. Pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you through this book. Re-read (or read for the first time) the book of Jonah with fresh eyes. Now either edit your post or write a new post with what God has shown you. What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah?

The Book of Jonah

 

Jonah disobeys the command to warn Ninevah.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”  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.

Notes:  Jonah later confesses that his reason for not wanting to obey God is because he desires Nineveh to be destroyed. He knows that if he goes to Nineveh the city will be shown mercy. 

<snip>

 

Trying to figure this out. Are the notes and red and green your thoughts TR?

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

 

Jonah

 

 

Was a sinful man

Disobeyed and ran from God - didn't go to Nineveh as God originally instructed him

Was swallowed against his will by a fish - remained for 3 days

Preached a message of destruction

Was upset by God's mercy towards Nineveh

 

Jesus

Was 100% man and 100% God - He was not sinful.

Obeyed God in everything including dying on the cross - fulfilling all prophecies concerning Himself/Messiah

Gave his life of His own will as atoning sacrifice for making - died physically and rose again by the power of God 3 days later

Preached a message of redemption

Is delighted when people come to know God through and in Him

 

Was it Jonah's preaching that saved all of Nineveh? Or the fact that the people and the king repented... And more importantly GOD decided to save them because he is merciful, patient, and forgiving?

The main character of this story is God and not Jonah IMO.

God bless,

GE

 

Not sure I understand your point.  The answer to your first question - not one or the other but both.  Second answer - yes. I'm assuming you understand Bible typology.

 

Yes sure brother. But others who read may not.

[TsukinoRei]

 

 

Challenge:

1. What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah? Try doing this by memory without reading the book first.

2. Pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you through this book. Re-read (or read for the first time) the book of Jonah with fresh eyes. Now either edit your post or write a new post with what God has shown you. What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah?

The Book of Jonah

 

Jonah disobeys the command to warn Ninevah.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”  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.

Notes:  Jonah later confesses that his reason for not wanting to obey God is because he desires Nineveh to be destroyed. He knows that if he goes to Nineveh the city will be shown mercy. 

<snip>

 

Trying to figure this out. Are the notes and red and green your thoughts TR?

God bless,

GE

 

 

Yus they are.  =o)  

[GoldenEagle]

 

1. Notes:  Jonah later confesses that his reason for not wanting to obey God is because he desires Nineveh to be destroyed. He knows that if he goes to Nineveh the city will be shown mercy. 

2. Notes: The Mariners did not know of the God of the Hebrews, but once they learned of Him and saw the power of the storm they believed in the power of God.  Even as Jonah was fleeing from the command to witness to Nineveh God used him to witness to the mariners.

 

 

3. Notes: Jonah does not even desire mercy for himself.  He tells the Mariners to throw him overboard, instead the mariners try to return to land with Jonah but are eventually forced to give up on that idea.

 

4. Notes:  Jonah describes sinking into the sea, seeing the mountains beneath the sea, weeds wrapping around him, and ‘the earth with its bars closed behind me forever’.  He fully expected to die when he was thrown into the storm. ‘Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.’  Imagine his surprise at finding himself alive inside the belly of a fish! 

“Those who regard worthless idols

Forsake their own Mercy.

 But I will sacrifice to You

With the voice of thanksgiving;

I will pay what I have vowed.

Salvation is of the Lord.”

Here Jonah relents.  He thanks God for sparing his life and acknowledges that Salvation is of the Lord, even so he cannot help but add the proviso that ‘Those who regard worthless idols’ have forsaken that Mercy which God offers.  He still hopes that Ninevah will be destroyed.

Been meaning to get back to this TR. I have numbered your thoughts in order to respond to them.

1. I agree. Chapter 4 shows that Jonah had a previous conversation with God where the reason Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh was because Jonah didn't want God to save the enemies of his people - Assyria.

2. Yes, the sailors called on false Gods. Then once they saw the power of God they made sacrifices to Him and decided to follow Him. Isn't this a great example that God can even use our disobedience to bring honor to His name?

