It's, there's a lot in there, more than just Joan and the Whale. You know, I think that's what everyone knows about the Book of Jonah is Joan and the Whale, and that's about the main lesson, you know, don't rebel against God, don't run from God. But there's so much more in the book, and I think we'll see that as we go along. So if you have your outline, we have the author. Let's just read chapter one. You follow along as I read, just to get into the context of what we're talking about here. Now the word of the Lord came on the Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his God, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he lay and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, what meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, and if so, be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said, every one to his fellow, come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? And whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am in Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the man knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the sea wrought and was tepetuous. And he said unto them, Take me up and cast me forth into the sea, so shall the sea be calm to you. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard to bring it to the land, but they could not, for the sea wrought and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore, they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood. For thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea and the sea ceased from a raging Then the man feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights and So we have the author of the book, Jonah, whose name means dove. He was a servant of the Lord from Gath, Hephirt. That's in Second Kings. We'll not just kind of give a little bit of background about this man, a town that's the tribe of Zebulun. Jonah lived when Jeroboam II was king of the Northern Kingdom. That's in 2 Kings 14. The prophet Jonah's prediction that Israel's boundaries would extend under Jeroboam came true. So we do have his prophecy about that. And we see in verse nine of the chapter one that he was a Hebrew, the son of Amittai, and Amittai means my true one, was the only Old Testament prophet to attempt to run from God. That's why we do know about don't run from God, amen? And everyone remembers Jonah and preaches about Jonah, and that's a great lesson. We see letter B now that Jonah was an actual historical person. Now, you know, when you have a lot of miracles in the Bible, people and maybe different, even theologians try to make this allegorical. You know, this is just a story. It's not real. It's just symbolism. But that's why we even have to bring out this. You know, Jonah is an actual person, amen? And this is supported by at least four facts. Number one, the book of 2 Kings reveals that Jonah was the son of Amittai, a prophet from Gath, Heffer, as we mentioned. So the Bible speaks of him. The book is written in the style of historical narrative. So this is not allegorical. It is the style of the writing is historical, like telling a story of an actual event. It's not allegory. It's not a parable. That's the other thing. Is this a parable? No. It's a real life event. And it refers to real places that we know of. Historically and geographically, like Tarshish, Joppa, Nineveh. Now, ancient tradition viewed Jonah and the book of Jonah as historical, like Josephus. He's a Jewish historian who wrote a lot about the time of Christ and the apostles. And then the church fathers would be the early writers that we have on history about the time after the first century. So they do. It was received as a literal book, a historical book. Finally, go to Matthew, because I think it's important to just establish this right now. Jesus recognized Jonah as a real prophet. And he does clarify some things here. You know, we just have to take the Bible for truth and how it's declared by the Lord, because, you know, a lot of people say, well, a great fish and, you know, a whale. What it what was it? And well, let's see what Jesus said. So it's not wrong to refer to the whale. Amen. It says in Matthew 12, verse 40, for as Jonah Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly. So the great fish is a whale. I think Jesus knows better, he's the creator, amen, he knows all creatures. So shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And this is a very important, you know, what happened to Jonah. Also, the Lord is saying, this is a picture of my death burial. And then, when Jonah is vomited out. That's a picture of coming back to life and getting a second chance. Amen. So that's what the Lord speaking here about him being three nights and three nights in the heart, three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And then 41, the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented. They repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. And you think about that. You know, Nineveh, you would say, how wicked, and we'll learn about how wicked they were, and how we see this. But, it says they're gonna condemn the generation that was there even the Jews that lived during the time of Christ. They're gonna condemn them because even though they were so wicked and everyone said, you know, they're not the people of God, they repented. They were saved. And now he's saying, this generation, I'm coming to you and I am preaching, you know, Jesus is preaching to the Jews, that he's the Messiah and they rejected him. And that's the message that Christ is bringing. So we see how important the book of Jonah is and how it pictures Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. Let us see Jonah was one of four Old Testament prophets whose ministries were referred to by Christ. And that's what I mentioned here. You have in Matthew 12 and 41. We have the ministry of Jonah 40 and 41. And then we do know that Elijah was another prophet. Go to Matthew 17 since we're just close here. Matthew 17. 