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Jonah: The Survivor Series

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Title: Jonah: The Survivor Series


1
Jonah The Survivor Series
  • Presented by
  • Reed Lessing M.Div., S.T.M., Ph.D.
  • lessingr_at_csl.edu
  • Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology
  • Director of the Graduate School
  • Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO

2
Goals
  • Refuel
  • Renewal
  • Resources
  • Adult Bible Study
  • Lenten/Holy Week Sermon Series
  • Lenten/Holy Week Worship Services

3
Outline of Presentation
  • Introduction to the Book of Jonah
  • The Main Themes in the Book of Jonah
  • Satire and Irony
  • Jonah and Noah
  • Mission
  • Lenten and Holy Week Sermon Series

4
  • Part 1
  • Introduction

5
Introduction
  • Jonah doesnt seem to have a lot in common with
    any book in the Old Testament. Fretheim writes of
    Jonah It has no exact counterpart in the Old
    Testament or in known literature from the ancient
    Near East. The book is as elusive as it is
    deceptive. Augustines response to an inquiry
    made by a potential Christian convert perhaps
    gets at this best. What he asks about the
    resurrection of the dead could be settled. But if
    he thinks to solve all such questions as those
    about Jonah he little knows the limitations of
    human life or of his own.

6
Introduction
  • Father Mapple in Herman Melvilles Moby Dick
    states Even though Jonah is one of the smallest
    strands in the mighty cable of the Scriptures,
    the book is one of the most puzzling and
    intriguing of the entire Old Testament. Though
    there are only 689 words in the Hebrew text of
    Jonah, numerous complexities abound. Did the
    sailors really convert? And speaking of
    conversion, did the Ninevites really convert?
    And speaking of the Ninevites did their animals
    really repent? And speaking of animals, whats
    this deal about a fish could such an animal
    really swallow Jonah? And speaking about Jonah
    well, you get the idea! In this puzzling and
    intriguing book we will journey with Jonah and
    meet a huge storm on the Mediterranean Sea, a hot
    east wind over distant lands, take a tour of
    Sheol, discover the insides of a great fish and
    watch a plant come and go in a day. Most
    surprising we will meet a God who has more love
    and grace and patience than we could ever imagine
    in his pursuit of reluctant and stubborn people
    like us.

7
Introduction
  • Although on the surface the book of Jonah appears
    to be simple and straightforward, underlying it
    is a complex use of language. Brichto comments
    on the literary genius of the book The Book of
    Jonah is from beginning to end, in form and
    content, in diction, phraseology and style a
    masterpiece of rhetoric. It is the work of a
    single artist, free from editorial comment or
    gloss every word is in place, and every
    sentence.

8
Introduction
  • The book of Jonah is a model of literary
    artistry, marked by symmetry and balance. It is
    an ornate tapestry of rhetorical beauty. The
    symmetry of the book produces rhythm, contrast,
    emphasis and continuity. It is an exquisitely
    designed story that discloses a profound
    theology, but it communicates in very subtle
    ways.

9
Introduction
  • Old Testament narratives are generally reticent
    to make their points directly, preferring to do
    so more subtly. To this end, they employ a wide
    array of more indirect means in developing the
    narratives characterizations and in focusing
    reader attention on those aspects of the
    narrative that contain its persuasive power.
    Mention of physical details, for instance, is
    seldom if ever random. If we read that Esau is
    hairy (Gen. 2525), Ehud left-handed (Jud. 315),
    Eglon fat (Jud. 317) and Eli portly and
    dim-sighted (1 Sam. 318), we should anticipate
    that such details in some way serve the
    characterization or the action of the narrative.

10
Introduction
  • This involves, then, close attention to the
    subtle details and one detail that we dare not
    miss in Jonah is the use of repetitions. Words
    and word stems (i.e. Leitworte), motifs, similar
    situations (sometimes called type-scenes or
    stock situations), and the like are used by the
    author of Jonah in a masterful way and for those
    who have eyes to see the book maximizes all of
    these classical features of Hebrew narrative.

11
Introduction
  • Commenting on Jonahs popularity in early
    Christian art Graydon Snyder observes, There can
    be no doubt that the primary artistic
    representation of early Christianity was the
    Jonah cycle. Of all known pre-Constantinian
    Christian frescoes, mosaics, sarcophagi and
    sarcophagi fragments, Jonah at rest appears 42
    times, Jonah cast into the sea 38 times and Jonah
    vomited from the fish 28 times. By way of
    contrast, the next most frequent figure is that
    of Noah, who appears in eight instances. The
    most frequent New Testament scene is the baptism
    of Jesus with six occurrences. Jonah is far and
    away the most popular biblical narrative before
    and even some years after Constantine. For
    example, when Jerome changed the Latin
    translation of Jonah 46 from the traditional
    gourd plant (curcurbita) to ivy plant
    (hedera), near riots broke out in North Africa.
    Jerome complained that he was accused of
    sacrilege in Rome.

12
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13
Part 2
  • Main Themes in Jonah
  • Satire and Irony
  • Jonah and Noah
  • Mission

14
Satire and Irony
  • Satire focuses attention on abuses and
    deformities in society of which, blunted by
    habit, we are no longer aware it makes us
    suddenly discover the absurdity of the familiar.
    The principle means of being satirical is irony.
    By using irony, which is the most sophisticated
    linguistic device for imparting double entendre
    and even paradoxical meaning to ordinary words,
    the satirist stimulates the audience to share his
    or her sharp criticism.

15
Satire and Irony
  • It is easy to call a rogue a villain, but it is
    difficult to make a person appear a fool, a
    blockhead, or a knave without using any of these
    negative terms. Though subtle, satire is pointed
    and powerful. It has the following general
    characteristics
  • 1. It has a definite target
  • 2. It is characterized by indirect attack. The
    charge comes from
  • the flanks rather than head-on
  • 3. It attacks inferior excesses hypocrisy is
    one classic and
  • familiar example
  • 4. It is usually external in viewpoint. That
    is, the actions of the
  • character being satirized are
    emphasized rather than his or
  • her inner thoughts

16
Satire and Irony
  • Irony is the chief means by which satire is
    communicated. In the most basic sense, irony is a
    figure of speech in which (1) the intended
    meaning is the opposite of that which is stated,
    e.g., referring to a jalopy as a priceless car,
    or (2) an event or statement occurs or is used in
    a way that is just the opposite of what would be
    expected, e.g. a pastor has nothing to say in a
    sermon. The basis of irony is a perception of
    incongruity and it is normally used in literature
    as a vehicle for criticism.

