Kathy's Bible StudyCourtesy Of Firequill Publications email: FireQuill@cox.net

By Leslie Kearney

This chapter reminds me of the story of the prodigal son. Not in the way most people think of the prodigal – focusing on the prodigal.

It reminds me of the true focus of the prodigal son story, the older son. The older son was a reflection of the Pharisees – hard-hearted, callous, thinking they were better than those “sinners” and not encouraging people to repent, but judging others lifestyles (Gentiles and Jews alike) as “sinful” compared to theirs.

In this book Jonah is the “older brother” who is upset when the prodigal returns and is given all the blessings he felt “he” deserved because of his so-called “faithfulness.”

Luke 15:11 – 32

In many ways it also reminds me of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Luke 18: 9 – 14

Why? Because Jonah really didn’t care about anyone but himself! He didn’t care that a person was in pain, crying out to God for mercy, standing right there in his midst! No, he only cared that “compared” to him he was a “righteous” man from a “chosen” nation.

As we will see in Jonah chapter 4, he obeyed God’s commandments, but he didn’t really have a caring heart. He was extremely selfish in all his motives.

As Christians we MUST be careful not to fall into the trap of judgmental-ism. In other words, judging non-Christians by Christian standards and being hard-hearted towards them.

Saying, “tsk, tsk. . . that person is living in sin, he or she is an alcoholic, they are gay . . . I’m glad I’m not like that person . . . boy are they headed for hell!”

NO!  God says that he doesn’t want to condemn ANYONE to hell. That he’s patient. Forgiving. Loving. And fair. And he also says that we are to strive to be as much like him as we humanly can.  There’s no room for bitterness or hatred in our lives towards a lost soul.

II Peter 3:9

Many people say that Jonah couldn’t be a “true” prophet of God because his prediction didn’t come true. Jesus referred to him as “Jonah the Prophet”  Matthew 12:39 But the truth is he was to preach “against” them for the purpose of turning them from sin. Unlike the prophets Daniel and John who shared with us the coming events in the Bible that cannot be changed, this prediction was intended to be a warning to Assyria to get them to change their behavior.

Jeremiah 18: 7 – 10

What other non-Jews did God speak to? Let’s look at a few:

Daniel 4

Daniel 5

What’s the critical difference between these two stories? In the one Nebuchadnezzar repented. Because of his repentance his rule was restored and he lived a natural life span.

But Belshazzar did not repent and his life was cut short. He rewarded Daniel for interpreting the prophecy, but he didn’t fall on his knees and ask God’s forgiveness. We don’t know what he thought. We do know that the very night of the writing on the wall Babylon was conquered bloodlessly.

The same thing in these verses in Acts. Some people believed right away, others sneered. We never know how God’s word is going to be received. We only know that we are required to preach it. And not be judgmental of the people that choose to accept it.

Acts 17:16 – 34

So what does the Bible say about repentance and our role?

James 5:20

Romans 2: 1 – 4

Matthew 5: 21 – 24

So God’s law is even more finite to those of us that know it. We’re judged by a much stronger standard, which is why we are NEVER To look in judgment on non-Christians, but in love for their lost souls.

Romans 3: 21 – 30

Here Paul is saying that it doesn’t matter how God judges us, WE are not to be the judges! We are not to compare ourselves to others and claim that we are more “righteous” than them. For the moment we do that we become WORSE than them! An even bigger sinner, because we know better! We know that we don’t deserve God’s mercy and yet we tarnish it by acting as if it were ours by right and not by faith!

This is what Jonah was doing! He “preached” to the Ninevites, but he did it in a way that said, “you’re all gonna pay for it now!” “In 40 days God’s gonna strike you dead! HA” He walked through town preaching like he was judge and jury. But once again, God hits a straight blow with a very crooked stick!

What I’m trying to get at with these verses is the fact that God is God to all his creations, not just one group. Christians, Jews, non-alcoholics, non-gays, etc. And that he has written in our hearts and on creation proof that He is the almighty. That he is all powerful, the creator.

So when a person that we think is “un-savable” becomes a Christian we have no right to judge and say that we don’t believe it! That God couldn’t possibly want THAT person in his Kingdom!

Jonah chapter 3 is a very short chapter. But the point is, that we are called to preach to all mankind, and God’s spirit will work in whomever it will work. It’s not for us to judge and condemn our fellow man.

We are to love them as God loves them and wish them all happy, fruitful lives with Christ.

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by Leslie Kearney

Portions of this study are taken from a study by Bob Deffinbaugh, Th.M.

http://bible.org/byauthor/10

There’s a couple very beautiful songs I thought of while studying for this chapter. One is the song titled, “What If God Were One Of Us” by Joan Osbourne and the other is by Bette Midler titled, “From A Distance”

Both songs speak of God. They have such a pretty melody and the words seem endearing. Until you REALLY listen to them.

In “From A Distance” Bette Midler speaks about how maybe God’s sitting up there in heaven far above where the earth looks all pretty and blue, but that he DOESN’T see the distress of people. That it’s all just rosiness to him because he’s sitting there in the distance looking down, kind of like how the world looks so beautiful to us when we’re on a plane flying above the earth.

In “What If God Were One Of Us” the singer wonders if God is omnipotent or if he just drifts aloof through the crowd of humanity, not really touching anybodies lives or having an impact on them. That perhaps He’s just as alone as we are in the universe.

Are these true reflections of God’s character?    NO.

Well, that’s kind of what this Psalm of Jonah’s is like. Like these songs, melodic Jonah’s song has all the “form” of the music and Psalms of his period, but none of the true substance, or insight, into God’s true character like the REAL Psalms do.

At first glance, because of its poetic nature, and the fact that it’s in a similar style to the other Psalms we tend to think, “Oh look. He’s repenting and calling out to God for forgiveness.” But he’s really not.

Today we’re going to compare Jonah’s Psalm with some other Psalm’s and verses that speak of God’s character so that we can see where Jonah’s thinking really was at during his time in the belly of the fish.

Read Jonah chapter 2

At first glance this Psalm has all the appearances of a devout repentance but let’s dig into it.

Jonah’s Psalm Is In The Same “Style” As The Temple Psalms.

Jonah 2:9 vs. Psalm 3:9

Death Experience: Jonah 2:5 vs. Psalm 18:4

Crying out to God: Jonah 2:2,7 vs. Psalm 42:5-8

But digging deeper we see some glaring differences.

Jonah’s Psalm Focuses On His Physical Deliverance From The Death Of Drowning.

V. 3,5 he was engulfed by breakers. Seaweed was wrapped around his head. When he cried out to God it was not for “salvation of his soul” but for the saving of his life from drowning. This is similar to the story of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33). Peter wasn’t crying for “salvation” he was asking for physical deliverance!

Jonah’s Psalm Is Self-Centered

Jonah described his dilemma, his danger, his deliverance, and his delight.

In The Book of Psalms the Psalmists also described their deliverance, although the particulars were often left out, or only briefly mentioned, often in the introduction to the Psalm.

Very quickly, the Old Testament Psalmists turned the Psalm from a cry about how abused or tormented or oppressed they were to praise to God for his great deliverance and their own personal experience of his amazing salvation and mercy. In short, the Psalms are God-centered, while Jonah’s Psalm is self-centered.

Psalm 3

Note this Psalmist’s description of his dilemma, and how quickly he changes his focus to the character of His God?

Psalm 116:3-7 vs. Jonah 2:6-7

Jonah chapter 2 dwells on the details of Jonah’s dilemma, while God’s character is scarcely mentioned. In fact verse 9 – the very last line of the song is the only mention of God’s character.

While a lot of Psalms talk about being in distress or being attacked, none of them say that God did it to them! Rather it’s a mention to ungodly outsiders that attack or punishment for sins committed, with a mention of God’s deliverance. In Jonah’s case, rather than attributing his danger to his own rebellion, Jonah depicts God as the cause of his danger: Jonah 2:3

Jonah’s Psalm Speaks Of His Disdain Of Gentiles And His Self-Righteousness As A Jew.

In his “Psalm” Jonah doesn’t mention the sailors lives, their fear, their turning to God and asking for mercy. No care at all of them. In fact, he didn’t even confess that he was the cause of the storm until forced into it. And instead of praying for mercy and asking God to calm the storm so he could go back to port, he just stood there like a lump until the bitter end. Then when he wrote the Psalm he doesn’t thank the Lord for his mercy in sparing the sailors lives. Or of God’s honoring their prayer for forgiveness.