11. And Jesus answered and said to them, Elias truly shall first come and restore all things. But I say to you that Elias is already is come already. Now, remember. This is John the Baptist. coming in the spirit of Elijah, which was prophesied by Isaiah. And we do have a mention of Isaiah here. Go to Matthew 15. You're close by. And remember how Isaiah prophesied concerning the people's condition, spiritual condition. And the Bible says here in Matthew 15, 7. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, The people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Now, we're not saying he didn't refer to other prophecies, but we're talking about naming the name of the prophet. That's what we're finding here. And then there was Elisha in Luke 4 and 27. So we'll not go there, but we have Jonah being special, being named by Christ with Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah the prophet. Letter D. So Jonah's ministry had some parallels to his immediate predecessors, Elijah. So if you start thinking about the time frame, he's ministering. To. The same people like Elijah and Elisha, and during that time frame. They were called also to Gentile missions in Phoenicia and Aram. Now, when you think about Jonah under letter D, like I mentioned. Some people have suggested, like I say, some people I don't know how to classify him because they're the ones who write the commentaries about the Bible. They've suggested that Jonah was not the author of the book because he is referred to in the third person. So they're going to say, well, Jonah is not the author because the way he writes, he's referring as the third person. But. Number two, this is not a strong argument. Moses, the author of the Pentateuch, often used the third person when describing his own actions. So this is something that we would say is common in the Bible, not exceptional. So it's not an argument to say, well, Jonah didn't really write the book of Jonah. Isaiah and Daniel also have written about themselves in the third person. But since all the book of Jonah is in the third person, some scholars, I say scholars, we better put that in parentheses, believe this book was written by a prophet other than Jonah soon after the events, but I don't think that's necessary. Amen? So we have the author of the book being Jonah. Number two, the date of the book. This is, a lot of this, You have to kind of compare scripture with scripture because. It doesn't really have a lot of the events in the book of Jonah, like some members, some of the the different. Prophets will mention different nations and different kings. Well, we don't have all that evidence here, but we do have. Go to second Kings 14, 25. 2nd Kings 14 25 We do find Jonah it says he restored this is during the the reign of Jeroboam the second so here we have a mention he restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath under the sea of the plain and according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet which was of Gath-Hephard. So you see now, mentioned during this time. So that's how we can date the book, just by this reference. He was preaching during the time of the reign of Jeroboam, which is from 793 BC, before Christ, to 753. So this is When we have a date for the book of Jonah, there's nothing precise as far as this date, but we have the reign of Jeroboam We have also Jonah was a contemporary of both Hosea and Amos So we have Hosea and Amos Oh preaching their messages. Now, we're not gonna go back and restudy that all out, but we do have this timeframe of the same message in what was being preached. Jonah's reference to Nineveh in past tense, Jonah 3.3 has led some to suggest that Jonah lived later, after the city's destruction. However, the tense of the Hebrew verb can just as well point to the city's existence in Jonah's day. Again, I'm just trying to help you understand a lot of people want to discredit the Bible and just not accept it as truth. And even among Christianity and different seminaries and different institutions, not that we're against education, but An education at a liberal seminary produces liberal preachers. That's sad, but it's true. Number three, the audience of the book. Now, we do know no direct audience is named, but it is written to the people of Israel and Judah. And how do we know that? Because it is included in the Jewish canon of scriptures, meaning they esteem this book as inspired the word of God as authoritative. And they accepted this. We we we do have a message, that's what I want you to understand today. I know we talk about, you know, Jonah and the whale. and that's about all we hear about it. There's some very underlying messages that are important for Israel, especially you'll see concerning Jonah's attitudes towards other nations and other people. And isn't that so true of today, even today? So that's why when we always come to the Bible, we say, well, that was written, you know, thousands of years ago. What relevance does it have today? Well, think about it. What's our attitudes towards people