Matthew 12:39-41: “But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” (ESV) Evangelical Free Church of Green Valley Home Bible Studies Autumn 2020 Coordinated with messages by Pastor Steve LoVellette Lessons prepared by Dave McCracken Table of Contents Date Topic Scripture Page Sept. 20 Jonah – Running from God Jonah 1 1 Sept. 27 Jonah – Praying to God Jonah 2 5 Oct. 4 Jonah – Preaching for God Jonah 3 9 Oct. 11 Jonah – Questioning God Jonah 4 13 Nineveh iii iv Lesson 1, Sept. 20, 2020 Jonah – Running from God, Chapter 1 We all have something in common with Jonah. Either we have run, or we are running from God. You can run from God, but you can’t outrun Him! The Bible says that there is nowhere that He can’t reach you. Perhaps you are saying, “God, you can have everything in my life… but not that.” “I know that God wants this from me, but if I do that… or if I give that up, I’m going to be missing out.” That’s exactly what Adam and Eve fell for in the Garden… they were fooled into believing that God was holding His best back from them. We think we’re going to miss out on something… like this world has anything to offer us that can compare to what awaits us in glory! Ken Mckinley, Sharon FBC, Sharon, OK, July 2013 Note, first, the Prophet’s unwelcome charge. The fact that a prophet of Israel was sent to a heathen city, and that not to denounce destruction except as a means of winning to repentance, declared emphatically God’s care for the world, and rebuked the exclusiveness which claimed Him for Israel alone. The same spirit haunts the Christian Church. We all need to have our sympathies widened to the width of God’s universal love. Jonah sullenly resolved not to obey God’s voice. What a glimpse into the prophetic office that gives us! The divine Spirit could be resisted, and the Prophet was no mere machine, but a living man who had to consent with his devoted will to bear the burden of the Lord. One refused, and his refusal teaches us how superb and self-sacrificing was the faithfulness of the other prophets. What will we do with God’s message entrusted to us? We must bow our wills, and sink our prejudices, and sacrifice our tastes, and say, “Here am I; send me.” MacLaren's Expositions, BibleHub.com Why did he refuse to go to Nineveh? Not because he was afraid for his life, or thought the task hopeless. He refused because he feared success. God’s goodness was being stretched too far if it was going to take in Nineveh. If he had been sent to destroy it, he would probably have gone gladly. He begrudged that heathen should share Israel’s privileges. MacLaren's Expositions, BibleHub.com The book of Jonah is, in some ways, the greatest in the Old Testament. There is no other which so bravely claims the whole world for the love of God, or presents its noble lessons with so winning or subtle an art. Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, is divinely commanded to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian empire of his day. To escape the unwelcome task of preaching to a heathen people, he takes a ship for the distant west. He later obeys the divine command, and his preaching is followed by a general repentance, which causes God to spare the wicked city, whereas Jonah is greatly displeased; but, by a new and miraculous experience, he is taught the shame and folly of his anger, and the infinite greatness of the divine love. Introduction to the Old Testament — J. E. McFadyen 1. Read Jonah 1:1-3. What was the message God gave to Jonah to communicate to Nineveh? Why? 1 2. How did Jonah respond? Where did he want to go? 3. Tarshish was the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known. What was he trying to get away from? Is this possible? Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh because the people are wicked, so instead he goes to Tarshish… where the people are… wicked. When you’re running from God, your life will eventually unravel and will self-destruct. It can mean doing something that He says not to do, or not doing something that He says to do. God’s plan and purpose for Jonah was to go to Nineveh and preach. When Jonah ran, he was not only running from God, he was also running from God’s very plan and purpose for him! The reason a person’s life begins to fall apart when they run from God is because God has a plan and a purpose for him or her. Are you a Christian? Then part of your purpose is to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). We glorify God by doing what He has created us for and called us to do. 4. Read Jonah 1:4-6. What did the Lord do? How did the mariners respond? 5. What was Jonah doing? What did the captain demand of him? Why? 6. Read Jonah 1:7-10. What did the mariners decide to do? What information did they demand from Jonah? How did Jonah respond to them? What made the mariners afraid? What did they already know? 7. Read Jonah 1:11-16. What did the mariners want Jonah to tell them? Why? How did Jonah respond? 2 8. What did the mariners try to do? What did they pray to the Lord God, in whom they had not believed until now? What did they do to Jonah? What did they then do? Jonah chose to die rather than follow God’s plan. That’s what he’s saying when he says, “Throw me overboard.” He could’ve said, “I’m supposed to go to Nineveh, if you’ll drop me at the next port so I can go, all will be well.” But instead he says, “Just kill me. Throw me into the sea.” This may be like us. We may have that area in our life that we’re unwilling to give to God. We’re unwilling to repent of it. Sin can sink its teeth so deep into us, and it’s almost like it’s a part of us, and rather than let it go, we run from God. And we, in effect, say, “I’m not going to give that to God… I’m not going to bow the knee in this area.” We need to humble ourselves before the Mighty Hand of God and say, “God, you are God, you are Lord of all… I can’t let it go so I just need you to take it. Take it by force if need be, but take it so that I can stop running from you, but instead run to you.” Ken Mckinley, Sharon FBC, Sharon, OK, July 2013 9. Read Jonah 1:17. What did the Lord God appoint? To do what? How long was Jonah in the belly of the fish? 10. Read Matthew 12:38-42 & Luke 11:29-32. What does Jesus use about the story of Jonah to point to his death on the cross? Why would Nineveh condemn the people to whom Jesus was preaching? 11. Why will the queen of the South judge the people to whom Jesus was preaching? 12. Read 2 Chronicles 9:1-9. How did the queen of the South (Sheba) respond to the wisdom of Solomon? When believers rebel against God's will, they bring pain and loss upon themselves as well as other people. The good news is that the Lord often gives a second chance to obey Him. Have you been running from your Creator in some area of your life? If so, return to the Father and give Him complete control. He delights to work through available, obedient servants. Charles F. Stanley, InTouch Ministries 3 4 Lesson 2, Sept. 27, 2020 Jonah – Praying to God, Chapter 2 Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in [the grave], behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” We might choose to run from the Lord; but even if we do, we will still have to come face to face with God at some point or another and reckon with Him. Doing our own thing will only lead to death and destruction, for we read in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Acting apart from the will of God is what the Bible calls sin, and Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death,” meaning spiritual death.