Jonah - The misunderstood prophet
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2024
- Much of what we know about Jonah comes from songs and Sunday schools and may need re-learning. This frequently accused and misunderstood prophet gives us some highly important lessons.
Why did he flee to Tarshish? Was he dead in the great fish? Why so angry with God? What really happened in 'bloody Nineveh"? (to use the phrase of Nahum).
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When I was betrayed by my family of origin, at great loss, I was also expecting a child. The betrayal was deep, and had cost me dearly. The knowledge of forgiveness and the season of Yom Kippur was also on the horizon. One of the hurdles between my family and I had been my faith. Though I had never heard of Jonah being the "hero" or even spoken of kindly - I had once heard another story of God speaking to his heavenly counsel newly celebrating the victory of the closing sea upon the pursuing Egyptian forces....admonishing their celebration at the death of those whom were also image bearers. And, so, as I studied, I continued to see things in the Bible - and hear His words less harsh where others heard them harsh, and probably sharper where others heard them less so... and spoken of and to men and women with more understanding to guide them where He needed them to be - and while I have to admit I never ever thought of Jonah as being dead, I thought of him alive and suffering the fish's digestion. And I did not see him left alone and dejected and a failure. I actually saw through him a path that I could follow, and eventually I could (and did) get to the place where the obedience and faithfulness brought me the same lessons of being without the tree. Before that lesson was quite learned in fulfillment, however, when just the inkling was there, I shared this with my husband. He, too, had never heard the blessing of this understanding of the prophet before. We named our son Jonah in gratitude. Our Jonah is 11 now. This year was his first year that he fasted the entire time. Tonight his prayer was thanking Adonai for our hunger, because it reminds him that He provides. My Jonah speaks the same joy I discovered of God's mercy and unanticipated means of unlocked assurances that I found that day.
I would love if you had finished the moedim series you had started. This was the first video of yours I found - I'm excited to share it with my son. I've never found one I could share with him before that was so bright.
How we as children of God should love , confess repent of sins and inturn God's mercy will prevail resignated with this video.. so appreciated.
You have an amazing gift of discernment and understanding. Thank you for such a great Bible study, very well spoken.
Much love and respect 🙌🙌🙌
Thanks for your kind words LU
Lives used to be much simpler in the past. Jonah’s wife asked him where he had been over the last 3 days and he answered in a whale’s belly and she accepted. Now good luck trying to convince your wife that you were in the gym over the last 2 hrs.
Ha ha
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5:00 I defended that city in 2006 against the Prince of Mosul. Second in command of AQI at the time.
Wow, thanks for your service macdad
One of the great teaching I have come across. Thank you
Thanks for your kind words Ellen.
"I'm not going to that the city and tell those people anything like that, because they're not gonna be happy"
❤❤❤
🐋
He did pray.
Ha ha, I think I would be the same as you.
There was an eclipse of the Sun in Nineveh starting at 9:20 am until 12:15 pm on the 15th June 763 BC. Someone from the British Museum says that this was probably the time when Jonah was prophesying to Nineveh. The Assyrians believed that when their was an eclipse of the sun that the king would die. That would have gained the attention of the king. That is probably why he ordered the fast. Jonah's prophesy would have concentrated his mind even more. In the 9th year (Bur Sagale year in the records) of the reign of Ashur Dan II there was a report of an eclipse of the sun in the month of Simanu (May to June). Jonah lived in the time of Jeroboam II because he is mentioned as doing a prophesy during his reign as you said in your talk. Jeroboam reigned from 786 BC to 746 BC. 763 BC is during this time frame. Incidently, the same eclipse is mentioned in Amos 8:9 ( "When that time comes", says The Lord God, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight". That dates Amos at the same time as Jonah.
This eclipse is very famous in Assyriology. It is the only fully verifiable date they have got. All Assyrian dates are taken from this eclipse date. You can check it yourself by downloading the very good free "Stellarium" astronomy program from the internet. You must put in the date -762 not -763 because the program uses a year 0 (and all other astronomy programs do the same). In history there is 1 BC then the next year is 1 AD. There is no 0 AD. Put in Mosul as the town in Irag. It is opposite Nineveh on the Tigris river. There is no Nineveh in the program.
