This week we begin our 4-week series on the Book of Jonah. The story of Jonah is a fantastic story full of sailors and giant fish, worms who do God’s bidding, and a prophet who seems to hate the people he’s been sent to save. It’s a story of irony, humor and satire. In short, it is a true work of great literature. But while its literary status is certainly part of its appeal, it is, of course, much more than that. It is one of our core faith stories. So how do these two things connect? And how does the story of Jonah use humor and satire to help us understand who we are as well? These are just some of the questions we will explore as we work our way through one of the best stories in the Bible… The story of Jonah: The man who ran from God. We will cover one chapter each week through September. Please read along each week. You can find the Book of Jonah here. See youth is Sunday!(Pastor Brent)
Scripture Text:
Jonah 1
Jonah 1: | Running Away from God | 1 1-2 One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” | | 3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get. | | 4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering. | | The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we’re in trouble and rescue us.” | | 7 Then the sailors said to one another, “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who’s responsible for this disaster.” | | So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw. | | 8 Then they grilled him: “Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?” | | 9 He told them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.” | | 10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, “What on earth have you done!” As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God. | | 11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control. | | 12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.” | | 13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging. | | 14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.” | | 15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down. | | 16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows. | | 17 Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s belly three days and nights.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary:
Jonah 1 | Verse 2 | | [2] Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. | | That great city — It is said to have been one hundred and fifty furlongs in length, that is eighteen miles and three quarters, and eleven miles and one quarter in breadth. | | Verse 3 | | [3] But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. | | From the presence — From the place where God usually had shewed himself present, by revealing his word and will to his prophets. Perhaps he might think God would not put him upon this work, when he was got into a strange country. | | Verse 5 | | [5] Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. | | Into the sides — ln some cabin or other, whither he went before the storm arose. | | Verse 6 | | [6] So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. | | Will think upon us — With pity and favour. | | Verse 7 | | [7] And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. | | Cast lots — "Lots are an appeal to heaven in doubtful cases, and therefore not to be used but where the matter is undeterminable in any other way." | | Verse 8 | | [8] Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? | | Tell us — What hast thou done, for which God is so angry with thee, and with us for thy sake? | | Verse 9 | | [9] And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. | | I fear — I worship and serve the true God; the eternal and almighty God, who made and ruleth the heavens. | | Verse 13 | | [13] Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. | | Rowed hard — They were willing to be at any labour to save him. | | Verse 14 | | [14] Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. | | Unto the Lord — Now they all cry to Jonah's God, to Jehovah. | | And said — Let us not perish for taking away his life. | | Hast done — Sending the tempest, arresting the prophet by it, detecting him by lot, sentencing him by his own mouth, and confirming the condemning sentence by the continuance of the storm. | | Verse 16 | | [16] Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. | | Feared the Lord — Perhaps as Jonah's casting over-board was a type of Christ's death, so the effect it had upon the mariners might be a type of the conversion of the Heathen from idols unto God. | | Made vows — Probably they vowed, they would ever worship him whom Jonah preached, the Creator of heaven and earth. | | Verse 17 | | [17] Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. | | A great fish — The Hebrew word is, numbered, has appointed him for Jonah's receiver and deliverer. God has the command of all his creatures, and can make any of them serve his designs of mercy to his people.
Sermon Story by Gary Lee Parker on Jonah 1
There I was at home minding my own business and God came to me to go to Ninevah a message of repentance to the Ninevites or God was going to destroying them completely. Knowing that the Ninevites were enemies of all my people and that God was a compassionate and forgiving God, I decided to run the other way. I purchased a ticket for passage on a ship bound for
Tarshish. As soon as I got aboard the ship, I found a nice place below the deck and fell asleep. The next thing I remember is the Captain and his crew comes down and rudely awakens me wondering how I could be sleeping during this storm that threatens to destroy the ship. The Captain and crew decide to cast lots to discover who is to blame for this diasater of a storm. Of coursem the lot fell on me and I told them that I am a Hebrew who worships the One True God who made the Heavens, the Earth, and the sea. They did not want to cast me into the sea so they tried to row harder to shore with no solution. They prayed to God that they did not want the death of me to be on them as they cast me into the sea. As soon as they cast me into the sea, I noticed the storm was quieted down and I heard them worshiping the One True God giving Him Praise with a sacrifice to Him. The next thing I remember is that a large fish swallowed me up as God commanded.
What character do you relate to or not relate to in this story?
How would you respond in the character you relate to?
How do you live out this story in your life?
Many of us can relate to be similar to Jonah and running from what God is calling us to be. There was a college student here in San Diego who was a Business Administration major when God was calling him to prepare educationally to be a pastor. This young man knew that God was calling him to pastor the marginalized and counter-cultural people in the community. This young man was smart enought to realize that his church did not think much of the pastors who would reach out to such people as he saw how the church has treated such people. This young man decided to join the military in his run from God's call upon his life. He entered the military and the duty that was assigned him during his Basic Training time was as Chaplain Guide.
What is your story of runnning from God's call on your life?
How has God guided your life to have this call fulfilled? |
San Diego, California, United States - Normal Heights United Methodist Church with Senior Pastor, Reverend Brent Ross for Thursday, 4 September 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment