Prophets - Jonah

Disobedience 

“But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3, ESV)  

Indifference 

“He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”” (Jonah 1:12, ESV)  

Repentance 

“When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”” (Jonah 2:7–9, ESV)  

Forgiveness 

“And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” (Jonah 2:10, ESV)  

Persistence 

““Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”” (Jonah 3:2, ESV)  

Remorse 

“And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” (Jonah 3:5–8, ESV)  

Bitterness 

“And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”” (Jonah 4:2–3, ESV)  

Compassion 

“And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”” (Jonah 4:10–11, ESV)  

Questions: 

1. What is God asking you to do? Are you doing it? 

2. Who do you see as the enemies of God or church ministry? How do we share Jesus with them? 

3. Identify the priorities God had for Jonah. How would you see those priorities in your own service?