Prophet Jonah- The Reluctant

Mouthpiece for God

WHAT IS THE STUDY ALL ABOUT?
 Disobedience
 Attitude we have towards “bad” people
 Journey towards repentance
 Jonah’s response on the assignment given to him by
God
 God is a merciful and compassionate God
SIGNIFICANCE
 teach us the importance obedience
 guide us on how we should act towards other people
 teach us how repentance affects judgment toward us
 Dignity
 Self-Centeredness
 Nationalism
THE BOOK OF JONAH
 We learn about the character of God.
 omnipotent
 Loving and compassionate
 God answers prayers
 God gives importance to the reclamation of sinners
Background of the Book of Jonah

Jonah - means “Dove”

- he was the one who make peace between the
heathen city of Nineveh and God.
- lived about the time of Jeroboam II
 Nineveh was located on the Tigris River
 It was approximately 8 miles in circumference. The
walls enclosed 1800 acres of land.
 Hence, it was three days’ journey around the city
(Jonah 3:3)
 At this time it was the capital of Assyria.
 Nineveh was known for its wickedness and cruelty of
its people.
Review of Related Literature
 This was the punishment of his sin. Verses 11-17
Dinichthys
Name: Dinichthys (Terrible fish).
Phonetic: Di-nik-fiss.
Named By: John Strong Newberry - 1873.
Classification: Chordata, Placodermi, Arthrodira,
Dinichthyloidea.
Species: D. hertzeri, sometimes spelled herzeri (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Uncertain because only the head portions are known,
possibly up to the same size as Dunkleosteus.
Time period: Givetian through to Famennian of the Devonian.
Fossil representation: Well-known but only from the jaws and
bony head armour.
Prehistoric Sperm Whale
 According to a Jewish website the following is true in
regards to the sperm whale:

"Robinson, a senior marine science instructor [at

Seaworld], and Parham, a science writer,
methodically studied the few clues that the Bible offers
for solving the
mystery.
 Robinson said that large sperm whales have esophagus
that measure as large
as 50 centimeters, or roughly a foot and a half wide.
They can be found in the Mediterranean.
However, men often measure more than a foot and a
half across their
shoulders, so in order for his swallower to have been a
sperm whale, Jonah
would have to have been of fairly slight build. "
 “Sperm whales are known to vomit up a very large
pieces of food when dying and the book of Jonah
mentioned Jonah being vomited in the land”
– Prof. Bullen
 Jonah's Obedience (3:3-4)
God repeated his command to Jonah to go to Ninevah. I think it shows the
grace of God that He gave Jonah a second chance.
This time Jonah obeys. It seems that there was no complaint this time. God had
gotten Jonah's attention.
Jonah's message is a simple one - “In forty days Ninevah will be destroyed!”
There wasn't a lot of persuasion. I don't think Jonah tried very hard to persuade
them. He would have gone into town, said his piece and left saying something
like, “Well, I told them. It's their own fault now when God destroys them.” I
think this also shows that Jonah hasn’t really changed his attitude. It seems to
me he is obeying, but grudgingly.
 Ninevah's Prayer (3:5-9)
But the people of Ninevah heard him and believed him and repented. And this
was a thorough repentance. Everyone from the king down to the cows were
crying out. I'm sure the animals were just hungry, but it probably seemed like
they were repenting too.
 Jonah's Anger (4:1-4)
 Jonah is furious when he sees the people's repentance.
He knows now that God is not going to destroy them.
Here we also see his true heart and further proof that
he did not repent in chapter 2. The truth comes out
about Jonah's fleeing from God in the beginning. He
knew God would forgive them if they repented, but
Jonah hated the Assyrians so much he didn't want to
even give them the chance to repent.
Results and Discussions
How often have you disobeyed God and rebelled against his will?
Percentage

Always 6%

Most Often 28%

Sometimes 60%

Rarely 6%

Never 0%
There were 60 % of the respondents who have disobeyed “Sometimes”.
How often do you obey the 4th Commandment?

Percentage

Always 15%

Most Often 37%

Sometimes 34%

Rarely 14%

Never 0%
Because our parents are the one who know what’s the
best for us and which way we must choose , we indeed
obey their rules and commands.
The wicked people of Nineveh were enemies of God’s people. Jonah
thought they should be judged and not given second chance. Are you also
like this?

Percentage

Always 3%

Most Often 9%

Sometimes 43%

Rarely 40%

Never 5%
Sometimes it is easy for us to judge those people who
don’t deserve second chances. But we don’t remember
that we ourselves also sinned. But God did not judged
us instead He shows His Love and mercy that gave us
another chance to repent.
Love your neighbors as you love yourself. Do you do this?

Yes 51%

No 17%

Maybe 3%

It Depends 29%
We are children of God, and He is the best example of a
loving fellow to his people.
As Christians, we are assigned in sharing God’s compassion for the lost.
Suppose you know a person who needs to be aware of his/her bad
behavior towards others. Are you willing to take a step and fulfill this
Christian responsibility?

Percentage

Always 23%

Most Often 49%

Sometimes 26%

Rarely 0%

Never 2%
Conclusion
 God needed to discipline a runaway prophet.

 God did prepare a "great fish" aquatic creature.

 God brought the runaway prophet and the "great fish"

together for His glory and the salvation of a large city.
Conclusion
 Repentance and the acknowledgement of our faults
would merit us the forgiveness and the salvation that
we seek from God.

 We can’t truly run away from the grasp of God.

 Nothing good will really come from running away from

our responsibilities.
Recommendations
 The researchers recommend doing a further study on
the different versions of the book of Jonah, translated
into other dialects and revised by other authors, and
compare the difference based on different beliefs and
what was said to happen.
 The researchers recommend doing a further study on
the properties of the fish based on different articles
and editions of books published.
 And to further study about the cause of Jonah defying
God's orders based on different beliefs and POV's.