God’s Mercy to Outsiders: The Message of Jonah (Eastside Baptist/Wed PM/July 10, 2013)
The Message of Jonah
Ø Setting and Context
Ø Structure & Message
Ø Important Themes
Ø “Jesus Lens” and New Testament Application
Setting and Context
Ø Jonah, son of Amittai
§ From Gath Hepher, 2 Kgs 14:25
§ Prophet to Israel (N. Kingdom)
Ø During reign of Jeroboam II
§ Prosperous, spiritually dark
§ Enemy Assyria in decline, but the threat still present.
Structure & Message
Ø Jonah runs from God.
Ø Jonah’s prayer and rescue
Ø Jonah goes & Nineveh repents.
Ø Jonah’s anger & God’s question
§ Narration of events, not prophetic oracles
§ Lesson in story and final ?
Jonah runs from God.
Ø Jonah’s reluctance is rooted in righteous motives.
Ø But he fails to understand God’s boundless mercy.
Ø Irony: Jonah runs from God; pagan sailors sacrifice to God.
Ø God rescues undeserving Jonah
Jonah’s Prayer & Rescue
Ø Prayer from inside the fish
Ø Prayer for deliverance, formed as a “Psalm of Thanksgiving”
Ø Irony: Jonah is thankful for the salvation he does not deserve, but unwilling to warn others who are undeserving.
Jonah goes & Nineveh repents.
Ø Jonah responds to 2nd call.
Ø “40 days till’ doom’s day!”
Ø City-wide demonstration of repentance and sorrow
Ø Irony: Jonah presumed on God; pagan Ninevehites only hope (9).
Ø God relents (Jeremiah 18:7-8)
Jeremiah 18:7-8
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
Jonah’s Anger & God’s Question
Ø Jonah is angry at God, because he is compassionate!
Ø Jonah would rather die than see Nineveh spared.
Ø Jonah waits for the fire to fall!
Ø An object lesson
Ø A question with no answer
Jonah 4:10
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.
Jonah 4:11
And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left--and also many animals?"
Important Themes
Ø God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all peoples.
Ø God’s compassion is boundless.
Ø God will bless all peoples through his blessing to Abraham’s descendants.
Ø God has mercy and compassion on whom he wills; we are not in a position to question the extent of God’s mercy.
Ø God is the sovereign Lord, and every force of nature does his bidding.
“Jesus Lens” and Application
Ø The ultimate display of God’s compassion for the nations was the death, burial (3 days), and resurrection of Christ.
Ø The gospel message is for the nations, and whoever believes is spared God’s judgment.
Ø There is no sinner beyond the reach of God’s compassion and grace.
Ø We may not run from our commission to share the good news with people who may seem to be far away from grace.
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