INTRODUCTION
1.
For the past several months a lot of attention has been
placed upon the country of
2.
What has not been emphasized is the fact
3.
A long time ago the prophet Jonah was sent to
4.
When Jonah went to this area, the region was known as
5.
The capital of
6.
In recent times it has been said that cruelty was
commonplace in
7.
Cruelty also existed when Jonah was commissioned to
preach to the people of
8. The Assyrians conquered other nations and forced them to pay tribute money.
9. Just as we pay taxes, so Assyrian took large sums of money from the people they conquered.
10.
11. If a conquered nation did not pay, the Assyrians inflicted punishment upon the conquered people.
12. Here are some quotes from an Assyrian king who punished people who refused to pay:
13. “With their blood I died the mountain red like wool.”
14. “I cut off the heads of their warriors.”
15. “I burned the young men and women with fire.”
16. For the scripture reading we heard Nah. 2:8 and the first five verses of Nah. 3.
17. Nahum
said the people of
THE
PEOPLE OF
A. One day God sent a message to this Jewish prophet to the Assyrian capital.
B.
Let’s read the first two verses in Jonah 1: READ Jonah 1:1-2.
C.
God said to
His prophet, “arise.”
D. This command was straight forward.
E.
God then said
“go.”
F.
Jonah may have
been accustomed to going where God sent him.
G. Perhaps he had previously been told to “go”
many different times in the past.
2.
This mission
may have sent chills down Jonah’s spine.
3.
I didn’t go
into great detail earlier, but enough was said to suggest the Assyrians were
brutal.
A. The torture being talked about in modern
times in
B.
The people of
this area were abusing others along time ago.
C.
This
mistreatment was so bad God said the “wickedness” had come before Him, Jon.
1:2.
4.
This is a
figurative expression.
5.
Whatever
happens on the earth is always before God.
6.
Here the sense
is, “This has reached a boiling point; no more will be tolerated; something
must be done.”
7.
God turned to
His prophet and said, “This matter is being put into your hands; go preach to
them.”
A. Most already know Jonah was not interested
in going to
B.
The people of
this area were so cruel Jonah believed they deserved death.
C.
Furthermore,
this nation was known for conquering others.
D. If Jonah preached a message of salvation and
they were not destroyed, what about this homeland?
E.
If the
Assyrians survived, they would be a threat to
8.
Jonah has
often been criticized by Bible students and he is deserving of condemnation.
9.
In faulting
him we sometimes forget about someone else who was a lot like him.
A. We read the first two verses; let’s pick up
with verse 3 – READ.
B.
This passage
tells us about a place called Joppa.
C.
Those familiar
with the New Testament know that Joppa is also mentioned in the book of Acts.
D. Acts 10 says Peter was in Joppa.
E.
Jonah was in
Joppa about 800 years before Peter lived.
F.
Eventually
Peter became a servant of God and he was in this same place.
10. At a later time (in the first century), God had a mission for Peter.
11. Peter was to teach the Gentiles.
12. Like Jonah, Peter didn’t want to go.
He needed some convincing.
13. He considered the Gentiles unclean; people to be avoided.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FIRST THREE VERSES IN JONAH AS WELL AS THIS ENTIRE BOOK, WE FIND AN IMPORTANT AND PRACTICAL LESSON.
A. God wants His message taken to those who are
lost.
B.
He wants
people to carry out His will.
C.
Someone has
made an interesting observation about the book of Jonah.
D. This is the only Old Testament book that
really reflects the universal nature of salvation.
E.
God’s concern
for
F.
He was
concerned about those who were not Jews (those outside the Jewish covenant).
G. He was also concerned about those who were
extremely wicked.
H. This whole book is dedicated to getting a
message of repentance to sinful people.
2.
This morning
we want to look at what has been presented thus far under four headings:
A. Who was Jonah supposed to go to and how does
this relate to today?
B.
How was the
job to be done?
C.
Objections to his
going.
D. God did not change His mind.
3.
The first
point (WHO) has already been partially explored.
4.
Jonah was
asked to go to probably the worst place in his day and time.
A. It would have been almost unthinkable for a
Jew to try and save Assyrians.
B.
