When it comes to walking with god, theres no doubt that one of the central issues is obedience. He sits outside of the city and pitches a temper tantrum in the face of god. In teaching to change lives, howard hendricks tells about an 83year old michigan woman he met at a sunday school convention in chicago. The book depicts the larger scope of gods purpose for israel. Jonah 1 jonah running from god a sermon by jeremy myers. T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. This did not mean, however, that jonah remained the same.
But who then wrote the book and where do those intimate details of the story come from. Though jonah had been unfaithful, rebelling against the lord, god remained a faithful father. We read nowhere in the book that jonah confessed his sin and received a new heart. It is used some 62 times in the old testament to describe the. Was this true conversion or only a temporary turning way from evil. Commentary on the book of jonah jonah 1 1the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai saying, 2arise, go to nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. A sermon on the book of jonah this morning youll notice we mixed up the order of the readings a little bit. Like jonah, we are often more concerned with our own comfort than with loving god and our neighbors as we should. God has expectations, and because he has those expectations, we have choices to make. Jonah is the only major old testament character taking a trip on the mediterranean sea. Though the book contains no direct prophecy, the experience of jonah. Jonah 4 jonah trying to run god a sermon on jonah 4.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. Furthermore, jesus validated jonah s experience in the belly of the fish as factual matt. Jonah sermon sermon outline by kevin cauley on the life of jonah and those lessons from it that are profitable for us today date written. Which particular scripture, more than any other, sums up the message of gods holy word. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, embraced in a single book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. If we in the church hope to impact our world for good, we must declare the lifechanging gospel of jesus christ. Grace in the book of jonah sermon by wade allen, jonah 1. In way, jonah is about missions because jonah does go on a missionary trip of a sort. Another story from the bible that many people know of is the story of jonah and the great fish. Jonah 1 sets the stage for the course of the whole book. The book of jonah is different from the other minor prophets, for it is the personal experience of the prophet himself. Weve gone through the story in years past, but in connection with the book, i want to reiterate it one more time to you.
When god calls abraham to offer his son isaac as a sacrifice, abraham gets up early in the morning and goes, but when god calls jonah, jonah runs away. Yonah is a strange prophet, and sefer yonah the book of jonah a strange book. This is the perfect type of fleshly israels rejection of christ and of christianity throughout history. He was gods instrument to carry out gods will on earth. The lectionary only gives us the end of it but to really get the whole scope of it, im going to go ahead and sort of paraphrase. I am drawn to the book of jonah not only because i. Jonah 14 a desperate mans desperate prayer jonah 2 the greatest revival in history jonah 3 should i not be concerned about that great city. Jonah is the book of the bible we want to look at tonight. Over 250 sermons including notes, commentary and illustrations according to promise. Jonah is commanded to go east to nineveh but flees toward the westernmost possible point 1. At the trinity church in scottsdale, pastor mark driscoll recently taught a four week series through the book of jonah entitled, a fishy tale about a faithful god. During the awful, bloody days of world war i, there was a british soldier who became so distraught with the war, the suffering and the death that he deserted.
The book of jonah is filled with valuable information and timeless lessons. Missionaries often talk about jonah, and so we think that jonah is a book about missions. Explain the difference between a revival and a spiritual awakening. Apr 09, 2007 another story from the bible that many people know of is the story of jonah and the great fish. Sermon jonah 4 angry jonah and our compassionate god.
In this sermon we will study the book of jonah and glean some general lessons from the book. Jan 31, 2017 the insights tom has gained from memorizing the entire book of jonah and the great contributions they offer to bible students. In a church with a sunday school of only 65 people, she taught a class of junior high boys. The book of jonah is different from other prophetic books, as many have noted. The book of jonah relates how god told jonah to go to the major assyrian city of nineveh and there prophecy that after 40 days it would be overturned. Not too long after the ministry of elijah and elisha, another prophet came onto the scene in the northern kingdom of israel during the rule of jeroboam ii 2 kings 14. List the four factors that god used to soften up the people of nineveh to receive jonahs message. It concerns a disobedient prophet who rejected his divine commission, was cast overboard in a storm and swallowed by a great fish, rescued in a marvelous manner, and returned to his starting point. The paperback bible presents the bible by the book and is designed to be portable, readable, and truly personal with ample margins for notations. Jonah sermon lessons from the life of jonah proposition. The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies. Jonah is the central character in the book of jonah, in which god commands him to go to the city of nineveh to prophesy. The book of jonah closes with sullen and unwilling jonah still preferring death to gods outpouring of mercy upon anyone except jonah and his jewish relatives.
Jonahs own telling of the story after his return from nineveh. The others are about what god taught the people through the prophet and jonah is more about what the prophet himself is being taught. I believe that it is significant at the opening of chapter two to see the words, then jonah prayed to the lord his god from the stomach of the fish. Sermons from jonah were just like jonah jonah 1 how god pursues prodigals, part 1 jonah 1. He tried to find his way to the coast so he could catch a boat and make his way back secretly to his. The honour god put upon jonah, in giving him a commission to go and prophesy against nineveh.
