Read through Jonah 3.
What whos do you see other than the Lord and Jonah?
I noticed the people of Nineveh, the king and his nobles.
On your key card, write king and Ninevites. Decide how you'll mark each one. Since the nobles could be counted as Ninevites, that's how you could mark them. If you'd like to mark them separately, go ahead.
Read through Jonah 3, marking every reference to the king and the Ninevites.
List what you learn about the Ninevites.
List what you learn about the king of Nineveh.
Who believed in God after Jonah made his proclamation?
What did they do after they believed?
How many of them did those things?
What did the king of Nineveh do when he heard what was going on?
What did the king cover himself with? What did he sit on? Why did he do those things?
What did the king's proclamation state?
Whom did he tell the Ninevites to call upon?
Why were they to earnestly call upon God?
What were they to turn from?
What was the king hoping would happen if they did that?
And what happened when the Ninevites followed the king's proclamation?
To consider: Do you think this is what Jonah was hoping would happen? What do you think he was expecting?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Whos in Jonah Chapter Three
The Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot . . . Whoa! Just being silly. After writing that blog title, that first line from Dr. Seuss' famous Grinch story simply slid out. Sorry about that.
On a more serious note, we've reached the third chapter of Jonah, and if we continue to observe it in a way consistent with how we've studied the first two chapters, we'll begin by reading it and looking for who is mentioned.
Read the chapter. Who is mentioned?
In the same way as you did for the first two chapters, mark the Lord and Jonah.
Add what you learn about the Lord to your list.
Add what you learn about Jonah to your list.
What comes to Jonah a second time? What does that show you about God?
Whose proclamation will be proclaimed to Nineveh?
Who will proclaim it?
Who went to Nineveh? Why did he go there?
Who told Nineveh that their city would be overthrown in forty days?
After hearing that message in whom did the Ninevites believe?
Whom were the Ninevites encouraged to call upon?
Why were they encouraged to do that?
What did they hope God would do?
Who saw that they turned from their wicked ways?
Who didn't bring upon them the calamity that Jonah had proclaimed?
Something to think about: Read Matthew 12:38-41. Ponder what Jesus said in relation to chapter three of Jonah. What is Jesus trying to tell the scribes and Pharisees of His day? Does what Jesus told them apply to us and our time?
There are other whos in this chapter whom we'll look at more closely in the next blog.
On a more serious note, we've reached the third chapter of Jonah, and if we continue to observe it in a way consistent with how we've studied the first two chapters, we'll begin by reading it and looking for who is mentioned.
Read the chapter. Who is mentioned?
In the same way as you did for the first two chapters, mark the Lord and Jonah.
Add what you learn about the Lord to your list.
Add what you learn about Jonah to your list.
What comes to Jonah a second time? What does that show you about God?
Whose proclamation will be proclaimed to Nineveh?
Who will proclaim it?
Who went to Nineveh? Why did he go there?
Who told Nineveh that their city would be overthrown in forty days?
After hearing that message in whom did the Ninevites believe?
Whom were the Ninevites encouraged to call upon?
Why were they encouraged to do that?
What did they hope God would do?
Who saw that they turned from their wicked ways?
Who didn't bring upon them the calamity that Jonah had proclaimed?
Something to think about: Read Matthew 12:38-41. Ponder what Jesus said in relation to chapter three of Jonah. What is Jesus trying to tell the scribes and Pharisees of His day? Does what Jesus told them apply to us and our time?
There are other whos in this chapter whom we'll look at more closely in the next blog.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Jonah's Prayer
Read Jonah 2:1 and 10.
These two verses provide a good summary of what happened.
Why do you think God wanted us to hear what Jonah prayed?
Read all of Jonah 2.
According to 2:2, where was Jonah when he cried out?
What was Jonah's assessment of his condition?
Why did he think he was in that predicament?
Jonah had willfully disobeyed God.
Did he have any right to pray?
Had he been so bad that he shouldn't bother praying?
What do we learn from this text?
