Conclusion
What about you? What are your priorities? Are they the same as God’s, or are you allowing self-interests to interfere with reaching the lost?
Focusing on the Facts
1. What was Jonah’s commission (1:1-2; see p. 1)?
2. Describe the city of Nineveh (see p. 1).
3. Why did Jonah flee the Lord’s call (1:3; 4:2; see p.2)?
4. What does fleeing “from the presence of the Lord” mean (1:3; see p. 2)?
5. What was the mariners’ initial reaction to the storm at sea (1:4-7; see pp. 2-3)?
6. How did the mariners respond when they discovered the reason for the storm (1:8-16; see pp. 3-4)?
7. What spiritual benefit did the mariners receive through Jonah (1:16; see p.4)?
8. Describe the elements of repentance in Jonah’s prayer (1:17-2:10; see pp. 4-5).
9. What does Jonah’s second call indicate about God (3:1-2; see p.5)?
10. Summarize the results of Jonah’s preaching in Nineveh (3:5-10; see pp. 5-6).
11. Why didn’t God judge Nineveh (3:5-10; 4:2; see p. 6)?
12. How did the Lord teach Jonah a lesson (4:6-8)? What was that lesson (4:9-11; see pp. 6-7)?
Pondering the Principles
1. Jonah ran from the Lord, but the Lord constantly pursued him in mercy and love. Therefore Jonah could pray, “I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving” (2:9). Jeremiah had that same awareness of God’s love and mercy: “It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). And the psalmist said, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 103:8; cf. Jonah 4:2). Have a daily awareness of God’s mercies to you, and express your thankfulness to Him.
2. Jonah learned that disobedience results in emptiness, but obedience brings happiness and blessing (2:7-8). Thomas Watson wrote, “God commands nothing but what is beneficial. ‘O Israel, what doth the Lord require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to keep His statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good?’ To obey God, is not so much our duty as our privilege” (The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations, I.D.E. Thomas, ed. [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977], p. 199). Have you received the blessings that come from obeying God? Do you delight in obeying Him (Ps. 37:4; 40:8)?
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