Very interesting, thanks Bob
The Book of Jonah makes it very clear that he hated Nineveh. So, he would not have stayed in Nineveh. Isis destroyed "Jonah's tomb" in Nineveh because they know that Jonah was not buried there. Nobody believes that Jonah is buried in Nineveh.
Thank you for this inciteful writing, I shall look up not only Stellarium with its download but Assyriology also. Very well said~ Blessings,Cynthia
Thank you so much for this story and for the background ❤
You’re very welcome.
Thank you so much . I really appreciate and was so engaged while watching your teaching telling of the story of Jonah and the history .
Thanks for your kind words Emmie, glad you enjoyed. Dave
Fantastic lesson, thanks
Good talk. .may His face shine upon you and may His Peace be upon you and may the Lord of Spirits guide your path and light your way for many others in His name Jesus
Thanks Chris.
This is such a great discussion on Jonah. Thank you for your thoughts.
Thanks Misty.
Beautiful narrative , full of kindness.
Jonah (Younis) Was an Envoy to The Assyrians
Jonah was a messenger of God to the Assyrians, Q; Surat As-safat: (Jonah was one of the messengers. When he fled to the laden boat, he gambled and lost. Then the fish swallowed him, and it was him to be blamed. Had he not been one of those who praised, he would have stayed in its belly until the Day they are raised. Then We threw him into the wilderness, and he was sick, and We made a gourd tree grow over him. Then We sent him to a hundred thousand or more. And they believed, so We gave them enjoyment for a while [As-safat 139 - 148]. And (Jonah stormed out in fury, thinking We had no power over him. But then He cried out in the darkness, “There is no god but YOU, Glory to YOU, I was one of the wrongdoers!” So We answered him, and saved him from the affliction) [AL-Anbiya 87, 88].
The Ancient city of Nineveh was a wealthy and exceedingly great metropolis. It wasn’t only confined to the city within the walls, it extended as an island in the river Tigris up to (15) miles to the north. It was the greatest of its time. Its population at the times of Jonah (Yonan) between 790BC -753BC was more than a hundred thousand, its census also came in Talmud as many as (120) thousand> the majority of the Assyrians lived in Nineveh, this is an indication of how great it was at its time.
Prophet Yonah lived in Israel which she wasn’t on good terms with Assyria. So after he was instructed to go to the ancient city of Ninevah(as a messenger of God) to call the Assyrians to believe in the only One God and change their ways, Yonah was reluctant to go. He tried to escape the unwelcome mission.
Thus instead of heading to Ninevah, Yonah went westwards and embarked on a laden cargo ship in the Mediterranean. She was probably bound for Greece, or, for the Phoenician Territories (Qartaj) or south of Spain. After sailing, she encountered a storm at night. Then When the ship was about to sink, the crew in an attempt to salvage her and keep her afloat, they threw the cargo in the sea. But the peril of sinking remained. Trying to figure out what the solution would be (thinking that a one on board has committed a sin and was the reason behind this wrath). So a lottery was drawn and the Arrow fell on Yonah (that means its he to be marooned) and he admitted he disobeyed God. But the storm didn’t give them a chance to reach any island. Therefore to rescue the ship and whom on board, he had to throw himself into the seas. Before he did (he cried out in the darkness, “There is no god but YOU, Glory to YOU, I was one of the wrongdoers!” So We answered him, and saved him from the affliction)[as-safat 88], and when he threw himself, promptly as he submerged in the waters, he was swallowed by a great whale. The crew must have seen him being swallowed, and immediately the storm pacified.
When being in a very tight dark tight room, in the whale’s stomach but wasn’t fully swallowed, he must have been able, though with difficulty, to breathe through the inhaled air of the whale’s air passageway. He remained in that tight cavity of total darkness, the whale’s stomach for at least the whole night. Then probably at daytime and after his clothing and his skin were digested and consumed in the whale’s stomach, he was thrown out, ejected, from the whale’s stomach to a deserted shore unable to stand or walk or move. While he was motionless, he immediately was wrapped up with pumpkin plant leaves that grew under and around him almost in no time (as a supernatural event) to protect him from the elements and to cured his ailing body.