What do learn about God from the way He answered Jonah's prayer?
Have you ever chosen not to pray because you thought it wouldn't do any good?
What have you learned from Jonah 2 that would challenge that way of thinking?
These two verses provide a good summary of what happened.
Why do you think God wanted us to hear what Jonah prayed?
Read all of Jonah 2.
According to 2:2, where was Jonah when he cried out?
What was Jonah's assessment of his condition?
Why did he think he was in that predicament?
Jonah had willfully disobeyed God.
Did he have any right to pray?
Had he been so bad that he shouldn't bother praying?
What do we learn from this text?
What do learn about God from the way He answered Jonah's prayer?
Have you ever chosen not to pray because you thought it wouldn't do any good?
What have you learned from Jonah 2 that would challenge that way of thinking?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Fish or Whale?
We're now leaving the big fish behind, but before I do, let's take a look at this creature. The first day when we checked out the different Bible versions to see what type of creature they said swallowed Jonah, it was always a fish. We didn't have a KJV at the time, but I looked it up and it said: great fish. So, that led us to wonder why in the children's storybooks, it's always pictured as a whale.
That led me to look up "whale" in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to see where whales are mentioned in the Bible. There's a reference in Job and another in Ezekiel for "whale." Neither are referring to Jonah. "Whales" is mentioned in Genesis, where it mentions that God created them. That's not referring to Jonah either. Then I saw "whale's." The scripture reference next to it is Matthew 12:40, and the piece of verse was: three nights in the w belly; so shall the . . . Hmmm . . . now this is sounding like the Jonah story, so let's check it out. And just in case we need it, the Strong's number is #G2785.
Let's begin by looking up Matthew 12:40. We seem to be entering into the middle of a conversation, so let's back up and begin reading with verse 38. Read through verse 41, although it gives away some of what we'll soon be learning in Jonah 3.
This is a conversation between Jesus and some scribes and Pharisees. We'll discuss this conversation more later, but for right now, what does Jesus say Jonah was in the belly of? My NASB version translates it as "sea monster." However, if you read this verse in the KJV, it says "whale's belly."
So, what was the Greek word that was used? If you look up #2785 in the Greek dictionary, it has "ketos" as the original word. It referred to a "a huge fish (as gaping for prey)," and is translated as "whale."
Hmmm . . . Jonah took place during Old Testament times. What was the Hebrew word for "whale"? Next to the Job, Ezekiel, and Genesis verses that used "whale," the number is #H8577. The original Hebrew word was "tannin" or "tannim," and it means "a marine or land monster, i.e. sea-serpent or jackal," and it can be translated as: dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.
The Hebrew word used in the Jonah passage has the number #H1709. The Hebrew word corresponding to this number is "dag." And it means "a fish," and it's translated as "fish."
Therefore it appears that the writer of Jonah meant a fish. The writer of Matthew used a word that meant a huge fish, but it was translated into the English centuries ago as "whale," back when people hadn't really figured out that whales weren't fish. So, it appears to me to be a matter of translation into our language.
Then there's the whole issue of whether a person could survive three days and nights in the gastric juices of a whale or a large fish. My perspective on that is that this is God we're talking about--God is supernatural. He can transcend the laws of nature, because He's the one who created them in the first place. Anything is possible with God. If God wanted it to happen, it happened.
That led me to look up "whale" in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to see where whales are mentioned in the Bible. There's a reference in Job and another in Ezekiel for "whale." Neither are referring to Jonah. "Whales" is mentioned in Genesis, where it mentions that God created them. That's not referring to Jonah either. Then I saw "whale's." The scripture reference next to it is Matthew 12:40, and the piece of verse was: three nights in the w belly; so shall the . . . Hmmm . . . now this is sounding like the Jonah story, so let's check it out. And just in case we need it, the Strong's number is #G2785.
Let's begin by looking up Matthew 12:40. We seem to be entering into the middle of a conversation, so let's back up and begin reading with verse 38. Read through verse 41, although it gives away some of what we'll soon be learning in Jonah 3.
