Dr. Stanford E. Murrell

Leader’s Study Guide

The Book of Jonah

Human Author: Jonah

Divine Author: God the Holy Spirit

Date of Writing: 9^th century BC

Key Thought: Divine Pity

Key Verses: Jonah 4:10-11

“ Then said the LORD,

Thou hast had pity on the gourd,

for the which thou hast not laboured,

neither madest it grow;

which came up in a night,

and perished in a night:

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

JONAH 1

1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

1:1 Like so many of the Biblical writers little is know of the author. We read of this same Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25, where he is said to be from Gath-hepher in Galilee, a city that belonged to the tribe of Zebulun, in a remote corner of the land of Israel. Though little is known of Jonah it does not matter for as always the message is more important than the man.

1:1 Amittai (a-mit'-tahee; truthful, faithful), was an inhabitant of Gath-hepher of the tribe of Zebulun. He became the father of the prophet Jonah (2 Kings 14:25; Jonah 1:1) c. 800 BC.

2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

1:1-3 Jonah was a disobedient prophet. When the word of the Lord came to Jonah and commissioned him to go to Nineveh, that Great City, and cry against it, the nationalistic spirit of Jonah caused him to say, "No!" Jonah would have said "Yes!" to any positive message that God might have had for Israel (Rom. 9:1- 5) but when it came to preach to the enemies of Israel, Jonah said, "No!" There was a reason. Jonah knew the great grace and mercy of God. He knew how longsuffering the Lord could be. Despite the abominations of the heathens they could still be converted and Jonah did not want that to happen. He was personally very angry with his national enemies. There he decided to go to Tarshish.

1:3 Tarshish is a Phoenician word meaning "smelting plant" or "refinery." Known historically as Tartessus in S Spain, near Gibraltar the servant of God tried to get as far as geographically possible from the place he knew God wanted him to be. It was Jonah's considered opinion that the people of Nineveh did not deserve to hear the gospel of redeeming grace. They deserved to be left in ignorance and

spiritual darkness for the people of Nineveh were known for their greed,

selfishness and cruelty. Jonah wanted not grace but judgment to come to Assyria.

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

1:4 To move from the known will of the Lord means that a person has to leave the divine presence. While the attempt is made the Sovereign God maintains His own integrity and essence. Jonah could abandon close fellowship with the Lord but that only meant God would have to deal with Him in judgment rather than friendship. So Jonah “went down” into the ship. He would keep going “down” until he reached the depths of self-induced misery and despair.

5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

1:5 It is the nature of evil to be at peace with itself while causing fear and distress for others. The self-righteous Pharisees rejoiced they had put Jesus to death and went to bed to sleep soundly.

6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

1:6 Jonah was properly rebuked for sleeping in the midst of a storm of his own creation. The church must not sleep spiritually while others are perishing.

Rescue the perishing,

care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity

from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one,

lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Fanny Crosby

~*~

7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

1:7 While the casting of lots is not a wise practice to use in discerning the will of God, He is sovereignly in control of this method of inquiry. Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.”

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? And whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?

1:8 The point of origin for the cause of trouble was traced to Jonah. There is a spot for every sinful creation of trouble. It is worth the time and effort to trace sin’s source. Most people know when and why they leave the Lord for worldly pleasures and the pursuit of personal self. Interests.

9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

1:9 Had Jonah truly feared God he would never had disobeyed Him. The hardness of the human heart is likened to stone in Scripture and for good reason. In the moment of sin the heart must be without feeling or sensitivity or it could never wound the Savior the way it does.

10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

1:10 Afraid. Jonah said he feared God but the sailors acted as if they did. They were “exceedingly afraid.” There are defining moments when even the natural conscience can be awakened to the terrors of the Lord. Some have mistaken this spiritual awakening as sinners seeks the Lord, but that is not the case for there is none that seeketh after God (Rom. 3:11).