Jonah

I. Introduction
   A. Jonah
   B. A story that most children know
      1. Jonah and the big fish
      2. Yet the book has a very important message for adults, too!
   C. Let us consider the book

II. Jonah: The Details
   A. Authorship
      1. Author not known
      2. Inspiration attested by Jesus (Matthew 12:39-40)
   B. Dating
      1. Jonah, son of Amittai, lives in time of Jeroboam II of Israel 
         (2 Kings 14:25)
      2. ca. 782-753 BCE
      3. Book written after that point, certainly before 200 BCE
   C. Audience
      1. Israel
      2. Much we can gain from it
   D. Purpose
      1. To tell the story of Jonah and Nineveh
      2. To demonstrate God's mercy toward the repentant
      3. To rebuke discriminatory attitudes among God's people

III. Jonah: The Story
   A. Main Sections
      1. Before Nineveh (Jonah 1-2)
      2. At Nineveh (Jonah 3-4)
   B. Jonah Flees From God (Jonah 1-2)
      1. Word of LORD comes to Jonah to call against Nineveh, its evil; 
         Jonah arises, flees from presence of LORD, goes on ship headed 
         for Tarshish (Jonah 1:1-3)
      2. LORD causes great storm upon the sea; mariners each cry to his 
         god, removed all cargo; Jonah asleep; they wake him, petition 
         him to call out to his god (Jonah 1:4-6)
      3. Mariners decide to cast lots to see who has brought the evil 
         upon them; lot falls on Jonah; they want to know more about 
         Jonah; he identifies himself as a Hebrew, serving the God of 
         heaven; mariners afraid, for they know he is fleeing LORD's 
         presence (Jonah 1:7-11)
      4. Mariners ask what should be done; Jonah says to throw him 
         overboard; men first try to get to land; they cannot; they 
         call out to the LORD, beg for mercy, cast Jonah overboard; 
         sea quiets down; mariners sacrifice to LORD, make vows 
         (Jonah 1:8-16)
      5. LORD appoints giant fish to swallow Jonah; Jonah in belly of 
         fish three days and nights (Jonah 1:17)
      6. Jonah prays to God from belly of fish: calls to God in his 
         distress, seas lash against him, God delivers his life; 
         message of thanksgiving; Jonah will make sacrifices and pay 
         vows (Jonah 2:1-9)
      7. Fish vomits Jonah onto dry land (Jonah 2:10)
   C. Jonah's Preaching (Jonah 3)
      1. Word of LORD returns to Jonah, tells him to go to Nineveh; he 
         does so (Jonah 3:1-2)
      2. Nineveh large city, three day's journey in breadth; Jonah went 
         a day's journey in, begins calling out that Nineveh will be 
         overthrown; people believe God, fast, wear sackcloth 
         (Jonah 3:3-5)
      3. Word reaches king of Nineveh; he humbles himself, wears 
         sackcloth; issues proclamation of fasting and lamentation, 
         so that God may relent of disaster (Jonah 3:6-9)
      4. God sees their repentance, relents of disaster (Jonah 3:10)
   D. Jonah's Anger (Jonah 4)
      1. Jonah very displeased; indicates that he fled toward Tarshish 
         since God is gracious and merciful; would rather die than to 
         see Nineveh spared (Jonah 4:1-3)
      2. God asks if he does well to be angry; Jonah pitches a tent to 
         east of city to see what will happen to it (Jonah 4:4-5)
      3. God appoints plant to provide shade to Jonah; Jonah glad for 
         it; next day, worm attacks plant and it withers; God sends 
         scorching wind that causes Jonah distress; Jonah asked that he 
         might die (Jonah 4:6-8)
      4. God asks if Jonah does well to be angry regarding the plant; 
         he says yes, enough to die; God says that he pities the plant 
         that he did not create and which lived for a day, and asks why 
         He should not have a similar pity for Nineveh with 120,000 
         ignorant people and cattle (Jonah 4:9-11)

IV. Jonah: Important Passages
   A. Jonah 1:17 / Matthew 12:39-40
   B. Jonah 4:11

V. Conclusion
   A. The famous story of Jonah
   B. Children may be enamored with the big fish, but adults ought to 
      learn from Jonah's "discriminating" example and not share in that 
      attitude
   C. Let us be thankful for God's mercy and pity, and let us not 
      infringe upon it!
   D. Invitation/songbook