of other nations? Do we really want to see them saved? And God did send him to that nation so they could be saved. Hence, we support all these missionaries to different nations that probably, if they were your neighbors, you wouldn't even talk to them. I'm just saying, you know, in general, not literally. Isn't that the way it is, though? You know, we're like, where are they from? Well, let's be careful. There's a message in this book. Maybe God will chip away at some of that on us. Amen. Because it's hard today, you know, with all the political wins and attitudes on TV and. To not be affected and as Christians, we ought to filter everything through the word of God. not through Fox News or especially not CNN or MSNBC or whatever you want to say. But all of them have fallen down, even Fox News, you know. Anyway, let's filter everything through the word of God and not the attitudes that we see today, though notwithstanding Some of the politicians are right on, don't get me wrong. Some of these commentators are right on, you know, about truth and about history and about our nation. And amen to that, you know, when they are, you know, it's a good thing to hear a lot of people speaking out. I think even in this holiday, it may be refreshing to you, you know, I think of, couple men like Burgess Owens who was up, you know and the NFL and they're in politics now and I'm trying to think of the other Politician Who are black and Does anyone recall that? Jack Brewer, Jack Brewer. So these men, you know, were in the NFL. They're black and their role models. And they actually reach, you know, they're they're speaking of fatherhood and the importance of fatherhood and reaching into the communities and their own people with this message of how important it is. For to have a father and to be a father and to You know, there's so much to say about that. But what I'm getting at is, we'll probably touch on that in the morning hour, because I'm getting ahead of myself. They say a lot of good things, and I love that because it doesn't have to come From someone of a different skin color, you know, and they say, wow, that's racist, you know, because you're saying these things. No, these are men like Tim Scott and some of these men. They're right on. Because they understand the truth and. they're probably saved men. That's why, amen. So if you ever hear of those men speaking, pay attention. They have a lot of good things to say. But anyway, we're getting back here to our outline, amen. Letter B. And here's the message, brethren. Remember, the Bible's written to all people, and to all nations, and to every generation. Amen? It's not just for Judah, or Israel, or, you know, other nations. It's for us as Christians today. There's a message for us, and I hope, as we have mentioned, I think we've repeated these verses in every prophet in our introductory messages, because what does the Bible, the New Testament say about the Old Testament? Well, 1 Corinthians 10, 11, it says, now all these things happen unto them for examples. And they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. So everything happened to them, but it's written for our instruction. And even correction, amen, admonition is part of that correction, instruction and correction upon whom the ends of the world are come. So we need to learn from the Book of Jonah. And then. Romans 15 for says to for whatsoever things were written before time were written for our learning Can't be any clearer than that. Amen that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope So we do learn a lot of things in the book of Jonah that provides a lot of hope for us Amen And I hope that's true for you. Now the purpose of the book, and this kind of starts getting into some of the details and the messages that I was talking about. I think it's good to touch on it before we actually start studying verse by verse. But we do have number, letter A, the historical purpose. Jonah's message of judgment was preached in Nineveh to bring the people to repentance. That's what the book's about. Why do we have this preserved for the Israelites and written for them? And because we have some reasons here. Number three, first, to remind the people of their duty to bear witness for the Lord. You know, this was given to them so they could see Jonah was disobedient and God had a purpose for the nation of Israel to be a light to other nations. That's where... Let's just put it this way. Israel had the Great Commission. From the beginning. Genesis 12, three. They disobeyed the Great Commission. Jesus came. They rejected the Messiah. He set them aside. He said, you, your house is left under you desolate. That was basically in Matthew 23 when he said, you're done. He's like Ichabod, the glory of God has departed. Your house is left unto you desolate. And then he said to the church, you have the commission now. I'm taking this from Israel, and now you have the commission to be the light to all nations and to reach everyone with the gospel. But let's not think Israel didn't have the gospel and didn't have the Great Commission. That's where we miss this. Like the Old Testament's just some other, you know, like they were saved by sacrifices and works. No, that's not true. They were saved with the same gospel. They were saved by faith, just like us. And doesn't that get all mixed up today? That's why we have the Book of Romans and Galatians, making it very clear you're not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. So God, from time to time, had to remind