No. He thanks God for delivering HIM from certain death, but no mention of why he was hurled into the depths in the first place!

The only mention of gentiles is in v. 8 & 9

Here he mentions the gentiles worshiping false gods, and his willingness to offer a sacrifice “in the temple” upon returning to Israel.

Many Psalms speak of the conversion of the gentiles. More than Psalms. We already know about Nebuchadnezzar and God’s judgment on him and his time of madness, but there are other stories in the Bible about gentiles being converted too.

II Kings 5:1-18

And Psalms about the gentiles coming to God too.

Psalm 22:22-28

Psalm 67

Jonah doesn’t promise to worship God, or be obedient to His command to preach to Nineveh. The only promise he makes is to sacrifice to God in the temple! In other words, “God if you get me out of here I promise to go to church faithfully!”

Jonah’s Psalm Contains No Repentance And No Confession Of Sin.

The proof that he didn’t confess his willingness to obey is that God has to command him AGAIN to go to Nineveh in Jonah 3:1.

Psalm 32:5

Psalm 69:5-6, 13-15

In Psalm 50:13-17 God indicates that religious forms and rituals (such as Jonah’s Psalm) were only of value to the one who obeyed His commandments. Jonah had deliberately disobeyed God’s command to go to Nineveh. Why, then, would his Psalm or his promised sacrifice be precious to God?

So What Is The Purpose Of The Story Of Jonah? If It’s Not About A Repentant Prophet Then What Is The Point?

It points out God’s omnipotence and the fact that he can hit a straight blow with a crooked stick! It shows that God is working in and through everyone and everything.

One of my favorite movies is Chariots of Fire. The story of Eric Liddell who took Gold in the 1920 Olympics in a 400 meter race when his specialty was the 100 yard dash. But he ran that race with faith in God because the 100 yard dash took place on a Sunday and he refused to run on the Lord’s day.

The actor that portrayed that strong Christian character was gay. In fact he died of AIDS. How sad. But that movie has had a profound impact on many lives. The pastor of Calvary said that he and his wife attended that movie shortly after being “fired” as a pastor by the Seventh Day Adventists and that it had a major impact on him in a time of despair. In fact, the movie theater they saw that movie in is the very same one they started their second campus in just last year.

Look at Mel Gibson’s life and the impact that “The Passion” has had versus his actual lifestyle, and some of the other movies he’s starred in that are so full of cursing and immorality. God can strike a straight blow with many, many crooked sticks. Even us!

But to truly experience His awesomeness we need to have a deep understanding of God’s love for ALL mankind. We need to know that God is working constantly in and through us to touch other people, and that we have NO RIGHT to think of ourselves as better or worse than someone else because they don’t know Jesus and we do.

Biblical Lesson In Real Repentance:

II Samuel 12:1 – 23

Psalm 51

Lessons For Us:

While the “outside” of Jonah’s prayer seems pious and righteous. The “inside” is empty and shows a true lack of understanding of God’s character and desire for the entire world to worship God.

In our own lives have we fallen prey to “looking good” on the outside but “being empty” on the inside? Do we act righteous, with a prissy mouth and stiff character, looking down on those around us, but really having no understanding of the “joy” of our salvation? And that God wants everyone to experience that joy?

Have we forgotten the nature of God and who He is in relation to who we are? Do we obey the “morals” of the Christian culture, but only because it’s a habit with us, not because of our love of God and desire to be obedient?

Do we claim that we obey God implicitly and then refuse to do the basic things we know we should?

How well do you know the God that you pray to?

Do you come before him and truly acknowledge that everything you have is His? That He has the right to give you ultimate guidance in your life, no matter where or what that means?

Do you call out to God only when things are going wrong, but forget Him when things are going well? Or worse, BLAME him when things are going badly, as if it’s not fair that it happened to you?

We need to examine our own personal walks with him and maybe do some soul searching and praying about how to acknowledge His overall sovereignty, not only over our own lives, but over everything that happens in the world.

I want to end this study with Psalm 8.  This Psalm talks of the Majesty of our God!

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