17
Satire and Irony
  • Most commentators on Jonah either ignore the
    irony of the book or mention it in a tone of
    apology, apparently assuming that anything in the
    Bible must have been meant to be read with
    earnest solemnity. But this kind of irony is
    even evident in some of the teachings of Jesus
    e.g., when he spoke of covering a lamp after
    lighting it (Matt. 515), or carefully straining
    a gnat out of ones beverage and calmly
    swallowing a whole camel (Matt. 2324), or of a
    camel vainly trying to squeeze through the eye of
    a needle (Matt. 1924). The book of Jonah is
    full of exactly this kind of irony. There is a
    name for this type of literature satire.
    Luther comments on the use of satire and irony in
    Jonah when he reflects on the faith of the
    Ninevites in comparison the faith of Jonah and
    writes, Gods Word bears fruit mainly where this
    is least expected and, conversely, produces least
    where most is expected.

18
Satire and Irony
  • The first group of ironies relates to what one
    would expect of an Israelite prophet.
  • Jonah abandons the task Yahweh calls him to do
    (13)
  • Jonah sleeps during the storm while the
    unbelievers pray (15)
  • The unbelieving captain has to urge a believing
    Israelite Jonah to pray (15)
  • Jonah appears to remain unrepentant until the end
    of chapter four on the other hand, the
    unbelieving sailors (116) and Ninevites repent
    and believe (35)
  • Jonahs anger over the conversion of Nineveh
    (41) occurs precisely when Yahweh turns his
    anger away (310)
  • The sailors and Ninevites perform classic acts of
    Israelite piety (making vows, sacrificing,
    clothing themselves with sackcloth 116
    36-8), while Jonah does none of this even though
    he promises to do so (210)

19
Satire and Irony
  • Another set of ironic points relates to the
    incongruities in Jonahs actions in their
    relationship to each other, as well as in
    relationship to the results we would expect from
    his actions.
  • Jonah flees from Yahweh, yet confesses him as
    Lord (19)
  • Jonah recognizes that Yahweh sent the storm due
    to his disobedient behavior (112), yet he does
    not repent
  • Jonahs overwhelming success in such a wicked
    city and with such meager efforts (33-4)
  • Jonahs joy over the gift of extra shade (46) at
    the same time he is twice expressing his desire
    to die (43, 8)
  • Jonahs joy over his own deliverance (210) and
    his anger over Ninevehs (41)
  • Jonahs wish for death (43, 8) upon his success.
  • Jonahs anger to the point of death over the
    destruction of such an unimportant plant (48)
  • Jonah, in seeking to avoid the task of a
    missionary, ends up being Yahwehs vessel in
    converting both the sailors and the Ninevites
    (116 35)

20
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21
Jonah and Noah
  • Garry Wills Pulitzer-Prize winning study on
    Abraham Lincolns most famous speech indicates
    the power of 272 words to bring about change it
    is entitled Lincoln at Gettysburg The Words That
    Remade America. Wills thesis is that Lincoln
    reframed how Americans ever since 1863 have
    construed their nations history and that he did
    this through a brilliant and polished speech that
    successfully and irrevocably reframed our
    history. Wills writes Both North and South
    strove to win the battle for interpreting
    Gettysburg as soon as the physical battle had
    ended. Lincoln is after even larger gamehe means
    to win the whole Civil War in ideological terms
    as well as military ones. And he will succeed
    the Civil War is, to most Americans, what Lincoln
    wanted it to mean. Words had to complete the work
    of the guns.

22
Jonah and Noah
  • Lincoln begins reframing American history at the
    very start of his speech when he declares, Four
    score and seven years ago. By using this
    seemingly benign, biblical-sounding way of naming
    a date for Americas beginningsinstead of more
    baldly stating, In 1776... Lincoln creates a
    sense that they are looking backward into
    Americas hallowed origins. By inviting those
    present to consider their hallowed past,
    Lincoln makes it possible for them to transcend
    the actual events that have brought them to this
    cemetery, to step outside of the tragic moment
    long enough to consider the conception and birth
    of the United States of America.

23
Jonah and Noah
  • So what has been reframed? After all, the United
    States celebrates the Fourth of July as a
    national holiday, annually marking its countrys
    birthday. So, other than being an interesting
    turn-of-phrase, what is the significance of
    Lincolns opening words? The importance of Four
    score and seven is that Lincoln sneaks in a
    different date for the origin of the American
    nation than the one in use by the people of his
    day, which was that of the Ratification of the
    Constitution. It is not so much that the country
    had ever been in the habit of celebrating
    Constitution-Signing Day, but that many if not
    most Americans in the mid-nineteenth century
    regarded the Constitution as the founding
    covenant of the United States, and as a result
    regarded the nation as being bound together by a
    signed compact between sovereign states.

24
Jonah and Noah
  • The difference between, on the one hand, seeing
    the origins of the United States as issuing from
    a contractual agreement among separate partiesan
    agreement that presumably can be renegotiated
    and/or dissolvedand, on the other hand,
    regarding the origin as the creation of a new
    nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to
    the proposition that all men are created
    equalthis difference is, so to speak, all the
    difference in the world. In the latter case, the
    United States begins its existence as an organic
    unitya nation that undergoes a birthspringing
    from the transcendent state of liberty and
    christened by the likewise transcendent principle
    of equality. In this framework, the idea of
    individual states trying to secede from this one
    nation becomes akin to the idea of a hand, an
    ear, or an eye seeking to secede from its body.

25
Jonah and Noah
  • Wills goes on But that was just the beginning
    of this complex transformation. Lincoln has
    prescinded from messy squabbles over
    constitutionality, sectionalism, property and
    states. Slavery is not mentioned, any more than
    Gettysburg is. The discussion is driven back and
    back, beyond the historical particulars, to great
    ideals that are made to grapple naked in an airy
    battle of the mind. Lincoln derives a new, a
    transcendental, significance from this bloody
    episode.

26
Jonah and Noah
  • It is astounding how this short speech, lasting
    perhaps three minutes, could so dramatically, so
    thoroughly reframe how Americans from that point
    forward have come to think about their history.
    Truly, as Wills concludes, Lincoln had
    revolutionized the Revolution, giving people a
    new past to live with that would change their
    future indefinitely.

27
Jonah and Noah
  • The parallels between Lincolns speech and the
    book of Jonah are worth exploring. Both are
    short documents, easily covered in a matter of a
    few minutes. Both utilize their peoples
    historical traditions in order to paint a
    picture, not of some new thing being initiated,
    but of something bigger of a history that in
    fact extends further back than they were
    cognizant of, a story of how things have always
    been since the beginning. Most importantly, in
    reframing history, both give people a new past to
    live with that would change their future
    indefinitely.