This is a conversation between Jesus and some scribes and Pharisees. We'll discuss this conversation more later, but for right now, what does Jesus say Jonah was in the belly of? My NASB version translates it as "sea monster." However, if you read this verse in the KJV, it says "whale's belly."
So, what was the Greek word that was used? If you look up #2785 in the Greek dictionary, it has "ketos" as the original word. It referred to a "a huge fish (as gaping for prey)," and is translated as "whale."
Hmmm . . . Jonah took place during Old Testament times. What was the Hebrew word for "whale"? Next to the Job, Ezekiel, and Genesis verses that used "whale," the number is #H8577. The original Hebrew word was "tannin" or "tannim," and it means "a marine or land monster, i.e. sea-serpent or jackal," and it can be translated as: dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.
The Hebrew word used in the Jonah passage has the number #H1709. The Hebrew word corresponding to this number is "dag." And it means "a fish," and it's translated as "fish."
Therefore it appears that the writer of Jonah meant a fish. The writer of Matthew used a word that meant a huge fish, but it was translated into the English centuries ago as "whale," back when people hadn't really figured out that whales weren't fish. So, it appears to me to be a matter of translation into our language.
Then there's the whole issue of whether a person could survive three days and nights in the gastric juices of a whale or a large fish. My perspective on that is that this is God we're talking about--God is supernatural. He can transcend the laws of nature, because He's the one who created them in the first place. Anything is possible with God. If God wanted it to happen, it happened.
When in Jonah 2
Using the same mark as you did in Jonah 1, mark all the words that would answer the question "when" in Jonah 2.
When did Jonah pray to the Lord from the stomach of the fish?
When a "when" word such as "then" appears at the beginning of the first verse of a chapter, it's usually necessary to go back to the previous chapter in order to figure out the answer to the question. What do we learn when we look back at the last verse of chapter one? We learn that the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
What happened then? The next verse in chapter two gives us the answer: Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish . . .
So, what might be your answer to the first question? Perhaps, it would be that he prayed after being swallowed. Maybe you would answer that Jonah prayed after spending three days and three nights in the stomach of the fish. Which one is correct? Well, let's observe some more, and you can decide if one or the other of those answers seems more specifically correct than the other. One thing that we could all agree on is that it was after he was swallowed.
This next question isn't prompted by a "when" word, but it has something to do with what happened when. Did Jonah pray only from inside the stomach of the fish, or does he indicate in this chapter that he prayed from elsewhere at some time before that?
Notice in verse two how he says that he cried for help from the depth of Sheol. He cried out, prayed, before being swallowed. Much of what is described in this prayer in verse two happened between verses 16 and 17 in chapter one. We're backtracking. Meanwhile, while the sailors on the ship were sacrificing to the Lord and making vows, what was Jonah doing? Distressed and near death, feeling totally expelled from God, he's crying out to the Lord.
What "when" term is used in verse five? To what point in his life was Jonah brought by this experience in the deeps?
For how long did Jonah think the earth with its bars was around him? This bleak existence without God seemed endless, yet what happened then? What does Jonah say he was doing when he remembered the Lord?
When did the Lord command the fish to vomit Jonah onto the dry land? What is it that Jonah remembered about the Lord?
Something to think about: We haven't yet studied the message that Jonah is to bring to the Ninevites, but you're probably somewhat familiar with it. At this point we know that Jonah realizes that his salvation came from the Lord. Is he ready to admit that the Lord's salvation is available for others? If and when he eventually heads toward Nineveh, is he primarily going to offer salvation, or is he thinking of something else when he delivers the Lord's message?
When did Jonah pray to the Lord from the stomach of the fish?
When a "when" word such as "then" appears at the beginning of the first verse of a chapter, it's usually necessary to go back to the previous chapter in order to figure out the answer to the question. What do we learn when we look back at the last verse of chapter one? We learn that the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
What happened then? The next verse in chapter two gives us the answer: Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish . . .
So, what might be your answer to the first question? Perhaps, it would be that he prayed after being swallowed. Maybe you would answer that Jonah prayed after spending three days and three nights in the stomach of the fish. Which one is correct? Well, let's observe some more, and you can decide if one or the other of those answers seems more specifically correct than the other. One thing that we could all agree on is that it was after he was swallowed.
This next question isn't prompted by a "when" word, but it has something to do with what happened when. Did Jonah pray only from inside the stomach of the fish, or does he indicate in this chapter that he prayed from elsewhere at some time before that?
Notice in verse two how he says that he cried for help from the depth of Sheol. He cried out, prayed, before being swallowed. Much of what is described in this prayer in verse two happened between verses 16 and 17 in chapter one. We're backtracking. Meanwhile, while the sailors on the ship were sacrificing to the Lord and making vows, what was Jonah doing? Distressed and near death, feeling totally expelled from God, he's crying out to the Lord.
What "when" term is used in verse five? To what point in his life was Jonah brought by this experience in the deeps?
For how long did Jonah think the earth with its bars was around him? This bleak existence without God seemed endless, yet what happened then? What does Jonah say he was doing when he remembered the Lord?
When did the Lord command the fish to vomit Jonah onto the dry land? What is it that Jonah remembered about the Lord?
Something to think about: We haven't yet studied the message that Jonah is to bring to the Ninevites, but you're probably somewhat familiar with it. At this point we know that Jonah realizes that his salvation came from the Lord. Is he ready to admit that the Lord's salvation is available for others? If and when he eventually heads toward Nineveh, is he primarily going to offer salvation, or is he thinking of something else when he delivers the Lord's message?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Where in Jonah 2
Now, it's time to mark geographical locations that you find in Jonah 2. Mark them in the same way as you did for Jonah 1. In addition, mark any locations that might not be exactly geographical, but that might be a place you want to find out more about. Jonah 2 has a number of places like that mentioned in it.
Did you mark "the depth of Sheol" in verse 2? What does Jonah say that he did from "the depth of Sheol"? Do verses 5 and 6 give you any insight as to where or what "the depth of Sheol" is? What do you think?
In my New American Standard Bible, there's a footnote mark next to "Sheol." In the cross-references, these verses are listed next to the corresponding mark: Ps. 18:5,6; 86:13; 88:1-7.
Read each of these scripture references. With what would you associate Sheol?
For each of these scripture references, my Bible had a footnote mark by "Sheol." When I looked at it, it said "the nether world." What's that? What do you think it is from the context? If you can, look it up in a dictionary. What does it say that it is?
In Ps. 88:3-4 and 6, what word could be substituted for "Sheol"? Did you notice that same word used by Jonah to refer to "Sheol"?
In Ps. 18:5-6, where does it say that God was when He heard the psalmist's voice?
How is this similar to Jonah 2:7?
After King Solomon finished building the temple in Jerusalem, he held a huge dedication ceremony and prayed before the Lord. Read this section of his prayer: 1 Kings 8:27-30. How does the temple fit into the prayers of the people? Does this help you understand why Jonah said what he said in his prayer?
Where is Jonah at the end of this chapter? Read the first two verses of chapter 3. Do you think it more likely that the dry land was on some island, the north coast of Africa, a beach near Tarshish, or fairly close to Joppa where Jonah had started his voyage? Why do you think that? What is God giving Jonah?
Think about places that God has dropped you off. Why do you think you've landed in those particular places?
Did you mark "the depth of Sheol" in verse 2? What does Jonah say that he did from "the depth of Sheol"? Do verses 5 and 6 give you any insight as to where or what "the depth of Sheol" is? What do you think?
In my New American Standard Bible, there's a footnote mark next to "Sheol." In the cross-references, these verses are listed next to the corresponding mark: Ps. 18:5,6; 86:13; 88:1-7.
Read each of these scripture references. With what would you associate Sheol?
For each of these scripture references, my Bible had a footnote mark by "Sheol." When I looked at it, it said "the nether world." What's that? What do you think it is from the context? If you can, look it up in a dictionary. What does it say that it is?