3. I agree Jonah didn't want mercy for himself. He would've rather drowned then ask God to calm to the storms or obey God to go to Nineveh. It IS interesting that the sailors did try to row to safety before deciding to follow Jonah's advice to throw him overboard. It's like they had a code of honor or conduct that they weren't to leave any man behind.

 

4. I can only imagine being in a storm, the waves crashing around you, you think you're going to die... And then you're swallowed by a fish. People assume Jonah somehow found light but imagine complete darkness inside he belly of a fish. Imagine too the smells and what else was in that fish? Yes Jonah was missing the mark yet again. I agree he was still hoping that God would destroy Nineveh.

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

5. Jonah walked through the city for three days, declaring that Nineveh would be destroyed by God in forty days.

Notes:  The miraculous nature of this event is made more clear with the aid of other historical texts.  Jonah had good reason to believe that this city deserved no mercy because this was a city that showed no mercy. Think severed heads decorating the doors, people flayed alive and their skins displayed on the walls, a very active slave trade with the whip used liberally.  But the people believed, and they repented.

 

 

 

6. Jonah’s sense of justice is greatly offended by Gods mercy.  Having seen the level of suffering caused by the City of Nineveh his own heart cried out for their destruction and had no room for the possibility of repentance and salvation.  It would be like hearing a pastor stand up and declare that a child rapist and child pornographer who have repented have been forgiven and are going to heaven.  There are people who could not accept that truth.  Jonah would have rather died than seen these people spared, let alone be a part of their salvation.

 

7. Notes: Jonah told them it would be 40 days until their destruction.  So depending on when the countdown began at the end of his third day of warnings or at the first utterance when he stepped through the gates Jonah sat outside the city for 37-40 days to wait and see if it would be destroyed.  When the timer was up, and the city was still standing, Jonah was enraged. 

I can relate.  I was hurt badly at a Bible College and have often wished for the institutions economic destruction.  If I was commanded to rescue the place, become a fund raiser for it or give my own money that would be a very hard pill to swallow!  I have prayed that I would like to see the place either transformed or destroyed, but if I am honest I would rather see it destroyed.

God is more logical than that, if a place can be turned to good use through repentance then it is not to be destroyed.  The purpose of a city is to provide shelter and protection for the people within its walls.  If violence, torture, murder, and rape have taken over then the city is not serving its purpose to its people.

 

 

5. Yes the Assyrians were a very cruel, barbaric people, who worshiped the false god Ishtar. Nineveh was a very large city that was an important juncture for commercial routes (which would explain the slave trade) - connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. Also, peoples that were conquered became slaves - this would also explain the slave trade. I guess it just goes to show that even the worst of us God is still willing to save.

 

6. Yes, it is difficult at times for some to accept that murders, rapists, and other deviants of society can still be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. It's as if somehow "lesser" sins are not as bad in the eyes of God. We forget that to God pride or lust is just as evil to God as murder or rape. Sure, the consequences are different. But ultimately sin is still sin.

 

7. Sorry to hear that you were hurt at the Bible college you attended. What happened again? Was this in the UK or Canada? You are right if a place can be used for good and the people can be redeemed through repentance then why would God destroy it?

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

 

Additional observations:

 

Jonah witnessed to the city for three days.  Jesus was in the grave for three days.  Walking through the city of Nineveh, witnessing all the corpses and the suffering must have been like walking through the grave.

 

Israel was created to be a witness to the nations.  Their covenant was a commission to bring God to all the nations.  The focus of the priesthood seemed to become remaining separate, rather than separate for a purpose.

 

1.     What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah? Try doing this by memory without reading the book first.

 

From memory, I believed the book to be about mans desire for vengeance, vs Gods desire for mercy.

 

2.       Pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you through this book. Re-read (or read for the first time) the book of Jonah with fresh eyes. Now either edit your post or write a new post with what God has shown you. What is the story of and what is the significance of the Book of Jonah?