28
Jonah and Noah
  • Prior to reading the book of Jonah, our ancient
    reader was informed by the view of history as put
    forward by the Pentateuch, a history framed by
    genealogies and progressive covenants that led
    the God who created the heavens and the earth
    ultimately to concern himself with Israel and
    Israel alone. This history can be conceived as a
    series of filters, by which Yahweh begins with
    all of creation then, from among those who
    survive the Flood, he chooses Abraham and his
    descendants from among these, he becomes the
    God of and for those Hebrews who come up from
    slavery in Egypt to take possession of the land
    of Canaan. In this history, the most important of
    these covenants becomes the last, for it is the
    most definitive, the most restrictive, the most
    specific. By positing the equivalence of the God
    of Creation with the God that chooses Israel, the
    Pentateuchal history affirms that Yahweh is not
    merely a tribal god among others, but is in fact
    the one and only God, the God who is supreme over
    all creation, all events, all places, and all
    times and has selected Israel as His own.

29
Jonah and Noah
  • The Pentateuch tells us that the God of all
    creation, the God of Noah becomes the God of
    Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel at
    Mt. Sinai. Yet here, in the book of Jonahfor the
    first time we are offered this assertion in its
    reverse form the God of the Hebrews, the God of
    Israelhas always been the God of Noah, the God
    of all creation!

30
Jonah and Noah
  • That is to say, the origin for Israels history
    is found not with the covenant at Sinai, nor even
    in the covenant with Abraham. The first covenant
    is the one made with Noah, with all subsequent
    humanity plus many animals besides and
    animals will play a big part in the book of
    Jonah. Suddenly, the very God who seems to have
    winnowed out entire peoples and nations and
    tribes and families in choosing Israel is
    presented as the God who has always and all along
    been the compassionate, merciful God of Israel,
    yes! but also of the Edomites, Ishmaelites,
    Canaanites, Amalakites, in short, the God of
    everything and everyone, including, of course
    the Ninevites!

31
Jonah and Noah
  • Entering into the belly of this scant, 48-verse
    story, we find ourselves spit out with a new
    history, a story of a people and their God that,
    like the Ninevites, has been turned
    upside-down! What Lincoln did at Gettysburg,
    Jonah does for us. In reframing our history he
    gives us a new past to live with that changes our
    future indefinitely!

32
Jonah and Noah
  • Nowhere in the text of the book of Jonah is this
    connection with Noah made explicit it is simply
    assumed, much the way that Lincoln assumes on
    behalf of his audience that of course the roots
    of the United States began eighty-seven years
    prior to his speech that day in Gettysburg.

33
Jonah and Noah
  • What are these rapids that take us on a ride
    toward the life and times of Noah? One answer is
    found in the presence throughout the book of
    Jonah of what is termed a "Noahic milieu." There
    are numerous and, it would seem, intentional
    connections between the stories of Noah and the
    book of Jonah.

34
Jonah and Noah
  • A technique that has garnered a great deal of
    recent notoriety in the world of popular music is
    known as "sampling." Sampling involves taking
    snippets of other artists' songs and weaving them
    into a new song. The technique is, in fact,
    nothing new. Consider the lyrics of the
    well-known patriotic song, "You're a Grand Old
    Flag," which "samples" the much-older song, "Auld
    Lang Syne"
  • You're a grand old flag.
  • You're a high flying flag
  • And forever in peace may you wave.
  • You're the emblem of the land I love
  • The home of the free and the brave.
  • Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White
    and Blue,
  • Where there's never a boast or brag.
  • Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
  • Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

35
Jonah and Noah
  • Such "samples" act as accents to the song itself
    as well as bring in the musical and affective
    associations that the listeners have with those
    songs being sampled. Sampling is a frequent
    practice in rap and hip-hop music its role is
    explained by Daddy-0, of the group Stetsasonic
    We sometimes use the words 'recontextualization'
    or 'revivification,' but it means the same thing,
    which is to take something old and make it new
    again. The strong point of what sampling does for
    us, as a music form, is to establish some soul
    groove and some old funk that's lost with today's
    music.

36
Jonah and Noah
  • All such samplings represent a kind of "musical
    intertextuality," and, although a newly created
    song can be enjoyed on its own merits without
    listener knowledge of any other tunes, samples
    provide the aware audience with additional,
    potentially meaningful dimensions to their
    musical experience. In the case of "You're a
    Grand Old Flag," the use of "Should auld
    acquaintance be forgot" brings to a musical
    affirmation of patriotism the feeling of
    community, by evoking a song traditionally sung
    by close friends and family seeing in the New
    Year together.

37
Jonah and Noah
  • Just so, the book of Jonah can be said to
    "sample" the account of Noah found in the book of
    Genesis. And, although the book of Jonah can be
    appreciated without any awareness of these
    "samples," recognition of the Noahic connections
    that sprinkle throughout the story takes us to
    all the nations. What follows is a list of
    phrases, characters, and images found in the
    stories of Noah drawn from Genesis 528-1032
    that find resonance within the book of Jonah.

38
Jonah and Noah
  • 1. One hundred twenty years (Gen 63) this is
    the length of time allotted to mortal life by
    Yahweh it is also how many thousands of people
    are in Nineveh at the story's end.
  • 2. Yahweh was sorry (Gen 66) literally Yahweh
    repented (that he had made humankind)
    relenting/repenting is what the Ninevites bank on
    and what Jonah is upset with Yahweh for doing in
    Jonah 3 and 4.
  • 3. ... people together with animals (Gen 67).
    This phrase occurs throughout the Noah stories
    the book of Jonah is remarkable for its very
    deliberate inclusion of animals along with
    people, both in how the Ninevites repent and in
    how God presents his final question to Jonah.

39
Jonah and Noah
  • 4. Violence (Gen 611) this is the reason
    given for God's decision to destroy the earth and
    its inhabitants by means of the Flood it is also
    the sin that the Ninevites recognize as their
    own, and repent of.
  • 5. Evil (Gen. 65) is used throughout the book
    of Jonah and is one of its framing words.
  • 6. The ark (Gen 614) is the means that God
    provides Noah for the
  • protection of him, his family, and the animals
    from the impending
  • flood there is a connection between the ark and
    the ship that
  • Jonah boards, and even more so with the great
    fish-which turns
  • out to be the "vessel" that God provides Jonah
    to protect him from the overwhelming flood
    waters.

