Questions about Jonah...

[Far Side Of the Moon]

I read his book this evening and 2 questions came to mind ;

1) Why did he run...like why was his first response to run?

2) Why was he so eager to see the people of Ninevah destroyed?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I read his book this evening and 2 questions came to mind ;

1) Why did he run...like why was his first response to run?

2) Why was he so eager to see the people of Ninevah destroyed?

Jonah knew who God was and what He was like - gracious and merciful. He knew that God had given him the commission to go and warn the people of Nineveh. God, knowing the hearts of people, would have known that there was a distinct possibility that they very well would repent if the warning was given. Apparently the people of Nineveh knew of the living God of Israel and knew that His prophets conveyed His true word. And Jonah knew that as well.

But Jonah did not have the same sense of mercy and grace that God had, and he didn't want to give that warning because he knew that if the people of Nineveh took it seriously and genuinely repented, God would suspend His judgment of them. This is why he took off in the other direction to get as far away from Israel and Nineveh as he could. Of course he underestimated the long arm of the Lord.

Jonah knew of the terrible atrocities that the Ninevites had performed on the Israelite villages that had been raided. He wanted the fire to come down on them as it did on Sodom and Gomorrah. He wanted them all to die horrible deaths. And why not? He is human like all the rest of us!

I watched the executions of the Nazis on Youtube when they were shot and hanged for their war crimes. I had a certain sense of satisfaction that they had received their just deserts. I felt that the murdering cretins go what they deserved. I'm not sure whether I would have been happy if any of them had got off. I was really happy when the Israelis got hold of Eichmann in Argentina after so many years, took him back to Israel, tried him in court and hanged him. Who was not happy when Sadam Hussein was hanged? What about the terrorist who gunned down innocent people in their church, and was shot dead by the police? Would anyone have been happy if the gunman had gotten away? I have read about cold cases in the newspaper where the police are still looking for the murderers of a couple of young girls that went missing in New Zealand. I prayed that the Lord would help the police catch up with them, throw them in prison and let them rot there. You see, I am no different to Jonah in that respect.

And when Jonah did give them the warning, and the people, including the king did repent, and the Lord suspended His judgement, Jonah was angry and had a good grizzle at the Lord. The Lord had to remind him of His mercy and grace toward people who were living in ignorance and who didn't know their right hand from their left as far as God's laws and standards were concerned.

I know that there are some here who think they are above Jonah, and that they would not be like him because they are more "spiritual" than that. But I'll bet your last dollar that if some low-life skunk kidnapped their child on their way back from school, and raped and murdered that child, they would forget about their "spirituality", reach for the shotgun and go look for the criminal, and have to fight hard to resist the temptation to pull the trigger and blow the rotter away! I'll be honest. It would take the almighty power of the Holy Spirit to hold me back!

 

[dreadnought]

I read his book this evening and 2 questions came to mind ;

1) Why did he run...like why was his first response to run?

2) Why was he so eager to see the people of Ninevah destroyed?

Apparently he didn't like Ninevah. As for why he ran, maybe it was because he didn't like Ninevah. Maybe he was frightened by what the Lord was asking him to do.

 

[joshua 1 9]

Who was not happy when Sadam Hussein was hanged?

Actually I was not happy because he had the people in that country under control. All he wanted was a pen and paper so he could write in his prison cell. He has the right to tell his story. Also they had to kill around half a million Muslims along with him. I do not see where there is any less terrorism in the world today and if anything there is more. No doubt Sadam and the Bushes were on bad terms but I think daddy Bush made the better choice not to go into Baghdad.

When you talk about the Nazi, Corrie Tan Boon tells a story in one of her books. She was visiting a church after the war and one of the cruelest prison guards walked up to her and asked Corrie if she forgave him. He had come to Christ and was saved, yet he was one of the meanest guards in the camp before his conversion. Corrie had not forgiven him, but God did a work in her life so that she was able to forgive. The Bible says we have to forgive if we want God to forgive us. There is a lot that can be learned from all of this.

I had a dorm father in High School that was a part of Hitlers youth. At the end of the war he was sent to the Polish front at a very young age. He was put in a prisoner of war camp and one of the guards knocked out one of his eyes with the butt of his rifle. He wore a patch over that eye. What should our feeling be toward him sense he was a past of the Nazi movement? He ended up having to resign from his job because he was having problems dealing with paranoid delusions. Still when I knew him he was a nice guy and I did not notice anything unusual. Other than his obsession with pole volting because that is how he escaped. He made a pole volt from a small tree and pole volted over the fence of the prison camp.