Perhaps we can
appreciate the point by comparing it to the 1940’s.
C.
There are
people in this room who were not alive in 1942.
D. About 60 years ago
E.
Jews were
being gassed, tortured, and mistreated in ways we cannot imagine.
F.
Suppose we
were among those who were tortured but not killed.
G. Or, suppose we were forced to watch every
member of our immediate family killed.
5.
The
executioners then said to us, “Say to us whatever you want. Tell us something”
6.
How many of us
could have said, “We want to tell you about God’s love.
7.
We want to
tell you about Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers.
8.
We want you to
become a Christian.”
A. Saying these words in sincerity would be
pretty close to what Jonah was being asked to do.
B.
He was asked
to help redeem people who hated his nation.
C.
He was asked
to save a people that was brutal and nasty.
9.
It is no
wonder that verse 3 says this man of God tried to “flee.”
10. He bought a ticket which was in the opposite direction from
11. The decision made by Jonah points to a human weakness.
A. There can be people we do not like.
B.
There can be
people we are tempted to hate.
C.
There can be
folks who make our flesh crawl and our blood boil.
D. God says these people need to be taught.
E.
We may be the
right person to teach them.
12. It can be easy to hate or dislike someone.
13. Murderers are pictured in ways which make them easy to dislike.
14. Terrorists are portrayed in ways that make them easy to hate.
15. The book of Jonah has a permanent message for us:
16. No matter who someone is or how evil someone
is, they need God and the gospel.
17. When it comes to taking God’s message of salvation to the world, none is
to be excluded.
JONAH RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM GOD AND IT WAS TO BE TAKEN TO THOSE GOD SELECTED. WE ALSO HAVE A MESSAGE FROM GOD AND IT IS TO BE TAKEN TO PEOPLE—EVERY PERSON— BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT JESUS COMMANDED AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
A.
In Mk.
B.
God’s message
for the present day has universal application and it is to be distributed worldwide.
C.
This brings us
to the second point: how was the job
to be done.
D.
The prophet
was told to arise and go.
E.
It may not
sound like Jonah had very far to go, but this is not right.
F.
From where he
was to the city of
2.
Taking God’s
message to this city would not be easy.
3.
Neither was
this task something the prophet wanted to do.
4.
As we look at
what is described, we may draw some points of application for today.
A.
It is still
God’s will that we “arise and go.”
B.
Matthew’s
account of the great commission (28:19) says “go.”
C.
Instead of
being told to go to a certain city, country, or landmass of the planet, the
text says “world.”
D.
In about 20
weeks we have an opportunity to do this very thing on a local level.
5.
Each bulletin
contains a campaign countdown.
6.
Other
congregations in the area are receiving regular mailings about our campaign.
A.
At this time
we cannot predict how many from here and elsewhere will come to help.
B.
We do,
however, know what God’s will is: arise
and go.
C.
It seems safe
to make an observation based upon the life of Jonah.
D.
There will be
some who will object to going and some who will not go.
E.
Jonah
objected.
F.
We know he
objected because of what is said in 4:2 – READ.
G.
God said “go”
but the prophet said “I do not believe this is a good idea.”
H.
God said “go
teach” but His prophet decided to go somewhere else.
7.
In about 20
weeks each member of this congregation will be tested just like Jonah was.
8.
We are going
to be asked to go.
9.
Each of us
will make a choice.
10. We will either come and help, or like the
prophet, “flee” somewhere else.
A.
The right
choice is not running off to another place.
B.
We cannot run
from God and His will.
C.
This book
shows that God did not change His mind.
D.
God intended
for these people to be taught, Jonah to go, and both events happened.
11. God did not change his mind about saving the
people of
12. Jonah was the one who had to change. This is still right.
13. We live in a time when people think God will
confirm to their wishes and desires.
14. If people wait long enough, God will come
around to their way of thinking.
15. The book of Jonah says God does not operate
in this manner.
16. We must do things His way or there will be
serious consequences.
A.
We can go and
we must go.
B.
We can be
obedient to God’s commands.
C.
The book of
Jonah shows why this is necessary: God
will not change His mind.
D.
His will is
set and we must obey it. Have we?