40
Jonah and Noah
  • 7. Forty days (and forty nights) (Gen 74)
    this is the period of time that the rains last,
    destroying all human and animal life that is not
    with Noah in the ark similarly, this is the
    amount of time from the moment of Jonah's
    prophecy until Nineveh is to be "turned
    upside-down." The association of "forty days" as
    a period for destruction is a link to these two
    stories.
  • 8. Flood of waters ... the great deep (Gen 76,
    11) ... These are two equivalent phrases for the
    watery torrent that drowns creation in the
    Genesis story in the psalmic prayer that Jonah
    utters (Jonah 2), these same terms are used.
  • 9. The adjective, "great," occurs frequently
    throughout both texts.

41
Jonah and Noah
  • 10. The waters ... dry land. (Gen 720-22) ...
    While it is almost a commonplace in the Old
    Testament to pair waters and dry land in the
    story of Noah, the distinction between the two is
    utterly crucial (life and death) likewise, in
    the book of Jonah, the prophet identifies Yahweh
    as the one who made "the sea and dry land" and,
    indeed, the distinction between the waters and
    the dry land onto which the great fish vomits
    Jonah is critical.
  • 11. And God made a wind blow (Gen 81). God is
    portrayed as actively controlling individual
    winds for specific purposes (this time, for the
    purpose of causing the flood waters to subside)
    in the book of Jonah, God hurls a wind into the
    sea to create a storm and, later, sends a searing
    wind from the east that adds to Jonah's misery.

42
Jonah and Noah
  • 12. Then he sent out the dove ... the dove found
    no place to set its foot ... it returned to him
    ... again he sent out the dove from the ark (Gen
    88- 10). Noah uses a dove in the story to see
    if the waters had subsided from the face of the
    ground" the name Jonah is Hebrew for dove.
    Moreover, the structure of the book of Jonah
    involves God sending Jonah out the prophet does
    not alight on dry ground (specifically ending up
    in the waters) in his first journey and, of
    course, he is then sent out again.
  • 13. Offered burnt offerings on the altar (Gen
    820). Noah, once on dry land, offers up burnt
    offerings to God the mariners, once they are
    delivered from the great storm, offer offerings
    to Yahweh
  • as Jonah pledges to do, once he recognizes that
    Yahweh has
  • delivered him from the Pit. In all cases, Noah
    as well as the
  • mariners and Jonah, their offerings to Yahweh
    are a thanksgiving
  • for their deliverance from death-by-drowning.

43
Jonah and Noah
  • 14. I will require a reckoning for human life.
    Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human
    shall that person's blood be shed" (Gen 95-6).
    This is a statute that God puts down for all
    humanity and the sailors demonstrate an awareness
    of it when they plead with Yahweh not to kill
    them as a punishment for throwing Jonah
    overboard, into the sea.

44
Jonah and Noah
  • 15. I am establishing my covenant with you and
    your descendants after you, and with every living
    creature ... my covenant that is between me and
    you and every living creature of all flesh" (Gen
    98-17). In this covenant God specifically
    includes not only humankind but also animals,
    domestic and wild this means that the umbrella
    of this covenant is extended to non-Israelite
    humans (the Ninevites) as well as their animals,
    whose donning of sackcloth and bleating perhaps
    serve to remind God of this eternal promise.
  • 16. Shem, Ham, and Japheth are the sons of Noah
    and from these the whole earth was peopled. The
    descendants of Ham include Nimrod who he went
    into Assyria, and built Nineveh, the great city
    (Gen 918-19, 106-12). Here it is made explicit
    that any covenant extending to Noah and to his
    descendants extends to Assyria, to Nineveh, and
    to its residents. The book of Jonah takes it as
    a given that this covenant is operative, and that
    the Ninevites (and Assyrians), even given their
    violence, are included in it.

45
Jonah and Noah
  • The question is posed by this sampling is exactly
    the one posed by St. Paul, Is he only the God of
    the Jews? Is he not also the God of the
    Gentiles? (Rom. 329). The Greek of the text
    demands an emphatic yes! And that means our
    destination is not just Israel, not just the
    church no. Our destination is all the world
    and this means and includes especially Nineveh!

46
Jonah and Noah
  • The Chicago Times article entitled The President
    at Gettysburg, printed on November 23, 1863less
    than a week after his speechthis presumed
    journalistic ally to Lincoln and to the Union
    bristled
  • It was to uphold this constitution, and the
    Union created by it, that our officers and
    soldiers gave their lives at Gettysburg. How dare
    he, then, standing on their graves, misstate the
    cause for which they died, and libel the
    statesmen who founded the government? They were
    men possessing too much self-respect to declare
    that negroes were their equals, or were entitled
    to equal privileges.

47
Mission
  • The barrenness (hr'_q') of Israels three
    matriarchs Sarah (Gen. 1130), Rebekah (Gen.
    2531) and Rachel (Gen. 2931) highlight the fact
    that Yahweh chooses the foolish things of the
    world to shame the wise he chooses the weak
    things of the world to shame the strong. He
    chooses the lowly things of this world and the
    despised things and the things that are not (1
    Cor. 127-28).

48
Mission
  • r'êb.a-la, hw"hy rm,aYOÝw (Genesis 121-3)
  • 'aa rvßT.dlAM)miW ïc.rame l.-l, r'êb.a-la,
    hw"hy rm,aYOÝw
  • hk'(r'B. hyEßh.wgaw
    êk.r,b'äaw lAdêG" yAgæl. f.,a,(w 2
  • hm'(d'ah' txoïP.v.mi lKoß êb. Wkårb.nIw
    raoa' ßl.L,qm.W yk,êrb"åm. hk'rb")aw 3

49
Mission
  • Beginning in Gen. 12, Israel is to live between
    the extremes of syncretism and isolationism.
  • She is not to become like the nations, nor is she
    to withdraw from being an active witness to the
    nations.
  • 1 Sam. 820 Israel seeks a king so that they
    might be like all the other nations. Notorious
    kings like Solomon, Jeroboam son of Nebat, Ahab,
    and Ahaz lead Israel into a syncretistic
    lifestyle.
  • In Jonah this kind of syncretism does not quench
    the evangelistic flame, rather it is
    isolationism. Jonah from beginning to end
    places himself separate from every one else, even
    Yahweh!

50
Mission
  • Exodus 914-16 This time I will send the
    full force of my plagues against you and against
    your officials and your people, so you may know
    that there is no one like me in all the earth.
    For by now I could have stretched out my hand and
    struck you and your people with a plague that
    would have wiped you off the earth. But I have
    raised you up for this very purpose, that I might
    show you my power and that my name might be
    proclaimed in all the earth.