The plant supplied him with moisture and nourishment until he was fully recovered. He learnt a lesson the hard way. Then he accepted the unwelcome mission and set out for a journey to his enemy and the enemy of Israel, Ninevah. While Yonah was subject to be flayed or killed by impaling, he had to call the Assyrians to believe in the only One God and change their ways, and to warn them if otherwise, they would be incurred the wrath of God, and Ninevah with its people would be utterly destroyed. But he must have put his trust in God that he would be saved as he was saved from the whale’s stomach; this must have given him strength and empowered him.
The Assyrians refused to answer his call and rejected Jonah. BUT, when it was only just about to be too late, they answered to his call, and the punishment was abrogated. )If only there was one town that believed and benefited by its belief, except for the people of Jonah) [Yunis 98]. When they believed, We re-moved from them the suffering of disgrace in the worldly life, and We gave them comfort for a while. Jonah at first thought that his sojourn in Ninevah should have been only for not too long, but he became one of its dignitaries that even the king of Assyria had to follow his instructions. He had to stay preaching to complete his mission until he passed away and was buried in a high place in Nineveh, until today his tomb rises 20 meters above the adjacent ground and was never removed even after Ninevah renegaded probably the second following generation, nor when it was utterly destroyed 180 years later by Medes and the Babylonians.
In the times of Jonah and afterwards, the Assyrians became the most powerful nation in the whole region. Then after becoming a renegade they attacked Samaria (kingdom of Israel, the house of Israel) and brought her people to the land of Assyria in 726BC and in 721BC and in 701BC.
Great presentation. Thank you very much
Thanks Max
Isis seems to have the same cruel nature as ancient Assyria.. Strange that the demons that are tied up by the Tigris and Euphrates river are in this same area...
God bless you brother.
Thank you Mary
Finally some good teaching! Now how do I apply it? Lord please fix me !
Thanks Paul
Ty Brother
Thank you and Amen.
Very welcome
Thank you
Thank you thank you
Thanks for your kind words Jodie
Well done!!!
Thank you
Thank you for this talk Dave. I never thought of Jonah as being dead and was always kind of embarrassed describing Jonah in the big fish for three days. Him dying first fits the scripture far better. Raising the dead is nothing to God. Aren't we also told to raise the dead?
Hear hear
We can't raise someone from the dead. Only God can do that, the author of life. If someone will or can do that, people will either tell you you're a devil, others maybe will believe, or worse, people will all come to you and asked you to bring back their dead loved ones
@@Shiningami_Jemso what did Elisha do?
@@Readthefineprint221 you misunderstood when I say no one. Meaning, if God won't do it, no prophet, no priest, NO ONE can raise someone from the dead
@Shiningami_Jem Without God you mean? I get that if that’s what you mean my bad
The best fish story ever! You think Jesus really said that about Jonah. Wow! That's enough to turn one into an atheist. Sometimes I don't know what to believe or not to believe. Jesus was supposed to have said "I am the way, the truth and the life."
Among the cities of the ancient world in the days of divided Israel one of the greatest was Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian realm. Founded on the fertile bank of the Tigris, soon after the dispersion from the tower of Babel, it had flourished through the centuries until it had become “an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.” Jonah 3:3. In the time of its temporal prosperity Nineveh was a center of crime and wickedness. Inspiration has characterized it as “the bloody city, ... full of lies and robbery.” In figurative language the prophet Nahum compared the Ninevites to a cruel, ravenous lion. “Upon whom,” he inquired, “hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” Nahum 3:1, 19. Yet Nineveh, wicked though it had become, was not wholly given over to evil. He who “beholdeth all the sons of men” (Psalm 33:13) and “seeth every precious thing” (Job 28:10) perceived in that city many who were reaching.
in out after something better and higher, and who, if granted opportunity to learn of the living God, would put away their evil deeds and worship him. And so in his wisdom God revealed himself to them in an unmistakable manner, to lead them, if possible, to repentance. The instrument chosen for this work was the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai. To him came the word of the Lord, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.” Jonah 1:1, 2.
As the prophet thought of the difficulties and seeming impossibilities of this commission, he was tempted to question the wisdom of the call. From a human viewpoint it seemed as if nothing could be gained by proclaiming such a message in that proud city. He forgot for the moment that the God whom he served was all-wise and all-powerful. While he hesitated, still doubting, Satan overwhelmed him with discouragement. The prophet was seized with a great dread, and he “rose up to flee unto Tarshish.” Going to Joppa, and finding there a ship ready to sail, “he paid the fare thereof and went down into it, to go with them.” Verse 3. In the charge given him, Jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility; yet He who had bidden him go was able to sustain his servant and grant him success. Had the prophet obeyed unquestioningly, he would have been spared many bitter experiences, and would have been blessed abundantly. Yet in the hour of Jonah’s despair the Lord did not desert him.