Running from god chapter 1 running to god chapter 2 running with god chapter 3. You can find the best commentary on jonah for you using the tools on the right side. The book of jonah is about an event that jesus said took place in history. Jonah saw the faithfulness of the father in his life. Fortunately, this is not how god and the bible work. Commentary on the book of jonah relevant bible teaching. Jonah is the only minor prophet who preaches to a foreign people. We are reminded that the conflict within the plot of our own lives often resembles that of jonah s more than wed like to admit. Jonah is the only minor prophet whose major activity takes place on foreign soil. Jonah sermon illustrations, free preaching ideas on jonah. Like jonah, we need to respond to gods mercy in grateful obedience. Like jonah, we are sometimes called to stand up for, or even preach, the gospel in uncomfortable circumstances.
During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. Jonah chapter 1 running from god february 2, 2020 jonah 1. Jonah reminds christians of the extent to which god goes in pursuing us in our. Preach on topics including obedience, running from the call of god, and gods propensity to forgive the unforgivable. The book of jonah was written roughly 3000 years ago by the prophet jonah. Jonah halfhearted obedience about this topical sermon outline on jonah halfhearted obedience.
Thats because i really want to pay attention to is the jonah reading. Jonah 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Running from your life amazing jonah tim mackie the bible project duration. We are presented with character, the plot, and the conflict all at once. The opening chapter of jonah is set in the midst of an intense storm, a really intense storm. Jonah knows this and complains about gods redeeming nature toward jonah. Jonah 4 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Summary of the book of jonah the story of the bible. The book begins with god telling jonah to go to the great city of nineveh. The story is presented much like that of elijah and elisha. There are many candidates to be sure, but when it is all said and done i believe the greatest verse in the bible is john 3. The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies.
A fishy tale about a faithful god takes you to the old testament story of jonah and shows. The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonahs character is anything but dovelike. Prepare your messages on gods word in jonah with sermon outlines or an entire sermon series. Jonah was already a successful prophet when the events of this book took place ii kings 14. If jonah had his free will in this situation, then he just would have left for tarshish and the book of jonah would have been just a few verses. Top 5 commentaries on the book of jonah ligonier ministries. His name was jonah son of amittai from gathhepher near. The man jonah was the main character of the book, he was the son of amittai jonah 1. Jonah signifies a dove, a proper name for all gods prophets, all his people, who ought to be harmless as doves, and to mourn as doves for the sins and calamities of the land. Now he obeys and goes to nineveh, the capital of israels ancient enemy.
Pastor charles preaching series on the book of jonah visit our church website. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Jonah is the only minor prophet where miracles play an important role. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Our sermon ideas on jonah will help you preach a powerful message on the difficult commission of god. The hunter and the lion from many sided messages on the book of jonah by neighbor. Spurgeons bible commentaries commentary on the song of solomon spurgeon commentary series holman old testament commentary hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah spurgeons sermon notes. The book is also written as a historical narrative. So, if you have your bible with you and i hope you do go ahead and start looking for the book of jonah. This book of jonah, though it be placed here in the midst of the prophetical books of scripture, is yet rather a history than a prophecy. First, we should note that this marvelous narrative has suffered the brunt of the critics barbs for a long while. The book of jonah, or more accurately, the story of jonah is so well known that we can sometimes skip over it and ignore what the true message of the book of jonah is. When god wills you to perform a task or do something, you will have little to no choice on the matter.
In this sermon, guyton begins a lesson dealing with the book of jonah with emphasis upon gods love for all mankind as the impetus to send unwilling jonah to preach to nineveh. That is the point of the book of jonah in the old testament. Jonah did not want to go on this mission and attempted to flee to tarshish in spain. Verses 12 this book is a story about god and jonah. And jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. A couple of the key themes we find in this book are gods sovereignty the fact that he is in control. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to. All the animals fled in fear except the lion, who shook his shaggy form and roared in defiance. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan.
In other words folks, if jesus christ validated the importance of the book of jonah with his statement about this being the only sign that the jewish people. This sermon deals with how the message of repentance can change hearts. Rating is available when the video has been rented. Jonah has been thinking throughout the book that he, like the bridetobe in the prayer, knows better than god what should happen to the ninevites, and so jonah hat been trying to put himself on gods throne. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah.
God chose to reach the ninevites despite their sinfulness and jonah s reluctance. Extensive verse by verse explanation, illumination and clarification of this prophetic book seen though the lens of middle east culture and the ancient near east. Jonah reminds christians of the extent to which god goes in pursuing us in our rebellion and in. The theme of repentance nominates it for being read on yom kippur, but it has less to say. The word of the lord came to jonah and jonah refused. As we get started in the message this morning, i want to invite you to go ahead and start turning to the first chapter of the book of jonah. The bible is a book that shows some submitting to god while others are seen as rebelling against god. In the last chapter of the book, we hope that jonah finally learns his lesson. The word rebel has the idea of resisting or rising up against authority. But he could not understand how god could love even foreign nations who did bad things. Perhaps we could reflect upon a few of these matters. Anchor is a gospel book that explains the good news in a simple and persuasive manner.
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