QUESTION: Why didn t Jonah Jump Overboard?

QUESTION: Why didn t Jonah Jump Overboard?

QUESTION: What did the sailors do after the storm ceased?

QUESTION: Where did the fish spit Jonah out?

QUESTION: What was Jonah s appearance?

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you. 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. JONAH 3 (NIV)

4 Jonah began by going a day s journey into the city, proclaiming, Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. JONAH 3 (NIV)

6 When Jonah s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: JONAH 3 (NIV)

By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. JONAH 3 (NIV)

9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. JONAH 3 (NIV)

What led the people of Nineveh to repent?

WHAT LED TO REPENTANCE? JONAH s PROPHETIC TIMELINE: 793-753 B.C. In 765 B.C. a devastating famine struck the city. In 763 B.C. a total eclipse of the sun darkened the skies over the city. Ashurdan III ruled Assyria from 771-754 B.C. Historical evidence implies that a religious awakening occurred during his reign.

WHAT LED TO REPENTANCE? The story of Jonah reached Nineveh before he did. His wild appearance added to the intrigue. Assyria s chief God was Dagon (a fish).

when I didn t confess my sins When I kept silent, My bones wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For, day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me; My strength was sapped As in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you And did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess My transgressions to the Lord And you forgave The guilt of my sin. PSALM 32

1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ISAIAH 58

3 Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed? "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. ISAIAH 58

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? ISAIAH 58

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ISAIAH 58

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. ISAIAH 58

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. II CORINTHIANS 7:10

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. MATTHEW 3:8

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. EPHESIANS 4:25-32

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. EPHESIANS 4:25-32

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. EPHESIANS 4:25-32