 

[vinsight4u]

/nvm

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Actually I was not happy because he had the people in that country under control. All he wanted was a pen and paper so he could write in his prison cell. He has the right to tell his story. Also they had to kill around half a million Muslims along with him. I do not see where there is any less terrorism in the world today and if anything there is more. No doubt Sadam and the Bushes were on bad terms but I think daddy Bush made the better choice not to go into Baghdad.

When you talk about the Nazi, Corrie Tan Boon tells a story in one of her books. She was visiting a church after the war and one of the cruelest prison guards walked up to her and asked Corrie if she forgave him. He had come to Christ and was saved, yet he was one of the meanest guards in the camp before his conversion. Corrie had not forgiven him, but God did a work in her life so that she was able to forgive. The Bible says we have to forgive if we want God to forgive us. There is a lot that can be learned from all of this.

I had a dorm father in High School that was a part of Hitlers youth. At the end of the war he was sent to the Polish front at a very young age. He was put in a prisoner of war camp and one of the guards knocked out one of his eyes with the butt of his rifle. He wore a patch over that eye. What should our feeling be toward him sense he was a past of the Nazi movement? He ended up having to resign from his job because he was having problems dealing with paranoid delusions. Still when I knew him he was a nice guy and I did not notice anything unusual. Other than his obsession with pole volting because that is how he escaped. He made a pole volt from a small tree and pole volted over the fence of the prison camp.

You are correct. There are two sides to every story. I read the biography of woman missionary who was interned in Japan during World War II. At the end of the war, she visited the Japanese war criminals in prison and a number of them came to Christ and they knew that when they were executed they would go into the presence of the Lord.

 

[Weathering Storms]

As many entire villages and families that Saddam killed, with his different chemical and biological weapons, gassing entire towns, and they DID have WMD, the satellite feed shows them shipping out only days before America invaded. Someone tipped them off, and they took all those weapons to Iran.

No. I'm sorry. There were many sins which garnered the death penalty in the Old Testament. And for good reason. The entire world is better off without him here.

 

[Aseyesee]

I read his book this evening and 2 questions came to mind ;

1) Why did he run...like why was his first response to run?

2) Why was he so eager to see the people of Ninevah destroyed?

Because it was just as much about Jonah as it was about Ninevah

 

[Not me]

Interesting comments on this thread, very interesting read.

 

[joshua 1 9]

Jonah knew who God was and what He was like - gracious and merciful. He knew that God had given him the commission to go and warn the people of Nineveh. God, knowing the hearts of people, would have known that there was a distinct possibility that they very well would repent if the warning was given. Apparently the people of Nineveh knew of the living God of Israel and knew that His prophets conveyed His true word. And Jonah knew that as well.

But Jonah did not have the same sense of mercy and grace that God had, and he didn't want to give that warning because he knew that if the people of Nineveh took it seriously and genuinely repented, God would suspend His judgment of them. This is why he took off in the other direction to get as far away from Israel and Nineveh as he could. Of course he underestimated the long arm of the Lord.

Jonah knew of the terrible atrocities that the Ninevites had performed on the Israelite villages that had been raided. He wanted the fire to come down on them as it did on Sodom and Gomorrah. He wanted them all to die horrible deaths. And why not? He is human like all the rest of us!

I watched the executions of the Nazis on Youtube when they were shot and hanged for their war crimes. I had a certain sense of satisfaction that they had received their just deserts. I felt that the murdering cretins go what they deserved. I'm not sure whether I would have been happy if any of them had got off. I was really happy when the Israelis got hold of Eichmann in Argentina after so many years, took him back to Israel, tried him in court and hanged him. Who was not happy when Sadam Hussein was hanged? What about the terrorist who gunned down innocent people in their church, and was shot dead by the police? Would anyone have been happy if the gunman had gotten away? I have read about cold cases in the newspaper where the police are still looking for the murderers of a couple of young girls that went missing in New Zealand. I prayed that the Lord would help the police catch up with them, throw them in prison and let them rot there. You see, I am no different to Jonah in that respect.

And when Jonah did give them the warning, and the people, including the king did repent, and the Lord suspended His judgement, Jonah was angry and had a good grizzle at the Lord. The Lord had to remind him of His mercy and grace toward people who were living in ignorance and who didn't know their right hand from their left as far as God's laws and standards were concerned.