them, no, this is your calling. I'm sending you to preach to see everyone saved, not just you, but everyone saved. So they have that problem just like us today. We can get so caught up in our own little world that we forget about other nations when God has sent them to our doorstep, you know? Then second number, letter four, secondly, to remind Israel of God's great love for all people, amen? God loves everyone, even their enemies. God love them. That would be hard to accept, right? But God does. So it was shocking to Jonah to get the call to Assyria, to Nineveh, it's like. These are there are enemies and you want me to go preach to them? That's why he ran the other way. He's like, I'm not going to these people. They were the cruelest people in the ancient world. They were infamous for brutality, oppression, malicious treatment of other nations. Certainly, we would say God wouldn't send anyone to them. I mean, they're already condemned. Look at how they treat others. They were feared more than any other people in Jonah's day. But note God's unbelievable mercy. Amen? Because of His great love for the human race, the Lord sought to offer even the barbaric Assyrians a chance to repent. That's why we do believe in the New Testament when it says, that no nation, all nations, everyone on the earth is inexcusable. There's no excuse. They're not gonna get up there and say, God, you didn't love me, or God, you didn't care about me, or God, you didn't send me the truth. No, there's a witness in the whole earth. That's creation. Every man can look up, no matter what nation you're from, look up and say, there's a creator. I wanna know you. God sends the gospel to them because he's faithful to do that So God is merciful he wants to give everyone a chance to repent but Israel grew arrogant and complacent and they need to be reminded of God's love for all nations not just for themselves isn't that a A message we need to hear today. Don't we become complacent? And we need to be constantly reminded God loves everyone just as much as he loves us. And he wants them to be saved, too. And then thirdly, just as Jonah repented from his disobedience and hard heartedness, so it was God's desire that all of Israel would repent. So this prophet represents the nation. When he was callous and hard-hearted, that's how the people had grown. I don't know if you noticed in chapter one, there's a lot in there, but did you notice the contrast between the heathen sailors and Jonah? I mean, they were concerned for him. when he said, no, throw me overboard, it said they worked even harder to get to safety to land, because they didn't want to throw him overboard. They wanted to save him. They were more concerned for him than he was for them. But he was the prophet of God. So Jonah, his uncaring attitude was representative of the whole nation. Now, we have the doctrinal or spiritual purpose, letter B. And as I mentioned from time to time this morning, that this message is often overshadowed by the miraculous event of Jonah and the whale. So I mean, a lot of the things that we're talking about is overshadowed by this miracle. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and. And a lot of Christians today would be hard pressed to explain, well, what does that book teach about Israel? What does it teach about Jonah? What does the book teach about God and God's desires? they probably would say, well, Jonah was swallowed up by a whale. Do you know that the message of this book certainly doesn't have to do with whales? Just so we know. There's a lot more in this book that is the central message. So let's get beyond that, not that we in any way Diminish that and we do talk about the miraculous But there's so much more like this God wants all people to come to repentance and not perish as we've as We have already noted How are we to respond? certainly like not like Jonah who ran from the will of God and We're to conform to God's will, meaning we're to love all nations and love all people and do our best to reach them with the gospel as we have opportunity and God's called us. It also reminds us of the radical love of God. The Lord desired mercy for the Assyrians more than judgment. And that's the heart of our God today. Really, you know, God's going to judge. We know that God's judging. He's coming back. We've learned a lot about prophecy and the day of the Lord, the day of God's terrible wrath is coming. But until that day, he wants everyone he's acting in mercy and grace and love. And he he wants the last person to be saved before that day comes. I know that's hard for us. We were not like that, right? We turn it on or off. That's not God. He can be loving and wrathful at the same time and be perfect in love and wrath. It does remind us of our own need to repent. If the idolatrous Ninevites repented, this is number four, how much more should we repent? The people of God. You know, we need to live in a constant state of repentance. Not that you're getting saved every day. But you truly should have the attitude of seeking God's mercy and forgiveness every day. That's what walking in Fellowship, 1 John 1, we walk in the light as he's in the light. We confess our sins. We lie not. We don't say we're not a sinner. We're sinners saved by grace. Amen. And we have this attitude of repentance. But it also demonstrates, number five, the sovereignty of God. God's plans will not be ruined or stopped. Israel was failing in her mission to be the light of the world, but God wanted the nation to hear the