THE DISEASE OF JONAH (3 OF 5)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Hebrews 12:14-17
This content is part of a series.
The Disease of Jonah (3 of 5)
Series: That Ain't Right
Jeff Strite
Hebrews 12:14-17
OPEN: How many of you have heard the story of Jonah? (every hand went up)
Now, how many of you believe Jonah was a righteous man? (most raised their hands)
How many of you believe he wasn't a righteous man? (a small show of hands)
I personally believe Jonah was a righteous man. In fact, I believe he was unquestionably a better man than I am or ever hope to be. After all, God entrusted him with the responsibility of preaching to the town of Nineveh - 120,000 people - and because of his preaching they repented of their sins and God spared their city.
The book of Jonah is a great story.
Jonah, the prophet of God is told to go preach to the town of Nineveh and tell them to repent or God would destroy them…
But Jonah doesn't want to go. We're not told why he rebelled against God's command (perhaps the Ninevites had been responsible for some tragedy in his life or family), but Jonah was so determined NOT to preach to the city of Nineveh that he decides to board a ship and travel to a city way on the other side of the civilized world - the city of Tarshish.
Tarshish was about as far as you could get away from Nineveh and still be on the map
Jonah not only rejects God's command… he thinks he can run away from God. But, of course, God had other ideas.
Jonah 1:4 tells us that ''the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.''
The storm is so ferocious that the sailors (who are accustomed to the harshness of the sea) were scared out of their wits. They began to make sacrifices to their gods, they threw cargo overboard to lighten their load. And then, they realized they had a prophet on board - Jonah. So they approached Jonah to ask him to pray to his God. Jonah, of course, realizes that this is all his fault and he tells the sailors ''Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm. I know that i ...
Series: That Ain't Right
Jeff Strite
Hebrews 12:14-17
OPEN: How many of you have heard the story of Jonah? (every hand went up)
Now, how many of you believe Jonah was a righteous man? (most raised their hands)
How many of you believe he wasn't a righteous man? (a small show of hands)
I personally believe Jonah was a righteous man. In fact, I believe he was unquestionably a better man than I am or ever hope to be. After all, God entrusted him with the responsibility of preaching to the town of Nineveh - 120,000 people - and because of his preaching they repented of their sins and God spared their city.
The book of Jonah is a great story.
Jonah, the prophet of God is told to go preach to the town of Nineveh and tell them to repent or God would destroy them…
But Jonah doesn't want to go. We're not told why he rebelled against God's command (perhaps the Ninevites had been responsible for some tragedy in his life or family), but Jonah was so determined NOT to preach to the city of Nineveh that he decides to board a ship and travel to a city way on the other side of the civilized world - the city of Tarshish.
Tarshish was about as far as you could get away from Nineveh and still be on the map
Jonah not only rejects God's command… he thinks he can run away from God. But, of course, God had other ideas.
Jonah 1:4 tells us that ''the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.''
The storm is so ferocious that the sailors (who are accustomed to the harshness of the sea) were scared out of their wits. They began to make sacrifices to their gods, they threw cargo overboard to lighten their load. And then, they realized they had a prophet on board - Jonah. So they approached Jonah to ask him to pray to his God. Jonah, of course, realizes that this is all his fault and he tells the sailors ''Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm. I know that i ...
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