51
Mission
  • This is already hinted at in Ex. 422 Then say
    to Pharaoh, 'This is what Yahweh says Israel is
    my firstborn son. If Israel is Yahwehs
    firstborn son, this implicitly means there are
    more children on the way.

52
Mission
  • T,Þrmv.W yliêqoB. Wm.v.Ti AmÜv'-ai
    hT'ªw (Exodus 195-6a)
  • r,a'(h'-lK' yliÞ-yKi yMiêh'ä-lK'mi hL'gUs.
    yliÛ t,yyIh.wI yti_yrIB.-ta, vAdq' yAgæw
    ynIßhKo tk,l,îm.m yli²-Wyh.Ti T,óaw 6

53
Mission
  • 2 Sam. 718-19 states Then King David went in
    and sat before Yahweh, and he said Who am I, O
    Lord Yahweh, and what is my family, that you have
    brought me this far? And as if this were not
    enough in your sight, O Lord Yahweh, you have
    also spoken about the future of the house of your
    servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with
    man (d'Þa'h' trîAT), O Lord Yahweh?

54
Mission
  • Indeed, the Davidic covenant, just like the
    Sinaitic covenant, is based upon the grace-based
    and missional covenant Yahweh first makes with
    Abraham. The repeated use of Adonai Yahweh
    plus the words the charter of humanity means
    that with David the plan of Yahweh that begins
    with Abraham continues with David.

55
Mission
  • 1 Kings 841-43 As for the foreigner who does
    not belong to your people Israel but has come
    from a distant land because of your name -- for
    people will hear of your great name and your
    mighty hand and your outstretched arm -- when he
    comes and prays toward this temple, then hear
    from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever
    the foreigner asks of you, so that all the
    peoples of the earth may know your name and fear
    you (t.ao) ha'Ûr.yIl. m,ªv.-ta, r,a'øh'
    yMe-lK' û!WdyE !mäl.), as do your own
    people Israel, and may know that this house I
    have built bears your name.

56
Mission
  • In the prophetic Oracles Against the Nations
    (OAN) these universal ideas continue as Yahweh
    places his claim upon all the families of the
    earth.
  • This designation Oracles Against the Nations
    is somewhat of a misnomer, for these oracles are
    not simply against the nations.
  • Several of these texts speak of Yahweh as one who
    restores the fortunes of some of these nations.
  • Therefore it is more accurate to understand OAN
    to refer to Oracles About the Nations.

57
Mission
  • The OAN constitute almost one-fourth of the
    material in the latter prophets and are listed as
    follows
  • Is 73-9, 10-16 81-4 105-35 13-23 34
    3722-29
  • Jer 2515-38 271-11 46-51
  • Ezek 25-32 35 38-39
  • Joel 41-17
  • Amos 13-23
  • Obadiah
  • Jonah 34
  • Micah 411-13 55-6 711-13 14-17
  • Nahum
  • Hab 2
  • Zeph 24-15
  • Haggai 221-22
  • Zech 91-8
  • Mal 12-5

58
Mission
  • Isa. 496 states He says "It is too small a
    thing for you to be my servant to restore the
    tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I
    have kept. I will also make you a light for the
    Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the
    ends of the earth (r,a'(h hceîq.-d).

59
Mission
  • This same global plan of Yahweh is in the Psalms,
    only more so. Israels hymnbook contains over 175
    references to the nations of the world.

60
Mission
  • Melchizedek
  • Jethro
  • Balaam
  • Rahab
  • Ruth
  • Naaman

61
Mission
  • Romans 158-12 For I tell you that Christ has
    become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's
    truth, to confirm the promises made to the
    patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God
    for his mercy, as it is written "Therefore I
    will praise you among the Gentiles I will sing
    hymns to your name." Again, it says, "Rejoice, O
    Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise
    the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to
    him, all you peoples." And again, Isaiah says,
    "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will
    arise to rule over the nations the Gentiles will
    hope in him.

62
  • Part 3
  • Jonah The Survivor Series

63
Sermon Texts and Titles
  • Part 1 Ash Wednesday, God is Calling! (11-3)
  • Part 2 Saved in the Storm (14-16)
  • Part 3 Our Providing God (117)
  • Part 4 Praying in the Belly of the Great Big
    Fish (21-10)
  • Part 5 The God of the Second Chance (31-4)
  • Part 6 About Face! (35-10)
  • Part 7 Maundy Thursday, On the Same Page
    (41-2)
  • Part 8 Good Friday, The Answer! (43-11)
  • Part 9 Easter, The Sign of Life! (Matt 1241)

64
Part 1
  • Ash Wednesday, God is Calling! (11-3)

65
  • CHAPTER ONE VERSE ONE The word of Yahweh
    came to Jonah son of Amittai The expression
    And the word of Yahweh came to is found in
    the OT only when contexts and circumstances
    regarding the prophet and his mission are already
    established in previous statements. The story of
    Jonah actually begins in another place i.e. 2
    Kings 1425. This account anchors Jonah in the
    8th century B.C. as a court-prophet of the
    Israelite king Jeroboam II (786-746 B.C.). He
    Jeroboam II restored the border of Israel from
    Lebo-hamath i.e. Aram/Syria as far as the Sea
    of the Arabah i.e. the Gulf of Aqabah,
    according to the word of the LORD, the God of
    Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant
    Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from
    Gath-hepher.

66
  • Jonah is the Hebrew word for dove (Gen. 88-12
    Song of Solomon 115 41, etc.). Hosea 711 is
    instructive Ephraim became like a dove
    (hn"AyK.), silly and brainless. They called to
    Egypt, they went to Assyria.

67
  • VERSE TWO "Go to the great city of Nineveh and
    preach against it, because its evil has come up
    before me." The entire prophecy of Nahum,
    delivered sometime before Ninevehs downfall in
    612 BC, gives a picture of this city of
    bloodshed. It is full of lies, dead bodies
    without end, a city that could be likened to a
    shapely harlot out to seduce all nations (Nah.
    31-4 cf. Zeph. 213-15). Nineveh was truly the
    chief of sinners.

68
  • Nineveh is remembered most for her inhumane
    warfare. Note these words of one of her kings,
    Ashru-nasirpal II
  • I stormed the mountain peaks and took them. In
    the midst of the mighty mountains I slaughtered
    them with their blood I dyed the mountain red
    like wool. With the rest of them I darkened the
    gullies and precipices of the mountains. I
    carried off their spoil and their possessions.
    The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I
    formed them into a pillar over against their
    city their young men and their maidens I burned
    in the fire. I built a pillar over against the
    city gates, and I flayed all the chief men who
    had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their
    skins some I walled up within the pillar, some I
    impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I
    bound to stakes round about the pillar.