Amen
I have studied ancient cultures and one of those was Assyria, a pagan Gentile people who were war mongering beast of vast cruelty. The capital city of this Gentile people was the city of Nineveh. What puzzles me about the book of Jonah is why would Almighty God of the Hebrew nation want a pagan Gentile city of cruel and barbaric culture to come to a repentance to the Hebrew God? God never gave the Gentile Assyrians the promise and covenant he gave Abraham and the laws given to Moses, so what is it about Nineveh that God wanted out of these pagans? After reading the history of Assyria, I have never read anywhere from ancient history that the Assyrian Nineveh repented at any time to the Hebrew God of Israel. Eventually Nineveh, the city and the Assyrian nation was overcome by neighboring kingdoms and was literally destroyed so bad that many believed Nineveh never existed. So what was the purpose for God to instruct Jonah to bring repentance to a Gentile people who had many pagan god's they worshipped and was not very kind to the nation of Israel? I just don't understand this at all!
When God found Jonah a plant, He did so to show Jonah mercy to get him shade from the sun, then Jonah stopped complaining. When God let the plant wither, He took away that mercy and Johna started to complain again.
God said; you had some shade but you didn't plant it, tend or water it etc, then you complain when it withered. God's reply using the plant, was an analogy of His investment in man; that no man could never appreciate or understand.
You see, God invested an enormous amount of time and effort creating our universe, the world we live in, creating man, then giving man free will to choose what he believed in and what he did with his life. Because man had no part in any of this, man cannot have any part in questioning why God would do something.
In other words, it is God's choice alone when he gives mercy and takes it away.
Therefore, even though the Gentiles did everything against God's Law, God wanted to show how merciful He was by giving even the worst of them the chance to change their ways and repent.
In other words, why would God spend all that time investing in a plant (man) and not show mercy when it withered through a lack of water, or in the case of the Gentiles, a lack of faith.
As bad as the Gentiles may have been without any faith in God, God's own chosen people did no less and even worse when they killed Gods Son, yet God still forgave them through his mercy and love for them.
Would you or I be able to do that?
Good afternoon Dave. You said you would have love to hear the message that Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh as it caused them to repent. I do believe that it was the power and authority behind the delivery. Jonah was speaking as a resurrected man. Jesus told the Pharesees that asked for a sign that the only they would get as you rightfully said was the sign of the prophet Jonah. Being dead in the belly of the whale. But let us not overlook that there was a Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (The Spirit of God) according to Romans 8:11. That is the power that Jonah came back preaching with. So he Jonah would definitely have been a perfect sign of the resurrection power that is the power to save even such a nation a Nineveh.
I agree Roberta.
Dave, thanks for this lively and informative lesson (with excellent pronunciation). I totally agree that Jonah was not afraid of going to Nineveh. May I ask a question? Have you given any thought as to why the king of Nineveh didn’t try to summon Jonah to a face-to-face meeting? (I have an idea about this, but I'd like to know yours.)
Would love to know your thoughts John. I did consider it but came up with no real answer. Dave
Thanks for kindly replying (and asking), Are you open to a rather different take? That the king couldn’t summon Jonah because Jonah had "vanished" by hiding in total isolation somewhere in Nineveh. (At Jericho, God told Joshua to march over a period of seven days. But God told Jonah to proclaim, “In just 40 days more Nineveh will be overthrown.” This message was valid for only one day, because if there had been a second day of preaching the “40” would have had to change to “39.”) To the superstitious Ninevites, this stunning message by a lone, courageous, Hebrew-speaking prophet who "vanished" after his day of preaching was completely effective. Jonah keeping himself isolated from the Ninevites until he left the city at vs. 4:5 can also explain why Jonah hadn’t realized that the Ninevites had repented. How does that sound?
