Introduction
The story of Jonah is ripe for our mission because the setting and context speaks volume on the sad reality about human feeling and how we easily proud ourselves to disobeying volume on the sad reality about human feeling and how we easily proud ourselves to disobeying God`s command and fail to bring hope and confidence to people in the world about His compassion and saving grace. This mean, a clear Biblical knowledge about God is very important and necessary. Because a deep knowledge of God helps us to understand we are God`s (1 Corinth. 6: 20 and 1 Corinth. 7: 20-24). God has a purpose for our lives and for others through us to know Him and be saved. Today`s study will unfold the fact that like Jonah, sometimes we go shallow in our thoughts and give in to our feelings and lose sense of what the redemptive plan of God to save the world is all about.
2 Kings 14: 25 identifies the lineage of Jonah as son of Amittai from Gath-Hepher. Trace the location of Gath-Hepher, and comment on the words of the Pharisees when they said, “no prophet has arisen out of Galilee” (John 7: 45-52).
A. From Jonah 1: 1-2, the word of the Lord came to Jonah to “Arise and go to Nineveh and cry against it because its wickedness has reached me.’ With Jn. 20: 21, What can you say about God`s command to Jonah, especially, the content of this message?
B. In Jonah 1: 3, Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord, boarded a ship in Joppa
toward Tarshish. Assuming Jonah was moving West from Northeast, what can you
tell about disobedience considering the strong counsel in Prov. 1: 10; Corinth. 7: 1?
C. Jonah`s distaste for Nineveh has a sense of hatred and superiority as the recipients of God`s covenant blessing (Gen. 12: 3) from his action. Justify God`s reason for sending Jonah from Rom. 9: 14-16; Rom. 11: 11-15; Ephe. 2: 4-8; Isa.2: 2.
From Jonah 1: 4-6, God caused trouble on their journey so much that the ship almost broke. Everyone cried out to his god, they threw some of the cargo to lighten the ship. But Jonah went down the lower part of the ship fast asleep.
A. Because this was a money-making enterprise, ponder and describe the sailor`s action and why the owners of the cargo were unconcerned. Even more compare their actions with the thought and action of Jonah in Jonah 1: 12; Jonah 3: 10 - 4: 4.
B. Psalm. 31:9-15, contains David`s problems and prayers, what could cause people to
despair of life from the passages in Gen. 27: 46; 1 kgs 19: 4; Job 3: 11, 20-22?
C. From Mk. 4: 38-40; Matt. 8: 23-27 and Acts 37: 35-44, describe the qualities. shown by the Lord Jesus Christ and Paul that helped weather the storm Discuss what you admire about the grace of God at work in them.
In Jonah 1: 7-11, the people were searching for answer to save them from loss of cargo and their physical lives. In view of 2 Tim. 4: 3-5; Jn 5: 39-40 and Acts 17: 16-23, describe different things people do in their effort to be saved. Why are they still being kept from arriving at the truth about Christ?
A. Jonah was unhappy and chose to die when the Ninevites repented (Jonah 4: 3-4). He was concerned over the plant he did not grow in Jonah 4: 5-10. What stood out for you seeing what the sailors did and how they acted Jonah 1: 12-14?
B. Read Jonah 1: 6-10. At what time did the sailors asked Jonah to pray to His God? What does it mean to say God`s mercy and compassion was shown to the 120.000 people of Nineveh because they did not know or could discern their right hand from their left in Jonah 4: 10-11?
C. To illustrate the hardness of heart of the Pharisees and their unwillingness to repent, Jesus employed the repentance of the Ninevites in Matt. 12: 38-42 and Lk. 11: 29-32. What in the history of the Israelites should have served as a lesson to Jonah and to us about the compassion and mercy of God?