69
(No Transcript)
70
  • VERSE THREE But Jonah ran away from Yahweh and
    went down to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa,
    where he found a ship bound for that port. After
    paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for
    Tarshish to flee from Yahweh. Jonah says nothing
    to Yahweh but rises to flee. Normally prophets
    protest their inability to speak Moses protests
    that he is not a man of words (Ex. 410)
    Jeremiah fears that he does not know how to
    speak (Jer. 16) Isaiah insists that his words
    are unworthy, his lips unclean (Isa. 65) but
    Jonah in contrast, goes the opposite direction
    without saying a word!

71
(No Transcript)
72
  • And all of this leads to a progressive downhill
    slide. He goes down to Joppa (13), goes down to
    the ship (13), goes down into the innermost
    parts of the ship (15), is thrown down into the
    depths of the sea and then descends to the realm
    of death or Sheol (23, 7). Down, down, down,
    down this is the inevitable path of those who
    seek to avoid the mission of the church. The
    only place we go is down. And going down in the
    OT depicts a movement toward death (cf. Ps.
    884-6 Prov. 55).

73
  • The word fare actually refers to the ship. The
    idea here is not that Jonah paid a fare (so all
    of the English versions), but rather that he
    hired the ship and its crew. First, that Jonah
    has access to the ships innermost recesses
    (15) makes sense if he owned the boat. Second,
    the sailors hesitation to throw Jonah overboard
    (113-14) is understandable because he was their
    boss. Finally, according to most scholars it
    wasnt until Roman times that the ancient world
    had a specific word for fare a charge for the
    purchase of space in an expedition, seagoing or
    otherwise. No wonder Jonah didnt want to go to
    Nineveh hes cashing in on his ministry under
    Jeroboam II enough cash that is, to buy a ship
    and her crew to run away from Yahwehs presence!

74
  • But Gods word will have its way (pp. 77-78).
    The answer is in another prophets name Jesus.
    He willingly goes beyond his borders (p. 82) for
    us!
  • Listen, God is calling again. He is calling us to
    confess our sin. But all the more he is calling
    us to confess the name of Jesus. This is our path
    home from our wandering. He is our hope of
    survival!

75
Part 2
  • Saved in the Storm
  • (14-16)

76
  • Jonah may have won the battle, but God will win
    the war. To do so he sends in the big gun, the
    perfect storm. Yahweh employs the wind (p. 99)
    to bring order out of Jonahs chaos. Storms may
    sometimes function as theophanies to display
    Yahwehs splendor (p. 118). But Jonah snores on
    in his sin (p. 104).

77
  • And as for the ship it had a mind to break
    up. The irony is that the sailors fear
    disaster, the captain of the ship fears disaster,
    indeed, even the ship thinks it is going to break
    up. The only character animate or inanimate
    that has no fear is Jonah. The pun then is this
    as the ship fears wrecking she becomes a nervous
    wreck!

78
  • Perhaps is indicative of one of the major
    themes of the book (cf. 114b 39). Yahweh will
    act as it pleases him, which may or may not
    conform to human patterns of actions. No
    demanding here, just humble awareness that there
    are two foundational truths to human
    enlightenment number one, there is a God
    number two, you are not him!

79
  • VERSE NINE He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I
    worship Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the
    sea and the land." Jonah 14-16 (Scene II) is
    built according to a concentric or chiastic
    pattern
  • A Yahweh hurls the storm (14)
  • B The sailors pray, act (15ab)
  • C Jonah acts (lies down, sleeps 15c)
  • D The captain and sailors question
    Jonah (16-8)
  • E Jonah speaks (19)
  • D The sailors question Jonah (110-11)
  • C Jonah speaks (112)
  • B The sailors act, pray (113-14)
  • A The sailors hurl Jonah and the storm ends
    (115)
  • Conclusion 116

80
  • Jonahs words in 19, a confession of faith, have
    been carefully placed at the midpoint of this
    chiastic structure. There are 94 words in the
    Hebrew text from the scenes beginning in 14 to
    the beginning of the speech in 19 and 94 words
    in 110-15. Verse 16 stands outside the pattern
    as a conclusion. Both the chiastic structure and
    the exact balance of number of words serve to
    place the focus for this section on the
    confession in 19.

81
  • At the heart of this section is Jonahs
    confession that is analogous to his sermon in
    34. Both accomplish the salvation of
    unbelievers. Whatever Jonahs intention, this
    confession functions as a means of grace whereby
    the sailors are brought to faith. Such is the
    power of the gospel albeit in a very brief
    expression indeed, it is the power of God for
    the salvation of all who believe, first the Jew
    and then in this case the Gentile sailors
    (cf. Is. 5510-11).

82
  • VERSE FOURTEEN Then they cried to Yahweh, "O
    Yahweh, please do not let us die for taking this
    man's life. Do not hold us accountable for
    killing an innocent man, for you, O Yahweh, have
    done as you pleased." The role of prophet and
    people is reversed the sailors refuse to commit
    a crime after the prophet has asked them to do
    so. Moreover, the sailors are praying the prayer
    Jonah should be praying. The sailors confess that
    Yahweh does as he pleases (cf. Ps. 1153 1356),
    while Jonah expresses his frustration because God
    does precisely that.

83
(No Transcript)
84
  • Jesus sacrifice (p. 133) is similar to that of
    Jonahs. Both sacrifices still the storm (pp.
    230-32).
  • God sends storms to awake us to faith, but then
    when we cry out to him he calms the storm through
    his love for us in Jesus. He is our Savior and
    through him we survive the storms of life, even
    those we bring to ourselves!
  • The sailors confession is analogous to that of
    the disciples (pp. 115-16). And this is our
    confession as well!

85
Part 3
  • Our Providing God
  • (117)

86
(No Transcript)
87
(No Transcript)
88
(No Transcript)
89
  • Two observations regarding the use of this word
    provide in the book are as follows. With each
    use a different divine name is used as the
    subject of the verb
  • 117 Yahweh
  • 46 Yahweh-Elohim
  • 47 Ha-Elohim
  • 48 Elohim

90
  • When the verb occurs the object of Yahwehs
    control belongs to a different realm in nature
  • 117 the fish (sea)
  • 46 the plant (vegetation)
  • 47 the worm (animals)
  • 48 the wind (air)

91
  • Did Jonah deserve these provisions? No! Do we?
    Absolutely no!
  • But because of the cross, Gods greatest
    provision of all, we have everything we need,
    even when we have experiences similar to Jonahs
    (being throw overboard, being hot, frustrated,
    angry, depressed), even when we are obstinate and
    callous. And so his means of grace are the key
    to survival!
  • Our God will never cease to be a providing God!
    (Philippians 419)

92
Part 4
  • Praying in the Belly of a Great Big Fish
  • (117)

93
(No Transcript)
94
  • Jonah, now at his lowest place, literally, is now
    at his highest place spiritually. My power is
    made perfect in weakness, the Lord reminds Paul,
    Jonah and us. Jonahs power derives from his
    memorizing sections in the book of Psalms.

