JONAH – MORE THAN JUST A WHALE OF A STORY by-Bud Snyder A very short book but oh the message, the truths and types we can see there. Jonah lived during the time of the Assyrian empire that eventually destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and carried then off into captivity and Jonah along with the inhabitants of Israel would have known this was to happen. This was probably the most wicked empire that ever existed. Everyone in Israel would have known the barbaric cruelties that followed the takeover of towns, villages and cities by the Assyrians. There would be piles of decapitated bodies and pyramids of human heads. People were literally tied down where they couldnt move a muscle and were inch by inch skinned alive. The leaders of the towns would have a sharpened pole driven into their lower chest. Then the pole would then be raised with the end of the pole planted in a hole with the body stuck in the air to suffer and die a most painful death. People were blinded, arms, legs, feet, ears and noses cut off. They would actually reach into a person’s mouth and pull their tongues out by the roots. Jonah knew of the blood-curdling savagery of the Assyrians and that they would eventually destroy his own land and people. It was to this city, Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian empire that God told Jonah to go and preach a coming judgment too and to tell them to repent. Some have thought Jonah was afraid to go there, and that was why he didnt go at first, but I dont think so. Jonah tells us in chapter 4:2 why he didnt go at first. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.(Jonah 4:2) The best news that Jonah or Israel could have heard was that God was going to destroy Nineveh. Jonah didnt want to go to Nineveh and tell them about coming destruction because they just might repent and He knew God well enough that He would relent and not destroy them. So it was either go to Nineveh and preach and they might repent and be spared and that would assure Israels destruction or disobey God and not go and maybe Nineveh would be destroyed and maybe Israel wouldnt be destroyed. Lets briefly look at the story. Jonah was told to go to Nineveh and proclaim that God was going to bring judgment on it. Jonah decides not to go and gets passage on a ship going to Tarshish which was probably Spain. Note in chapter one it is said 3 times that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord and Jonah even tells the other men on the ship that. This would probably draw questions from them and Jonah probably told them why he was fleeing, about Nineveh etc. When the storm came that God had prepared, Jonah realized he was the reason and told them to cast him overboard and when the storm ceased the men no doubt knew that God had brought it on and this message that God gave Jonah to take to Nineveh was very important. We cant say for sure but they might have seen the fish that God also prepared, swallow Jonah. Well they had emptied their cargo so there was no reason for them to continue their voyage so they probably returned to Joppa with a very wild story to tell. Then when Jonah reappears Im sure there was a story to tell. I say all this and kinda reading between the lines because when this man Jonah a Hebrew appears in Nineveh and tells them that in 40 days God is going to destroy the place, they took him serious. I believe they had already heard about Jonah and his experiences and when they saw this bleached out man that had been in the belly of a fish for three days and nights they knew that this God of Jonahs was very serious. There might be a couple of other things the people of Nineveh were considering. They knew the cruelty that their army brought on their captives and God might just be feed up with that cruelty. Then in (2Kings 14:25) in speaking of a prophecy of Jonahs it might seem to Nineveh that the God of Jonahs might be permitting Israel to regain land and just maybe Nineveh could be seeing their last days as an empire. He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher. (2 Kings 14:25) From what I can find out about that period, Judah, Syria and Israel had refused to continue paying tribute to Assyria and there was other revolts in the empire and also Babylon was becoming stronger and was refusing further submission. In (Matthew 12:40) Jesus says that the 3 days and nights that Jonah was in the fish was a type of Him being 3 days and nights in the heart of the earth, referring to His death, burial and His body being in the grave 3 days and nights and all that He did during that time in Spirit form. Then in (Luke 11:30) Jesus states that Jonah himself was a sign to the people of Nineveh as Jesus was to His generation. Im sure when this man Jonah appeared in Nineveh, he was certainly a sign to them and it had its effect. The great fish prepared by God and His preservation of Jonah was for sure a great miracle and of course that is where many people dispute the fact of Jonahs story. But what is sad is that these same people overlook the greater moral miracle of all these thousands of people repenting and the other miracles of the storm and it relenting and the miracles in chapter 4 where God is teaching Jonah some spiritual truths. So we come to chapter 4 and find Jonah angry because God didnt destroy Nineveh and here we find out why he chose to disobey God and attempt to flee to Tarshish. He says to God that he knew He would do this and spare Nineveh. Well God teaches Jonah some lessons here. Here we see Gods patience, tenderness and love as He teaches Jonah some valuable lessons about God Himself and His dealings with other nations and peoples other than Israel. We see God prepare a vine to grow and provide him some shade from the heat and Jonah was thankful for that. Then God prepared a worm to destroy it and then prepared an east wind which would have been a very hot air blowing on him. Jonah becomes even more angry over the vine dying. God tells him that he (Jonah) had more concern for the vine than he did for the many thousands of human beings in Nineveh that had repented and God had spared. The story leaves us here but I believe God planted many questions in Jonahs mind for him to ponder and also in the minds of Israel as a nation and to us as individuals. I believe right here we see the very heart of God and that is what the book has been leading up to. In these last 3 verses we can see the message to Jonah and to Israel as a nation, that even though God had extended special favor toward Israel, didnt mean that His love for other people had been lessened. God had not chosen Israel just for their own sake, but to fulfill a divine purpose and that in the end would bless all peoples. The election of one nation didnt mean the rejection of all others. God loves all His human creatures without respect of persons, yes even the wicked sinners in Nineveh. And to us individually, we can get a glimpse of (John 3:16) and the world embracing that message. We can see how precious each one of us are to the very heart of God. So with all that I believe we can see 4 main movements in the book. Chapter 1: Jonah and the Storm. Jonahs Disobedience. Chapter 2: Jonah and the Fish. Jonahs Preservation. Chapter 3: Jonah and the City. Jonahs Proclamation. Chapter 4: Jonah and the Lord. Jonahs Correction. In Chapter 1 he is fleeing from God. In Chapter 2 he is praying to God. In Chapter 3 he is speaking for God. In Chapter 4 he is learning of God. I dont believe it would be fair to leave the book without briefly looking at the beautiful types that are presented here. Jonah himself is a type of the nation Israel. As we see Jonahs movements, we see the movements of Israel as a nation of people: The nation disobedient to the heavenly commission as Jonah was. The nation out of their own land as Jonah was. The nation finding refuge among the Gentiles as Jonah did. The nation as trouble to the Gentiles as Jonah did on the ship. The nation a witness of the true God as Jonah was to the sailors on the ship. The nation cast out by the nations as Jonah was by the troubled seamen. The nation miraculously preserved amid all their troubles as Jonah was miraculously preserved in the deep. The nation calling on God at last in penitence and re-dedication as Jonah did from inside the fish. The nation eventually finding salvation and deliverance in Jehovah-Jesus as Jonah found salvation and deliverance from the deep by declaring in his prayer Salvation is of Jehovah. The nation eventually becoming missionaries to the Gentiles as Jonah did. Then there is the type of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as Christ Himself declares that Jonah was. As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the fishs belly so shall the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. A very small book but chocked full of truths and Godly blessings, if we would just allow the Spirit of God to reveal them to us.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:22:49 +0000
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