I know that there are some here who think they are above Jonah, and that they would not be like him because they are more "spiritual" than that. But I'll bet your last dollar that if some low-life skunk kidnapped their child on their way back from school, and raped and murdered that child, they would forget about their "spirituality", reach for the shotgun and go look for the criminal, and have to fight hard to resist the temptation to pull the trigger and blow the rotter away! I'll be honest. It would take the almighty power of the Holy Spirit to hold me back!

Ok so the lesson seems to be to pray for our enemy that they come to repentance. Return good for evil. Is that not what Jesus teaches? We are to bless those who curse us.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

I read his book this evening and 2 questions came to mind ;

1) Why did he run...like why was his first response to run?

2) Why was he so eager to see the people of Ninevah destroyed?

There is loads we can get from Jonah and I will have a stab at it.

. Where man has hatred towards wrong doing, God is merciful.
. God is long suffering not willing to give out wrath
. Jonah represents Jesus in a way God was giving them a messenger
. You can run but you can’t hide from God ( stormy seas )
. God will put you in darkness in order for you to see the light (whale)
. God will keep you there for His purposes (Jonah came to his sense)
. Gods purposes always come to completion
. God has a specific purpose for each of our lives
. A village of evil doers can be saved by the voice of one man
. Gods ways are above our ways
. It’s easier to trust and do what God commands

Back to point 3,
The whole bible represents Jesus. Jonah is about a people who deserve wrath and rightly so, The father is withholding his wrath and sends a messenger to warn them. This is a representation of Jesus.
The people of Ninevah repented and Gods wrath did not come upon them

 

[joshua 1 9]

There is loads we can get from Jonah and I will have a stab at it.

. Where man has hatred towards wrong doing, God is merciful.
. God is long suffering not willing to give out wrath
. Jonah represents Jesus in a way God was giving them a messenger
. You can run but you can’t hide from God ( stormy seas )
. God will put you in darkness in order for you to see the light (whale)
. God will keep you there for His purposes (Jonah came to his sense)
. Gods purposes always come to completion
. God has a specific purpose for each of our lives
. A village of evil doers can be saved by the voice of one man
. Gods ways are above our ways
. It’s easier to trust and do what God commands

Back to point 3,
The whole bible represents Jesus. Jonah is about a people who deserve wrath and rightly so, The father is withholding his wrath and sends a messenger to warn them. This is a representation of Jesus.
The people of Ninevah repented and Gods wrath did not come upon them

The Bible is eternal, there is no end and no beginning and there is no limit to what we can learn.

The question is in what way is Jonah a type of Christ? "We are told that: In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth". Matthew 12:40

Can you explain this?

 

[Jonathan Leo]

The Bible is eternal, there is no end and no beginning and there is no limit to what we can learn.

The question is in what way is Jonah a type of Christ? "We are told that: In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth". Matthew 12:40

Can you explain this?

Agree, the Bible is the living word and no matter our life circumstances, it will always meet us with what we need.

As for the latter part,
All the OT is a foreshadow of Jesus.
Ninevah deserves Gods wrath.
Jonah agreed they should perish.
God withheld judgment but send a messenger to warn them to repent. What does Jesus teach?.
It starts with R

Ninevah accepted Jonah’s message ( gospel )
Gods wrath was not poured out on His people ( those in Christ)

Ps 3 nights in the fish
3 nights in the tomb

After he came out of the fish, Ninevah was saved
After he came out of the tomb, eternal life for those who repent and believe

 

[joshua 1 9]

Agree, the Bible is the living word and no matter our life circumstances, it will always meet us with what we need.

My son can use that right now. He is trying to get through a calculus 3 class that is suppose to be the most difficult one he will have to take. Can God help him to go above and beyond the ability he would have if he did not pray and turn to God for help? Psalm 18:6 "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

 

[Jonathan Leo]

My son can use that right now. He is trying to get through a calculus 3 class that is suppose to be the most difficult one he will have to take. Can God help him to go above and beyond the ability he would have if he did not pray and turn to God for help? Psalm 18:6 "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

In my walk with God I have learned a simple fact of life.
Those who don’t believe in God are capable of going beyond their limitations just as those who do believe.
What we humans have is a driving force within us to break through the barriers that we ourselves set in place. It’s called believing in self and not quitting. If this weren’t through, what technology we have today wouldn’t exist because quiet frankly, some stuff we have today astounds even the inventors.

