Jonah Week 2

Jonah: Week 2

The Storm

Jonah and Amos

God gave Jonah a positive message for Jereboam II - he would restore what was lost to Aram. When Jereboam continued in the sins of his forefathers, God sent Amos from the sheep farms south of Jerusalem to preach a message of doom. By 722 BC, the terrible prophecy of Amos was fulfilled.

Why not Jonah? Jonah apparently did not want to preach a message of doom to Jereboam - the king would not like him anymore! Proverbs 16:14-15 So God sent Jonah to preach a message of doom to Ninevah instead. Not only was it a message of doom, not likely to be well received, but Jonah also knew that God was sending him to bring them to repentance - and that was a worse prospect.

Jonah and Paul

God told Jonah to go to Ninevah, Jonah is afraid and goes West instead with the Phoenicians. In Acts 21:10-12 God tells Paul to go to Jerusalem, and then tells him he will be imprisoned by the Jews. Paul goes anyway, is imprisoned, and taken West by the Romans.

Acts 27:13 and following God sends a great storm for both Jonah and Paul, and Gentile sailors are converted.

1:4-5 How could Jonah sleep so peacefully? He had been struggling against the promptings of the Spirit, and when he had irrevocably made his decision - the Spirit ceased striving with him. Genesis 6:3
1:10 Jonah apparently gave full disclosure when boarding the ship. Why weren't the sailors concerned? Because the gods they knew lived in particular cities. It made sense to get away from a god by going far away from the city where it lived.

Jonah and Jesus

1:11-13 Jonah is speaking prophetically, both for the present (the sea does calm), and for the future. "It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John 11:50
This also like Jesus, who was asleep in the boat, and spoke a word to calm the sea.
1:14-17 Jesus tells the Pharisees: "A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:38-40
How was Jonah's sojourn in the sea monster a sign? Having lost their cargo, the sailors were now obliged to return home. They had a remarkable story to tell. When Jonah also shows up 3 days later, the story becomes even more remarkable.