In Ps. 88:3-4 and 6, what word could be substituted for "Sheol"? Did you notice that same word used by Jonah to refer to "Sheol"?
In Ps. 18:5-6, where does it say that God was when He heard the psalmist's voice?
How is this similar to Jonah 2:7?
After King Solomon finished building the temple in Jerusalem, he held a huge dedication ceremony and prayed before the Lord. Read this section of his prayer: 1 Kings 8:27-30. How does the temple fit into the prayers of the people? Does this help you understand why Jonah said what he said in his prayer?
Where is Jonah at the end of this chapter? Read the first two verses of chapter 3. Do you think it more likely that the dry land was on some island, the north coast of Africa, a beach near Tarshish, or fairly close to Joppa where Jonah had started his voyage? Why do you think that? What is God giving Jonah?
Think about places that God has dropped you off. Why do you think you've landed in those particular places?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Jonah in Jonah 2
Now, let's look at what we learn about Jonah in Jonah 2. As you read through chapter 2, mark every reference to Jonah in the same way as you marked them in chapter 1.
List what you learn about Jonah.
Who prayed to the Lord?
Where was he when he prayed?
What caused him to call to the Lord?
Something to think about--When surrounded by the terrible storm that threatened not only his life, but the lives of the crew and captain, do we ever see any evidence that Jonah called to the Lord? From this context, what seems to be a synonym for "called to the Lord"? What do you think is the difference in this situation?
What happened when he called to the Lord?
Where does he say he was when he called to the Lord?
Where's that? We'll look at that when we discuss places.
Who heard his voice?
Who, does Jonah say, cast him into the deep?
Something to think about: Yet, in Jonah 1, who did we see cast Jonah into the sea?
Why do you think Jonah saw it differently?
What are all the things that happened to Jonah as he sunk down through the water?
How far did he say he was descending?
What image does "the earth with its bars" give you of his situation?
To what might that be compared in 2:2?
So, what does verse 2 say that he did when he felt surrounded by "the earth with its bars"?
Who rescued him at this point?
From where does he say he was rescued?
To what might that be compared in 2:2?
Had he left the confines of the fish's stomach at this point?
When did Jonah say that he remembered the Lord?
To whom does he say his prayer went?
What does Jonah promise God?
What does Jonah say comes from the Lord?
Something to think about: Jonah says that he's thankful and saved, and he's still in the fish's stomach! What do you make of that?
And at that point, what happened to Jonah?
How long had Jonah been in the stomach of that fish?
List what you learn about Jonah.
Who prayed to the Lord?
Where was he when he prayed?
What caused him to call to the Lord?
Something to think about--When surrounded by the terrible storm that threatened not only his life, but the lives of the crew and captain, do we ever see any evidence that Jonah called to the Lord? From this context, what seems to be a synonym for "called to the Lord"? What do you think is the difference in this situation?
What happened when he called to the Lord?
Where does he say he was when he called to the Lord?
Where's that? We'll look at that when we discuss places.
Who heard his voice?
Who, does Jonah say, cast him into the deep?
Something to think about: Yet, in Jonah 1, who did we see cast Jonah into the sea?
Why do you think Jonah saw it differently?
What are all the things that happened to Jonah as he sunk down through the water?
How far did he say he was descending?
What image does "the earth with its bars" give you of his situation?
To what might that be compared in 2:2?
So, what does verse 2 say that he did when he felt surrounded by "the earth with its bars"?
Who rescued him at this point?
From where does he say he was rescued?
To what might that be compared in 2:2?
Had he left the confines of the fish's stomach at this point?
When did Jonah say that he remembered the Lord?
To whom does he say his prayer went?
What does Jonah promise God?
What does Jonah say comes from the Lord?
Something to think about: Jonah says that he's thankful and saved, and he's still in the fish's stomach! What do you make of that?
And at that point, what happened to Jonah?
How long had Jonah been in the stomach of that fish?
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