You can’t outrun God.

Lesson for Sunday, August 6, 2017

REVIEW:

  • In our last lesson, we talked about themajor split that happened after Solomon’sdeath.
  • Can anyone remember what the divisionresulted in? Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled over theSouthern Kingdom of Judah, and Jeroboam was madeking over the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
  • For the remainder of the lessons this year,we will be talking about Israel and Judahin this context.
  • Our lesson today is going to step outside ofIsrael for a moment to focus on a neighboring nation. The nation of Assyriawas to the northeast of Israel, and its capitalwas Nineveh. Nineveh was a Gentile nation,but salvation from sin wasnot only for the Jews, aswe will see.
  1. Jonah Runs From God (Jonah 1-2)
  2. Note: You don’t have time to read the entire passage. Choose the appropriate verses to refer to...
  3. Observe the Word:
  4. Who is the main character in this account? Jonah.
  5. Who was Jonah? He was a prophet and the son of Amittai.T
  6. The only other mention of Jonah in the Old Testament is in 2 Kings 14:25.What do we learn about Jonah in this passage? He was a prophet from GathHepher. This is a city near Nazareth in Israel.
  7. Who is the “he” in the beginning of verse 25? Looking back to verse 23, it is referringto Jeroboam II, who was a king in Israel from 825 to 784 BC. This gives us a timeframe for whenJonah was sent to Nineveh since there are no indicators within the book of Jonah to give us a date.
  8. So we know that Jonah was a prophetassociated with Israel rather than Judah and that these events happenedaround 800 BC as you can see on the History of Israel poster.
  9. What did God tell Jonah to do? Jonah was to go to Nineveh and cry out against theirwickedness.
  10. How did Jonah respond? He fled to journey to Tarshish, which is the opposite direction fromNineveh, thinking that he could flee from the presence of the Lord.
  11. In what ways did God miraculously demonstrate His control over the eventsin this account? He sent a storm (Jonah 1:4); He made the lot fall on Jonah(1:7; see Proverbs 16:33); He stopped the storm (1:15); He sent a fish toswallow Jonah (1:17); He had the fish vomit Jonah onto the land (2:10).
  12. Is it possible for a man to survive inside a fish for three days? No, so this isa miracle we can infer from the text. Some students may have heard of reports of a man beingswallowed by a whale and being rescued, but it is naturally impossible for a man to survive in thiscondition for three days. This was a supernatural act of God—He either sustained Jonah alive orbrought him back from death, a miracle in either case.
  13. What was similar about the responses of Jonah and the sailors? They bothcried out to God for mercy, recognizing His sovereignty.
  14. Interpret the Truth:
  15. Jonah should have known better than to think he could flee from thepresence of the Lord. As a prophet, Jonah should have known that Godwas Lord over Tarshish and that he could not hide from God.
  16. What attributes of God do we see on display in the first two chapters ofJonah? His omniscience is seen in His control over the events; His omnipresence is seen in howJonah could not hide from Him; His mercy is seen in sparing the sailors and Jonah from death; Hissovereignty is seen in directing the events of the account at the times He appointed them.
  17. Both Jonah and the sailors acknowledged God’s control over what washappening, and God was merciful—by stopping thestorm and sparing the sailors and by using a giant fish toswallow Jonah and spit him out on the land.
  18. Jonah Responds to God (Jonah 3-4)
  19. Observe the Word:
  20. How did Jonah respond to God’s second command to preach to Nineveh?He went and he preached to Nineveh.
  21. What was Jonah’s message to those in Nineveh? Nineveh would be destroyed in40 days.
  22. How did the people respond to Jonah’s message? They believed God, fasted, andput on sackcloth as a sign of their mourning for their condition.
  23. How did the king respond? He commanded everyone to fast, to cry out to God, and tostop being evil and violent, hoping that God might spare them.
  24. How did God respond to their repentance? He relented of His plans to destroyNineveh.
  25. How did Jonah respond to God’s relenting? He was angry with God for saving thepeople of Nineveh and asked God to end his life.
  26. After God had given Jonah a plant for shade and then caused the plantto wither the next day, what do we learn about God’s consideration forplants and people? God is much more concerned about the souls of the people in Nineveh.
  27. Knowing that Jonah did not want to preach repentance to the Ninevites,what must have been his attitude toward them? He must have disliked them somuch that he did not want God to save them.
  28. Interpret the Truth
  29. Jonah knew that God was merciful and gracious. Listen as I read verse 4:2.
  30. Jonah was a hypocrite in this moment. He had received and known God’smercy and grace. God had shown him patience and relented fromallowing Jonah to be destroyed in the storm, in the sea, and in the fish!
  31. Within all of this, we see a merciful God who waswilling to send a prophet to preach to a pagan nation and call them torepentance. The Ninevites heard the message, believed God, and repentedof their wickedness.
  32. Here we have a picture of what Scripture teachesabout salvation. Jonah himself made it clear that “salvation is of the Lord”(2:9). That same forgiveness of sins is available to each of us if we repent ofour sins and place our trust in Christ.
  33. The same God who relented ofdestroying Nineveh will relent of giving us the punishment we deserve forour sins. If we think we are in less need of salvation than the Assyrians,who were famous for their wickedness, we have failedto recognize the sinfulness of our own sin whencompared to the holiness of a perfect God.

MAKING ACCOMODATIONS Activity: DO THIS! Handouts will be in your attendance packets!

Applying God’s Word:

We have no reason to doubt the miracles recorded in the book of Jonah.God’s Word is true. The biggest of all of those miracles was the salvationof this truly pagan, wicked nation. Despite Jonah’s initial rebellion, Godused him to preach a message of coming judgment that was heeded bythe repentant people. In this, God was pleased to demonstrate His mercyand grace to sinful people.

If we have Jonah’s attitude and are not willing to proclaim the message ofrepentance and faith to some group or person we don’t think is worthy ofsalvation, we need a significant attitude adjustment. Jonah received God’sgrace in being spared from the destruction he deserved for his rebellion.

  • In what ways do you identify with Jonah in this section of Scripture?
  • When the gospel is proclaimed, it must be proclaimed through imperfectpeople. How can recognizing your limitations actually help you inproclaiming the gospel to those around you?
  • Jonah knew that God was merciful and gracious (4:1–2), but his correctunderstanding didn’t automatically lead him to right actions. Howcan we help one another to obey God’s commands and trust in Hischaracter?
  • Let’s do a little heart checkup. If you really stopped and examined yourheart, who do you believe is unworthy of receiving grace and mercyfrom the gracious and merciful God who saved you from your sin?
  • If you have received God’s mercy and grace in Christ, who do you needto intentionally share that truth with? Who have you been hesitant to goto with the hope of the gospel?