The Book of Jonah is primarily a story about the character of God, even His compassion.As such, it can be divided into four sections, roughly divided by each chapter: (1) God's sovereignty, (2) God’s deliverance, (3) God's mercy, and (4) God's righteousness. It may also be outlined in the following manner:
God's first commission and Jonah’s rebellion
God's deliverance toward Jonah and Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving
God's second commission and Jonah’s obedience
God's deliverance toward Nineveh and Jonah’s complaint of ingratitude.
ARE YOU A “THIS GENERATION JONAH?”
In the Old Testament of Bible, there is a small prophetic book titled “Jonah”. Jonah, the son of Amittai was called by God to do His work. God had a plan for his life. God wanted Jonah to go to the Land of Nineveh and tell the King and the people there that if they did not repent of their sins and wickedness, God’s judgment and destruction would come upon them.
But Jonah chose not to do God’s bidding. He purchased a ticket to travel to Tarshish and lay fast asleep in the hold of the ship. Then, the Bible says,Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4)
Fearing for their lives the desperate sailors cried out to their gods for help. The captain found Jonah sleeping soundly in the hold woke him up and told him to pray to his God for deliverance from the storm. The crew cast lots to see which of them was at fault and was the cause of the terrible storm. They cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah. The people of the ship asked Jonah who he was and what he had done to bring the terrible storm on them. He answered them,
"I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." (Jonah 1:9)
Then he told them he was running away from the Lord. The sailors were terrified when they heard this. Since the storm was getting worse, they asked him “what should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea” Jonah said and it will become calm again.” They hesitated at first but as they saw that the sea was growing violent, they picked Jonah up and throw him into the raging sea and the storm stopped at once.
But the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was inside the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. Then Jonah cried out to the Lord from inside the fish confessing his disobedience and sins of rebellion and running away from God. When he did that, the Lord ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach and it did.
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time to get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message of judgment that he had given him.
This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, delivered God’ message of judgment, saying, “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed.” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message and they repented of their sins and wickedness. When God saw that they had repented, he had mercy on them and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Like Jonah, many people run from the Lord when the Lord calls them. Are you one of them?
The Lord has a specific plan for your life. Has he been calling you repeatedly and have you been running from Him? People who act like that usually confront stormy situations like Jonah did. Should it be a situation like being in the belly of a fish from where you have to cry out to the Lord? You may not literally be swallowed by a fish but it may be a situation like that, hemmed in from all sides.
Jesus loves you and wants you to be a part of His earthly and heavenly kingdom. Would you say yes to Him? He is waiting for you. The Bible says; Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. (1 John 2:15) Don’t run after worldly pleasures. The joy that these give you are temporary. Eventually God will judge you for disobeying him and the punishment will be eternal hell.
If God has chosen you and He has been calling you, don’t run from Him. Take a decision to live for him. The pains of some who run from God are horrible. Some who are called by God to minister for Him and give His message to others also are in the habit of running away. There also land up in storms and in the fish’s belly.
Are you a “this generation” Jonah? Beware! Accept Jesus as your Saviour by confessing your sins and your rebellion to Him. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord, you can pray this prayer of repentance.
Dear Father in heaven, I confess that I am a sinner and have been living in rebellion to you. Forgive me for running away from you despite your calling me many times. Forgive my sins and rebellion, wash me with the blood of Jesus and make me pure.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and was resurrected on the 3rd day. I believe this from my heart and confess this with my mouth. Grant me your Holy Spirit and help me to live a life, holy and pleasing to You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
If God has called you to ministry and you have been running from Him and not doing His work, confess that sin and rebellion to the Lord and do the work of the Lord with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Do not leave the job that you are doing unless the Lord specifically tells you to. You can work for a living, support your family and do the Lord’s work side by side till the Lord calls you to full time ministry. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you now and always.