Looks very interesting and thought through John, thanks. I shall ponder with interest. Dave
Dave, may I explain my rather unorthodox view? I think Jonah’s main problem, like that of most Jewish men, was self-importance. As a busy prophet to the ten-tribe kingdom under wicked Jeroboam II, I think Jonah ran away because he felt that the Nineveh assignment was beneath him for two reasons. Firstly, that proclaiming judgement to superstitious people who knew nothing about God did not require a prophet of Jonah’s knowledge, experience, and wisdom. And secondly, that if the Ninevites did not repent, God (who had been showing amazing patience for hundreds of years to the wicked ten-tribe kingdom) would likely not destroy the Ninevites after only 40 days of warning anyway. At 3:10, God recognized that the Ninevites had repented. But there is no mention of Jonah recognizing that the Ninevites had repented. At 4:1, Jonah’s displeasure is in line with his original thinking that this assignment had been a waste of his precious time because God was continuing to show mercy to unrepentant people (this time the Ninevites). At 4:11, God appeals to Jonah with the phrase “120,000 men who do not know their right hand from their left.” But God and Jonah knew very well that people who repent absolutely “know their right hand from their left.” Therefore, in this conversation I think God is reasoning that mercy is often justified in situations where people have not yet repented. God is not correcting Jonah’s mistaken conclusion that the Ninevites had not repented. Instead, God is trying to correct the more important aspect, Jonah’s mistaken view of mercy (and self-importance).
@@johnbuchan3678 Good exegesis...thought-provoking 👍!
What are we going to learn from the story of jonah as a christians
Brethren,
Jonas thomb was blown up 3 years ago.
Underneath was the thomb of Isaiah.
Hello Dave, thank you for your detailed description of Jonah, it is beautifully told. Tarshish is a sea city in Syria near Laticia, the Arabic name is Torsos.
Be blessed.
Thanks Gaby
#mylife
All ateas have certain Princapalities and powers over them nothing changes there
I'm sympathetic to the position that Jonah died, but I'm not sure how you reconcile that with Jonah 2:7 which implies Jonah prayed while he was dying rather than after. How do you interpret that verse?
Good question Tim and there is clearly some uncertainty. In the same passage v2, it says that he cried or prayed from Sheol (the place of the dead). Add to that that drifted down to the foot of the mountain or sea bed, and the fact that you could not survive or breathe in the belly of a fish leans me towards a death and resurrection. This seems to be confirmed by Jesus who said that as Jonah was in the belly of the whale so he would be for three days in the belly of the earth, and we know Jesus physical died, went to the place of the dead and was then resurrected. Open to being wrong though. 😀👍
@@DaveRebbettes thank you for your response! The poetic language being used and the allegorical nature of Jesus's reference prevent those arguments from being hard evidence in my mind--but I do think they are both relevant soft evidences for your position. Definitely something worth pondering more!
Great info..
Quite enjoyed it ..
But really read alot into whale segment that's just not there .
Bare in mind sheol very much so in the Hebrew you are in a non conscious state ...
I have read that Johna was indeed i rough shape when he went to Nineva maybe a really pale color who knows
Something caused these people to fear God
I would agree.
"Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it..." "But, LORD, why! They are pagans who do not know You! They worship their own gods, Ashur, Istar and others besides, even the goddess Tiamat and Kulullu the Fish-Man!" ...but this was precisely what GOD had in mind: to give them a `Fish-Man`, a "miraculous sign" to cause them to believe, of religious significance for Nineveh (Nina, meaning ` a fish within a house`). Indeed, have you considered the cavernous mouth of the Basking Shark (Ketos, which means `sea monster` in Greek). Yes, Matthew speaks about 3 days in the belly, but Luke's narrative (who does not suppose to interpret what "the sign of Jonah" is) is more typical of Jesus' words. The fact is that the "sign" was meant for the Ninevites, not the Jews.
Joseph was resurrected? 15:45
Oops. Well spotted Frank and apologies for my verbal error.
You can pray from Sheol??? A new theology???
Hi Jacob, not really new. Any thinking person can call out and talk and in Sheol the bible suggests that people are quite lucid. Jesus spoke to the saints of old before he was resurrected. Job and Lazarus who was desperate for water more than hint at the dead being able to talk and communicate. Can’t see a reason why you couldn’t. Call out to God whether he answers or not. Just my musings. 😁 Keep safe and blessings.
Honey, u wont believe me, but i was inside a whale for 3 days.
Hahahaha