95
  • Psalmic references in Jonah 2
  • my distress 186 1201
  • Sheol 184-5
  • all thy waves and thy billows passed over
    me 427
  • from thy presence 1397
  • upon thy holy temple 57
  • the waters closed in over me 692
  • my life from the Pit 303
  • my soul fainted within me 1423
  • into thy holy temple 186
  • deliverance belongs to Yahweh 38

96
(No Transcript)
97
  • Jonah also found himself in unfamiliar
    surroundings, and that is putting it mildly! But
    Jonah was not alone in the belly of the great big
    fish. Yahweh was with him through his word in
    the book of Psalms (p. 210-11). Jonah addresses
    his prayer toward the temple (pp. 214-15). His
    experience foreshadows the story of Jesus Christ.
    Just as Jonah faces the judgment of God, so did
    Jesus on the cross. Just as Jonah experienced
    separation from Yahweh, so did Jesus. But here
    is the point just as Jonah prayed from the
    psalms, so did Jesus (Matt 2630 Ps 221). When
    you are in the belly of the great big fish you
    are not alone. Gods word in the psalms is with
    you. And Gods final Word, Jesus, is with you.
    This is how we survive in the belly of a great
    big fish!

98
(No Transcript)
99
(No Transcript)
100
Part 5
  • The God of the Second Chance
  • (31-4)

101
  • Hello, this is Andrew Larson. I am unable to
    take your call right now, but please leave your
    name, number, and a short message and Ill get
    back to you as soon as possible. (beep). This is
    a standard message that most of you have on your
    answering service at work or at home. The whole
    point of having a message bank or an answering
    machine is to make sure you dont miss your
    calls. But there are some people who use it to
    screen their calls, to avoid certain callers, to
    sift out who they want to talk to, to work out
    which calls to return and which calls to ignore.
    Have you ever done that? Maybe you know someone
    who does that? Jonah is just like that when it
    comes to God, the message on his answering
    machine goes something like this. Hello, this is
    Jonah. I am unable to take your call right now,
    please do not leave your name, number or message,
    because I wont be getting back to you, (beep).
    But God keeps calling! He never gives up on
    Jonah, or us! Jonahs second call is the result
    of his baptism (p. 256-64).

102
(No Transcript)
103
(No Transcript)
104
  • Forty days is a term that denotes a time of
    testing, with a new beginning at the end. Without
    citing every Scriptural instances in which
    multiples of forty are use, the following are
    noteworthy (1) forty years Israels journey
    from Egypt to Canaan (Ex. 1635) peace in Israel
    upon Yahwehs selection of a judge (Judg. 311)
    (2) forty days rain leading up to the flood
    (Gen. 712) Moses at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 2418)
    spies in Canaan (Num. 1325) Elijahs fast (1
    Kings 198) Jesus fast (Matt. 42) the
    post-resurrection epiphanies (Acts 13). Forty
    not only takes us to a Noahic sampling it
    also takes us to the slow and merciful Yahweh who
    could have said to Nineveh, Ill make all new
    things, the old wont do. But instead he said,
    Ill make all things even you new!

105
  • Empowered with a second chance, Jonah goes to
    Nineveh and offers them the same second chance
    (pp. 282-83 296-97).
  • Jonah survived only through the gospel, and so do
    we because our God in Christ is the God of the
    second chance!

106
Part 6
  • About Face
  • (35-10)

107
  • VERSE FIVE The Ninevites believed God. They
    declared a fast, and all of them, from the
    greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. The
    verbal root is !ma (believe, trust AMEN)
    the same root that forms the name of Jonahs
    father (11), now ironically appears, not with
    Jonah, but with the Ninevites. The KJV, RSV, and
    NIV (among others) are wrong in translating the
    phrase "the men of Nineveh/Ninevites believed
    God." This translation means that the Ninevites
    only believed that God was telling the truth when
    he said that the city would be changed in 40
    days. The philology dictates that the correct
    translation is that "the men of Nineveh believed
    in God," that is, the Word of God that Jonah
    preached brought them to repentance and faith.

108
  • VERSE SIX When the news reached the king of
    Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his
    royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and
    sat down in the dust. This reaction of the king
    is all the more remarkable in that elsewhere the
    king of Assyria is portrayed as an arrogant,
    boasting monarch who not only defies Yahweh and
    threatens Jerusalem, but argues that his power is
    great than Yahwehs because he has been able to
    defeat the God of Israel/Judah just as he
    defeated the gods of other nations (Is. 105-34,
    36-27/ 2 Kings 18-19 Nahum 2-3). He rises from
    his throne, removes his robe, puts on sackcloth,
    and sits in the dust or ashes.

109
  • VERSES NINE TEN Who knows? God may yet relent
    and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so
    that we will not perish." When God saw what they
    did and how they turned from their evil ways, he
    had compassion and did not bring upon them the
    destruction he had threatened. But does God
    really relent, or, as the KJV translates the
    Hebrew word, repent?

110
  • Yahweh reveals himself as one who is not
    immutable in some absolute sense. Just so, Karl
    Barth calls it the holy mutability of God.
    This is perhaps at least one reason for Israels
    aniconic perspective that idols do not change
    (cf. Ps 1155-7 Jer 104-5). Understood this
    way, this prohibition of images is a concern to
    protect Yahwehs relatedness rather than his
    transcendence, though the two are not mutually
    exclusive. Also, one of the characteristics of
    the gods of the nations is that they cannot be
    moved or affected (cf. 1 Kings 1827-29).

111
  • The confession of divine repentance, therefore,
    announces the priority of grace in all of
    Yahwehs dealings with the world. His constant
    availability for repentance stands in the service
    of this unchanging divine intention, not simply
    for Israel (so Joel 213), but also for the world
    (so Jonah). The idea reflects the extent to
    which this loving and gracious God will go in
    order to execute his uncompromising salvific
    intentions. It is therefore necessary to speak
    of both immutability and mutability as essential
    divine attributes, each in their own sphere.

