Jonah Part 2

Jonah 2 ended with Jonah getting vomited out of the fish.

· You know what’s crazy? The god the Ninevites worshiped was “Dagon” known as the fish God.

· And when you get swallowed by a fish and spit out, word spreads. So when Jonah got to Nineveh the Ninevites are all thinking, that’s the man that Dagon spared! That’s the man that Dagon sent.

· Jonah was afraid that the Ninevites would kill him, a prophet of God. But God rescues with the best thing that would rescue him not only from drowning but from the Ninevites!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overview of Jonah 3

God tells Jonah again to go to Nineveh and deliver the message he will give him. Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh. It took Jonah 3 days to go through Nineveh proclaiming “45 more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed him! They all fasted and put on sackcloth. Even the king took off his royal robes and put on sack cloth and sat in dirt and declared:

o Do not let people or animals taste anything.

o Do not let them eat or drink.

o But let all people and animals wear sackcloth.

o Everyone needs to urgently call on God. Stop your evil ways and violence.

The king said if we do this, maybe God will have compassion and not kill us. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways he did not destroy them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*When we think everything is about us, we have the wrong perspective. Every time you delay or disobey God. He’s not telling you to do things that are interrupting your story, you’re interrupting his story by not doing those things!

*When we think someone doesn’t deserve God’s grace, but we want God’s grace, we have the wrong perspective.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overview of Jonah 4

Jonah had gone out of the city and made a shelter and sat in the shade watching and waiting to see what would happen to the city. God provided a leafy plant and made it grow over Jonah to give him shade and Jonah was very happy about the plant. God told Jonah he was going to spare Ninevah. Jonah said I knew this would happen! I didn’t want to come because I knew you would show them mercy! I don’t want them to get grace and mercy!

· It wasn’t just that Jonah was afraid of Ninevah. It’s that he despised them.

· Jonah pouts.

· How ridiculous do you look when you pout?

· Why was Jonah pouting?

·Because what Jonah doesn’t understand about God is that God loves all of his people. ·God loves Ninevah!

·He doesn’t understand that God’s grace is for everybody!

·We have a hard time with that too. We play the comparison game about how other people’s sins are worse than ours and we deserve grace and mercy and forgiveness but not them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jonah got so angry with God for not destroying Nineveh that he said “take my life God for it is better for me to die than to live.”

o Jonah was DRAMATIC

o How ridiculous does he sound right now?

o So how ridiculous do you think you sound when you’re dramatic?

God responds “Is it right for you to be angry?”

· Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

o Somehow we think we have the “right” to: Whine, Complain, Be disrespectful, not rejoice always, talk badly about others, be dramatic, think we are better than others

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The story ends at dawn the next day God sent a worm that chewed the plant up that was providing Jonah shade, and the plant withered. Then the sun scorched Jonah’s head and he became faint. Again he wanted to die and said “It would be better for me to die than to live.” God said to Jonah “is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” Jonah responds “it is. I am so angry I wish I were dead”

o How often do we act like every bad thing is the end of the world?

God says: You are concerned about the plant, though you did not plant it or make it grow. It grew overnight and died overnight. Should I not have concern for Nineveh where there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left? Along with so many animals?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing:

1. Why did God give Jonah a mission? Because he loves Nineveh

2. Why did God track Jonah down and send a storm? Because he loves Nineveh

3. Why did Jonah get swallowed by a fish? Because he loves Nineveh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

·God loves you. There is no where you could go and nothing you could do that would make God stop loving you. He’ll even chase you!

· It was hard for Jonah to accept this, it’s hard for us to love people like that enough to want grace and mercy for them. But God offers it to them because he loves them.

· We can be thankful for a God that will love us no matter what. But we don’t deserve his love more than anyone else.

· In Isaiah, our “righteous acts” are called filthy rags, which basically translates to dirty tampons, because of sin. We aren’t better than anyone else. We aren’t more deserving than anyone else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

· What in your life are you calling an interruption that is actually an invitation?

· The story of Jonah shows us that God will do whatever it takes to show us how much he loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.

· Are you letting God overwhelm you with his love?