What is Jonah all about? Pt. 2
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Main Question for today
How does the book and the character of Jonah teach us about what NOT to do as Christians?
Summary of part 1
Jonah functions as an "anti-prophet." Essentially, everything Jonah does is the opposite of what the rest of the biblical prophets do. For example:
While every other prophet deems themself unworthy, Jonah believes he's "the guy" and is worthy to be God's prophet.
While the other prophets take a posture of humility before the Lord, Jonah sees himself as above the people of Nineveh.
While all of the other prophets obey God's call, Jonah immediately flees and tries to run away.
Jonah as Satire
The book of Jonah satirizes the Psalms
Read Psalms 32:6-7; 42:7; 69:1-2; 124:4-5
How is destruction by water described in these passages? Are they literal or metaphorical?
How does destruction/death by water used in the book of Jonah?
In Jonah's case, the water is literal.
How do you think a satire (like Saturday Night Live [SNL]) would perform a skit of Psalms? Do you think it would be similar to how Jonah satirizes Psalms?
The book of Jonah satirizes the King and the King's response
Read Jonah 3:6-9
How do almost every other king in the Bible react when they are told bad news from a prophet?
How does this compare with what we see in the Book of Jonah?
Notice how the book of Jonah makes fun of the King:
3:5--the WHOLE city believed in God
3:5-- the city proclaims a fast
3:5-- the city puts on sackcloth
3:6-- the news of destruction reaches the King last
3:6-- the King puts on sackcloth (He's the last one to wear sackcloth
3:7-- the King proclaims a fast (even though everyone is already fasting)
3:8-9--the King orders the people to believe in God (which they were already doing!)
How do you think SNL would satirize these events?
The book of Jonah uses extreme exaggeration to make its point
The King declares a total fast with no food OR water!
Neither the people Nor the animals can have food or water
Even the animals put on sackcloth.
Jonah's attitude and language of wanting to die is extreme.
Imagine How SNL would satirize these events
The book of Jonah uses the language of suicide to reveal Jonah's heart
Read 1 Kings 19:1-4
Is Elijah in a good place in his life or a bad place?
What kinds of situations is Elijah facing?
How does this compare with Jonah's circumstances?
Read Jonah 4:3, 8
Why does Jonah want to die vs why Elijah wants to die?
How do you think SNL would satirize these events?
Why do you think the Book of Jonah goes to such lengths to use satire and exaggeration?
The answer is to 1) Grab our attention and 2) make us see how ridiculous we are being when we think the way Jonah thought.
Jonah as a corrective to God's people
The book and character of Jonah both act as a satire of the other prophets. This is so that God's chosen people (biblical Israel and Christians') can learn a lesson from a man who believes that God only loves "us."
Think of Ruth
What people group did Ruth belong to?
Why is Ruth important to the Bible story?
Is it fair to say that God loved Ruth despite her ethnicity?
Read Amos 9:7
Is Israel unique when it comes to being led out of a land via an Exodus event?
Who in this passage has God led out via an exodus?
Consider this...
It's important to note that Jonah would rather die than see someone repent and turn to God.
Jonah is so bent on keeping God's grace away from others that he does everything he can to stop it from happening:
He flees,
He tries to die via drowning so Nineveh doesn't hear the message of redemption,
He says only the bare minimum when in Nineveh,
He leaves to go watch the "fire show,"
and he complains to God when God is gracious.
God Loves all people and Jonah is a cipher (a disguised way of writing) for biblical Israel and Christians today. Jonah is written specifically for the biblical Israelites and Christians who believe that God ONLY loves us.
Think about this...
Why do we sometimes not like it when God shows love to other people who are not Christians?
Is it strange that God would show love to another nation over Israel and even those who call themselves Christians? Why or why not?
What are the most impactful/surprising things you learned about the book of Jonah and why?
How does this compare with what we previously knew about Jonah?
Why is it important we don't model Jonah in our lives?
What are some real, tangible results of thinking like Jonah thought?