It’s good to pray to God for challenges such as what your son is going through because 2 things will arise from that prayer.
If he fails, he can rest assured that he tried his best and prayed and so he will not feel guilt or disappointment or failure
And if He passes he thanks God for getting him through it

Without God we seem to cling to wanting to be successful in life
With God it doesn’t matter because this world is falling away and anything not godly gets burned up

So encourage your son to try his best but also let him know that it’s ok to fail too. There is only one thing perfect in life and as we know it’s not here on this earth lol

 

[joshua 1 9]

In my walk with God I have learned a simple fact of life.
Those who don’t believe in God are capable of going beyond their limitations just as those who do believe.
What we humans have is a driving force within us to break through the barriers that we ourselves set in place. It’s called believing in self and not quitting. If this weren’t through, what technology we have today wouldn’t exist because quiet frankly, some stuff we have today astounds even the inventors.

It’s good to pray to God for challenges such as what your son is going through because 2 things will arise from that prayer.
If he fails, he can rest assured that he tried his best and prayed and so he will not feel guilt or disappointment or failure
And if He passes he thanks God for getting him through it

Without God we seem to cling to wanting to be successful in life
With God it doesn’t matter because this world is falling away and anything not godly gets burned up

So encourage your son to try his best but also let him know that it’s ok to fail too. There is only one thing perfect in life and as we know it’s not here on this earth lol

That is all very encouraging. The gift of encouragement is a very nice gift to have. I do not think he will actually fail the class. He is just worried that he will not get a B. For a lot of people in that class they are going to be very happy if they get a C. He needs a 3.5 grade point average to maintain some of his scholarships. I did not realize that the difference between a B & C requires having to work that much harder.

 

[joshua 1 9]

Agree, the Bible is the living word and no matter our life circumstances, it will always meet us with what we need.

He can provide abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever want or need. Heaven is going to be abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever think or imagine. I can imagine a pretty nice home on a nice piece of lands with gardens, forests and lots of animals. Yet no matter how much I am able to imagine, He is able to provide abundantly above and beyond that. We do not ever have to settle for less in life, all we need to do is wait on God because He does all things according to His timing when we are fully mature and ready to receive all of what He wants and has for us to enjoy in life. If we were to receive something sooner then we would not fully appreciate what He has for us.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

That is all very encouraging. The gift of encouragement is a very nice gift to have. I do not think he will actually fail the class. He is just worried that he will not get a B. For a lot of people in that class they are going to be very happy if they get a C. He needs a 3.5 grade point average to maintain some of his scholarships. I did not realize that the difference between a B & C requires having to work that much harder.

work hard and reap the benefits. We reap what we sow is a universal law with everything and I wish the very best for your son. Whilst I encourage anybody to try their best, I also let them know that there are limitations to each and everyone of us and that it’s ok to find your limits and that there are others better off than us and we are better off than others.

The world creates a grading system because it needs to in order to have the best man for the job so to speak. Unfortunately it has turned mankind into competition with each other.
I’m better than you
I have more than you
I have nicer things than you
I’m richer than you
I have a better job than you
I have a nicer house than you
And the list goes on. My point is that it has turned I against you and that was never Gods plan for us. Yes, God has blessed people with leadership and others that are poor. It is how we serve others with what we are given is what matters. For If much is given, more is expected of us.

I have a great example of how the world can mound you regarding being an educated man.
A family of Christians I know who are dedicated to the Lord are very loving people. All but one are walking in faith to God. Their son who was excellent scholar who went on to become a master degree in pharmaceutical.
The guy made huge deals with foreign companies is a multi millionaire. He don’t believe in God because his life is very successful. Million pound house in Ireland, another in America, beautiful wife, 3 healthy kids and a wealthy bank account. His attitude is that he worked for everything he has, not God
He cannot see why He needs God because he has everything. It would be better if he never excelled in school rather than denying God

Not condoning an intelligent mind or anybody that’s wealthy, but what I am saying is that no matter what your son achieves or anybody’s child for that matter, it’s good practice to show them that whilst they aim to achieve in life, never forget to give God the glory.
Giving thanks to God has showed me that I am not worse off than anybody and that I’m not better than anybody. The worlds system is there to shape you and give us pride. Just look at it, we no longer care for others rather what I can get

 

[Jonathan Leo]

He can provide abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever want or need. Heaven is going to be abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever think or imagine. I can imagine a pretty nice home on a nice piece of lands with gardens, forests and lots of animals. Yet no matter how much I am able to imagine, He is able to provide abundantly above and beyond that. We do not ever have to settle for less in life, all we need to do is wait on God because He does all things according to His timing when we are fully mature and ready to receive all of what He wants and has for us to enjoy in life. If we were to receive something sooner then we would not fully appreciate what He has for us.

Totally agree