Old Testament survey (32): Jonah

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. (Jonah 1:3)

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the bellyg of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (Jonah 2:2)

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (Jonah 2:9)

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jonah 3:10)

Overview

[1] Jonah, from Thru The Bible Radio with Dr. J. Vernon McGee ©, with free downloads Notes & Outlines (PDF), Complete 5-Year Study (MP3)

Jonah is the book of the Bible which perhaps has been criticized more than any other. Unfortunately, many Christians thoughtlessly cast aspersions upon this important book in the canon of Scripture without realizing that they are playing into the hands of the critics and innocently becoming the dupes of the skeptics. You hear even Christians say, when they hear a tall story, “My, that’s a Jonah!” What they really mean is that it is something that is hard, or maybe even impossible, to believe.

In dealing with any book of the Bible, we need to distinguish between what Dr. G. Campbell Morgan calls the essentials and the incidentals. The incidentals in the Book of Jonah are the fish, the gourd, the east wind, the boat, and even the city of Nineveh. The essentials here are Jehovah and Jonah—God and man—that is what the book is all about. (Read the complete article)

[2] Book of Jonah, from gotquestions.org (this website is also available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese-Myanmar, Cebuano, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malaysian, Persian-Farsi, Portuguese, Quechua, Sesotho, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Zulu, and 70 other languages)

Jonah’s fear and pride cause him to run from God. He does not wish to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the people, as God has commanded, because he feels they are his enemies, and he is convinced that God will not carry out his threat to destroy the city. Instead he boards a ship for Tarshish, which is in the opposite direction. Soon a raging storm causes the crew to cast lots and determine that Jonah is the problem. They throw him overboard, and he is swallowed by a great fish. In its belly for 3 days and 3 nights, Jonah repents of his sin to God, and the fish vomits him up on dry land (we wonder what took him so long to repent). Jonah then makes the 500-mile trip to Nineveh and leads the city in a great revival. But the prophet is displeased (actually pouts) instead of being thankful when Nineveh repents. Jonah learns his lesson, however, when God uses a wind, a gourd and a worm to teach him that He is merciful. (Read the complete article)

[3] Jonah, from Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)

The historical character of the man Jonah is vouched for by Jesus Christ Matthew 12:39-41 as also that his preservation in the great fish was a “sign” or type of the Lord's own entombment and resurrection. Both are miraculous and both are equally credible. 2 Kings 14:25 records the fulfilment of a prophecy by Jonah. The man himself was a bigoted Jew, unwilling to testify to a Gentile city, and angry that God had spared it. Typically he foreshadows the nation of Israel out of its own land; a trouble to the Gentiles, yet witnessing to them; cast out by them, but miraculously preserved; in their future deepest distress calling upon Jehovah-Saviour, and finding deliverance, and then becoming missionaries to the Gentiles. Zechariah 8:7-23.

He typifies Christ as the Sent One, raised from the dead, and carrying salvation to the Gentiles. The chapter divisions indicate the analysis of Jonah.

Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment -- Commentary On The Book Of Jonah, by Paul G. Apple

[2] Resources by David Malick

• An Introduction to the Book of Jonah (download Word Doc)
• An Argument of the Book of Jonah (download Word Doc)

[3] Jonah, by Hampton Keathley IV

[4] Jonah: The Prodigal Prophet, by Bob Deffinbaugh (download Word Doc)

• Shattered Stereotypes (Jonah 1)
• The Psalm of the Prodigal Prophet (Jonah 2:1-10)
• Nineveh’s Repentance and Jonah’s Wrath (Jonah 3 & 4)

[5] Was Jonah truly swallowed by a whale?

[6] Jonah and the Great Fish

Sermons on Jonah (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Into the Sea, by Kim Alexander

[2] The Strangest Thanksgiving Ever Jonah 2, by Ronald E. George Jr., Fayetteville Baptist Church, Fayetteville, WV

[3] Something Greater than Jonah is Here Jonah 1:17, South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee AR

[4] Sermons Prepared by James McCullen, First Baptist Church, Mountain View MO

• Jonah Called of God Jonah 1:1 -3
• The Tale of Four Cities Jonah 1:1 -3
• When God Motivates Conversion Jonah 1:10 -16
• Jonah Paid the Fare Jonah 1:3 -17
• Witness A Loser Winning the Lottery Jonah 1:4 -9
• You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down Jonah 1:17
• How Jonah Prayed Jonah 2:1 -9
• Analyzing A Great City Jonah 2:10
• Evidence of Revival Jonah 3:4 -10

[5] Sermons by Rev. Chris Harbin, Central Baptist Church – Lowesville

• So What’s the Difference? Jonah 3:1 -10, (¿Cuál Es la Diferencia? Spanish version)
• Becoming Missional Jonah 4:1 -11

[6] When God Speaks, by Phillip W. Mansfield

[7] Get Your Chores Done, by Mike Crews

[8] The Reluctant Prophet 1st sermon, by Joel Arndt

[9] Jonah: The Unwilling Messenger, by Paul Elledge

[10] God’s Counter Moves, by David Lemming

[11] “Up From the Deep”, by Bryan Smith

[12] Jonah’s Spiral Downward, by Jim Julian

[13] Jonah’s Lesson, by Scott Hergert

[14] Call Stories, by John Fimple

For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.