After re-reading the book I think that the significant themes are two-fold.

a.     Mercy

b.     The Great Commission.

 

 

Walking through the city of your enemies, seeing the filth, the perversion, and the idolatry must have been hard for Jonah.

God created each of us on purpose for His purpose. Sometimes we forget this.

I agree the book of Jonah points to God's mercy and desire to include people into His family - the Great Commission.

Great thoughts!

 

God bless,

GE

[TsukinoRei]

 

5. Jonah walked through the city for three days, declaring that Nineveh would be destroyed by God in forty days.

Notes:  The miraculous nature of this event is made more clear with the aid of other historical texts.  Jonah had good reason to believe that this city deserved no mercy because this was a city that showed no mercy. Think severed heads decorating the doors, people flayed alive and their skins displayed on the walls, a very active slave trade with the whip used liberally.  But the people believed, and they repented.

 

 

 

6. Jonah’s sense of justice is greatly offended by Gods mercy.  Having seen the level of suffering caused by the City of Nineveh his own heart cried out for their destruction and had no room for the possibility of repentance and salvation.  It would be like hearing a pastor stand up and declare that a child rapist and child pornographer who have repented have been forgiven and are going to heaven.  There are people who could not accept that truth.  Jonah would have rather died than seen these people spared, let alone be a part of their salvation.

 

7. Notes: Jonah told them it would be 40 days until their destruction.  So depending on when the countdown began at the end of his third day of warnings or at the first utterance when he stepped through the gates Jonah sat outside the city for 37-40 days to wait and see if it would be destroyed.  When the timer was up, and the city was still standing, Jonah was enraged. 

I can relate.  I was hurt badly at a Bible College and have often wished for the institutions economic destruction.  If I was commanded to rescue the place, become a fund raiser for it or give my own money that would be a very hard pill to swallow!  I have prayed that I would like to see the place either transformed or destroyed, but if I am honest I would rather see it destroyed.

God is more logical than that, if a place can be turned to good use through repentance then it is not to be destroyed.  The purpose of a city is to provide shelter and protection for the people within its walls.  If violence, torture, murder, and rape have taken over then the city is not serving its purpose to its people.

 

 

5. Yes the Assyrians were a very cruel, barbaric people, who worshiped the false god Ishtar. Nineveh was a very large city that was an important juncture for commercial routes (which would explain the slave trade) - connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. Also, peoples that were conquered became slaves - this would also explain the slave trade. I guess it just goes to show that even the worst of us God is still willing to save.

 

6. Yes, it is difficult at times for some to accept that murders, rapists, and other deviants of society can still be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. It's as if somehow "lesser" sins are not as bad in the eyes of God. We forget that to God pride or lust is just as evil to God as murder or rape. Sure, the consequences are different. But ultimately sin is still sin.

 

7. Sorry to hear that you were hurt at the Bible college you attended. What happened again? Was this in the UK or Canada? You are right if a place can be used for good and the people can be redeemed through repentance then why would God destroy it?

God bless,

GE

 

 

It was in Canada, but run by Americans.  So I consider it a blend.  My problems there included back biting, gossip, racial discrimination and gender discrimination.  The gender discrimination was irritating at worst, the racial discrimination was painful at best.  But the gossip hurt even more than that.  I had come out of a school of drunkards and drug heads where I was bullied both for being a Christian and for my race.  I had foolishly expected Bible College to be different, full of fellow Followers of Christ who, like me, would never bully or gossip or be racist.  I am no longer capable of having such high expectations, or even hopes, of my fellow man.  Integrity is rare and surprising.  As far as humanity goes, I trust only my husband.  I told God the day I left that place that I love Him, but his family sucks.  I remain estranged from that so called family of God.  This forum has become, for me, a safe place to experiment with talking to the family again.

 

Thank you for your point by point observations of my analysis.