Today's passage: Jonah 4:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• Now we know why Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh.  He did not want them to repent and receive God's mercy.
• Jonah is exceedingly glad when God gives him shade, and asks God to kill him twice when he is not getting what he wants.
• Jonah thinks he has God figured out, and Nineveh can't tell their right hand from their left.

Questions to consider:

1. I think God counted the cattle in with the people of Nineveh to make a point.  At the end of this book, who has given more signs of repentance, the cattle in sackcloth, ashes and who are fasting, or Jonah who is angry with God and wants to die rather than see other people repent and receive God's mercy? (This question is meant to be ridiculous…)
2. How did Jonah's view of and expectation of God make him respond in this way?
3. How did Jonah's view of himself make him respond in this way?

Today's passage: Jonah 3:6-10

Helpful thoughts:

• The king (Or possibly more like a governor in our terms) of Ninevah decrees sackcloth, fasting and ashes (Even the animals had to fast!) and for the end of violence and evil in the city.
• The prophetic decree of Jonah was intended to bring repentance.  This was God's plan. (Jeremiah 18:7-8)

Questions to consider:

1. Was Jonah the reason the Ninevites repented of their evil and violence or was he the tool God used?  What is our place and role in reaching others with God's Word?
2. If a whole city repented after you shared a message would you be sort of pumped up?  How might we be expecting Jonah to respond (Pretend you don't know the rest of the story…)?
3. What kinds of things (Sins, offenses, etc.) can wrongly persuade us to not be excited about people's repentance?

Today's passage: Jonah 3:1-5

Helpful thoughts:

• Jonah's second chance in chapter 3 parallels the first chance in chapter one.  Verses 1-6 are nearly identical with different characters and places.
• The Ninevites were known to be a cruel people.  Injustice was commonplace.  What was Jonah's message to them?  God's wrath was coming.
• Fasting and sackcloth were evidence of repentance, and the repentance included all of the people from the “least” to the “greatest”.

Questions to consider:

1. How did Jonah evidence some repentance in today's passage?  How is chapter 3 different than chapter 1?
2. What might Jonah have expected the unjust and cruel Ninevites to do to their enemy's prophet after trying to tell them that God was going to overthrow their kingdom?
3. Was Jonah's message of God's judgment ineffective?  Why might we sometimes think it wrong to tell people about God's wrath and judgment?
4. How does an avoidance of the topic of God's wrath negate the significance of the cross of Christ?  If there is no wrath, why did Jesus die?

Today's passage: Jonah 2:1-10

Helpful thoughts:

• Jonah cried out to God in his distress and God answered him. Our God is merciful to us!
• When our eyes are off of God, they fail to see steadfast love.  Grace can only be found in the one true God.
• Jonah thanks God and vows to God.
• He acknowledged that salvation belongs to the LORD and is glad for his own salvation.

Questions to consider:

1. How does Jonah view God in this prayer?  What is he so thankful for?
2. How could verses 8-9 sound like true repentance?  How might they instead sound like hopeful expectations of the near future?
3. Does the end of a crisis automatically mean you have fully learned your lesson?

Today's passage: Jonah 1:7-17

Helpful thoughts:

• The crew was searching for the source of “evil” that had come upon them…the same word God used to refer to the sin of Ninevah in verse 2.
• Jonah displays a lack of repentance:
  • Jonah watched silently as the men cast lots.
  • Nobody told Jonah he needed to be thrown into the sea.  At this point, Jonah is choosing death over repentance.
  • The crew even tries to turn the boat around (Repentance means to turn, to change) for Jonah, to no avail.  They have compassion on Jonah in contrast to Jonah's lack of compassion for the Ninevites or the crew.
• Jonah identified as one who feared the Lord, but his actions said otherwise.  The crew identified as men who feared other gods, but their actions displayed a newfound fear of Yahweh.  They feared God more than the self-proclaimed God-fearer in these moments.
• Without the second half of verse 17, we might think that the great fish was an act of judgment for Jonah's sinful disobedience.
• Matthew 12:40

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways could Jonah have been humbled by the actions and words of the ship's crew?
2. Was it right for Jonah and the crew to fear the Lord?  Are you a God-fearing person?  How is that evidenced in your life?  Where might your fear/reverence be lacking or misplaced?
3. Was it good or bad for Jonah to be thrown into the sea and swallowed by that great fish?  How can God use consequences for sin as great mercies and grace in our lives?

Today's passage: Jonah 1:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• Jonah was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel in the 700's B.C
• Ninevah was a city in Assyria (Close to modern day Mosul, Iraq).  They were Israel's enemy.
• Tarshish was believed to be the western most part of the world at the time.  So, Jonah was probably fleeing toward Spain.
• There is a lot of hurling or throwing going on in this chapter. God hurled the wind, the crew hurled their goods.  And soon, they would hurl Jonah.
• The crew most likely consisted of multiple nationalities since they were all praying to different god's of their own.
• The pagan crew already starts rebuking Jonah:
  • They rebuke him for not caring for their well-being.
  • They rebuke him for not thinking his God might save them.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did God tell Jonah that He wanted him to go to Ninevah (Don't think ahead yet!)?  Why would Jonah run away from speaking condemnation on his enemy (This will be answered later)?
2. In what ways were the rebukes from the crew legitimate?
3. Is there a command from Scripture that you have “fled from God” over?  What is it about that command that you do not like?