112
  • Two extremes need to be avoided either that
    Yahweh is immutable in any absolute sense, or
    that he is mercurial, or capricious, or unstable.
    The question is not either/or, but rather
    both/and. To be affected and to interact
    genuinely does not mean some imperfection in our
    God. In fact, it should be said that not to be
    able genuinely to respond or interact, not to be
    open and vulnerable, or refusing to change are in
    fact signs of imperfection.

113
  • Divine repentance enables the primary attributes
    of Yahweh to be kept primary, namely, his
    steadfast love and mercy. He is not unbending or
    unyielding, as a focus on immutability suggests.
    He is not a take it or leave it, like it or
    lump it God. He will change course in midstream
    in view of the interaction with his world.

114
  • Key here are the words of Francis Anderson and
    David Noel Freedman in their commentary on Amos.
    On divine repentance they conclude We judge
    that the Bible is successful in conveying both
    facts of theological experience adequately, that
    he is God and that he is a person. Just as there
    is an important and unbridgeable distance between
    Yahweh and the gods of Canaan, or those of
    Mesopotamia or Egypt or Greece or Rome, so there
    is at least an equal or greater distance from an
    Aristotelian unmoved mover, or even a Platonic
    Idea. The biblical God is always and
    uncompromisingly persona he is above all a
    person, neither more nor less.

115
  • Ninevehs change evoked Yahwehs change (pp.
    324-41). Our God changes from condemnation to
    grace, finally for the sake of Christ. What an
    awesome and life-giving about face. It means we
    survive!

116
Part 7
  • Maundy Thursday
  • On the Same Page
  • (41-2)

117
  • Have you ever not been on the same page as
    someone? A new resident was walking down a street
    and noticed a man struggling with a washing
    machine at the doorway of his house. When the
    newcomer volunteered to help, the homeowner was
    overjoyed, and the two men together began to work
    and struggle with the bulky appliance. After
    several minutes of fruitless effort the two
    stopped and just stared at each other in
    frustration. They looked as if they were on the
    verge of total exhaustion. Finally, when they had
    caught their breath, the first man said to the
    homeowner Well never get this washing machine
    in there! To which the homeowner replied In?
    Im trying to move it out of here!
  • That was a definite communication breakdown. The
    truth is we only get things done when we are in
    agreement. We need to be either going in or going
    out. We have to be on the same page.

118
  • VERSE ONE But it was evil for Jonah a great
    evil. A key word in the book that is repeated as
    a noun and a verb is evil occurring ten times
    (12, 7, 8 38, 10a, 10b 41a, 1b, 2, 6).
    There has been evil beginning with the
    Ninevites (12), moving to the sailors (17),
    returning to the Ninevites (310), coming to
    Yahweh (310 42), and here with Jonah. Except
    in the reference to Jonah, all the evil is taken
    away. In v. 6 Yahweh tries, but to no avail.
    Evil is used in two closely related ways. On
    the one hand it refers to the wickedness of the
    Ninevites (12 38, 10) and Jonah (46). On
    the other hand, it refers to the judgment which
    is sometimes threatened and other times carried
    out by Yahweh (17, 8 310 42).

119
  • The adjective great is attached to evil only in
    41. Here, Jonah places Yahwehs judgment under
    judgment! Salvation by Yahweh, according to
    Jonah, is the greatest evil! Indeed, the final
    use of the word in 46 depicts Yahweh trying to
    save Jonah from this evil. Jonah is now where
    Nineveh was in need of deliverance from his
    all-consuming evil.

120
  • VERSE TWO He prayed to Yahweh, "O Yahweh, is
    this not what I said when I was still at home?
    That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I
    knew that you are a gracious and compassionate
    God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God
    who relents from sending calamity. We must now
    ask the question in its fullest sense why did
    Jonah flee to Tarshish? The text never mentions
    that he is afraid (cf. 1 Kings 192-3). Nor does
    it indicate that Jonah viewed his task as too
    difficult or beneath his dignity. He does not,
    like Moses, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah or Gideon
    (Ex. 410 Judg. 615 Is. 65 Jer. 16) flee
    because of some inadequacy he feels. He does not
    raise questions because he thinks the message is
    too difficult for the people to hear (Jer. 209
    Amos 71-6 Is. 611). Thus, while other
    prophets draw back at times from the call of
    Yahweh, and some run out of fear, none seek to
    flee from the presence of Yahweh.

121
  • The striking answer to why Jonah took flight is
    in 42 Jonahs God is simply too merciful! The
    reason for Jonahs running is delayed so that we
    may pause to consider why we run from God. Most
    of us will not admit to the reason given in 42
    at least initially. Most Christians dont go
    around saying, or even admitting to themselves,
    that they dont like the fact that God is too
    merciful. One author writes The author thus
    holds back on the real reason until his audience
    is fully identified with Jonah and is brought
    along to the point where the truth of the matter
    can have its sharpest impact.

122
  • The issue here is not that Yahweh relents, but
    for whom he relents. Jonah is aware that Israels
    very existence depended upon Yahwehs willingness
    to change his mind, to be merciful rather than
    simply just. Rather, Jonahs problem is the
    indiscriminate extension of Yahwehs relenting
    toward other people. He complains over Yahwehs
    leniency toward the guilty. The good should be
    rewarded and the evil should be made to reap the
    harvest of destruction. Thats only fair!

123
  • This God is much too free with his mercy, he
    needs to be more strict in applying the rules of
    the very moral order which he himself ordained in
    the first place. When eyeball to eyeball, Yahweh
    blinks first and Nineveh is let go from its
    justly deserved punishment. This is the books
    second creedal statement. Almost every word in
    this verse contains an Old Testament theology in
    and of itself. The foundation here is Exodus
    346-7. It is worth noting that the first person
    to make this creed known in Israel is Yahweh
    himself. There are seventeen passages where
    major parts of this creed occur (Ex. 346-7 Num.
    148 Deut. 431 Ps. 7838 Ps. 86 5, 15 Ps.
    1038 Ps. 1114 Ps. 1124 Ps. 1165 Ps. 1458
    Joel 213 Hah. 13 Neh. 917, 31 2 Chron.
    309).

124
  • Who was at the first Passover? Here detail the
    sins of the disciples, including and especially
    Judas Iscariot. Judas and Jesus were not on the
    same page! But just as God continued to love
    Jonah with his vindictive heart, so in Christ he
    continued to love not only Judas, but all of his
    disciples, none of whom was on the same page as
    the Savior.
  • In fact, all people are on the same page, the
    page of the Bible in Romans 3 that says, All
    have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
    God. (Rom 323)
  • And so we put away our grudges and thoughts of
    revenge, and come to the table that Yahweh has
    prepared for us. And here, in the real presence
    of Jesus, we not only survive our grudges, we
    overcome the
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