message, the nation of Assyria. And God called his servants. He rebelled. He escaped his duty. But the Lord pursued him all the way to Tarsus. Amen. God even controlled the sea. That's what I, you know, another thing about Jonah one it tells about how the Lord the Lord is very clearly the one in charge of the wind. Amen. And the tempest. And that's God even used all that God even prepared the whale. Amen. That's amazing. So God is sovereign. God accomplishes his purpose to preach unto all nations. And God has power to bring about his purpose. Amen. Then last of all, but not least of all, the Christological or Christ-centered purpose of the book. We know Christ's love for sinners is pictured in God's love for the Ninevites. And God loved us even while we were yet sinners. Amen. And then Christ's teachings are foreshadowed here. We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. And Jesus even commands us to love our enemies. So it's a clear command in the New Testament that we're to love our enemies. This is the will of God for all believers and for every one of his servants. And as Jonah was sent to proclaim God's word in Nineveh, so Christ has commanded us. Remember the Great Commission, amen? Go ye therefore and teach all nations. That's the word ethne. That's every ethnic group. And those who study that, there's 24,000 ethnic groups in the world today. and were to reach every one of them with the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. That's so important, the triune God. You know, we need to believe that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are one and that they're equal. There is no salvation without believing that. That's why Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong and Mormons are wrong. It's a false gospel because they don't believe in God the son and the Holy Spirit being equal and being one as the Bible teaches. That's why our baptism should stay in the name of the father and son of the Holy Ghost, because we believe that. And you need to affirm that when you're baptized, what you believe. Amen. And then. The death and resurrection of Christ are pictured by, as we mentioned, Jonas, three days and three nights in the bellies in the belly of the whale. And then you see that picture of how Jonah was brought back from death. Amen. And we'll talk about that. It's it's deep. It's deep in more than one way than just deep in the bottom of the sea, because. There is a wonderful picture here of Christ's death. even in Jonah. We'll get to that. Like I said, it's deep. But we have a glorious hope, amen? So we have a Christological purpose, and now for the conclusion, and I'm gonna make it, but my coffee's getting cold anyway. Pardon everyone, this is Sunday school, and I drank coffee instead of water. Conclusion. Jonah is the great book warning us against disobedience, against resisting God's call in our lives. Amen. Let's not resist God's call. Number two, Jonah is a great book picturing God's discipline. You run from God. Guess what? Beware. He will pursue you. Amen. And Jonah is a great book demonstrating God's mercy and sovereignty, as we mentioned. And then number four, Jonah is a great book revealing the wondrous depths of God's mercy. We must listen carefully to these powerful words of warning from Jesus himself, speaking to the people of his day, that the men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation. How much do we need today the message of repentance? You know, that's one of the missing elements of many, many churches' message. Do we know that? Do we understand that repentance is a part of the gospel message? Jesus said that repentance and forgiveness should be preached to all nations, meaning what I understand in Luke 24 is that if you don't repent, there's no forgiveness. It's not enough just to believe. You know, that's the message, just believe. No, repent and believe. Repent and believe. So what a message. Certainly there is a greater than Jonah today, Jesus Christ. If the people of Nineveh repented at that simple message, how much more should people repent today hearing the full gospel? Jesus came in the flesh. God came in the flesh. Amen. And he showed us grace and love and mercy and declared the father unto us. If you know me, you know, the father, Jesus said, you see the revelation of Jesus, you see who God is. He is greater, amen. But what about the attitude of people today? They don't care. about preaching. Do they? They care more about entertainment, they're not, you know, when they pick a church, it's what do you have for my kids and what kind of programs do you have and. They're not saying. What is does the pastor preach repentance? That's not on the top of their list of going to church. Does the pastor preach the gospel? Does the pastor preach against sin? That's not on the top of the list anymore, is it? Do they still sing the old hymns and do they have traditional music? Not contemporary. Just so you know, brethren, I'm, let me be very clear. I was saved out of rock music. I will not lead the church to play rock music. Can't do it. That was a whole nother era. You know what that era was too. Some of you came through that. And this music leads you right back into that. and the same sins in the church. They do the same things in the church that was being done back then. Why do I always get off on these rabbit trails? I was supposed to be done by now. Sin and wickedness are no laughing matters, amen? Nor is rebellion against God and His call. Jonah was mercifully given a second chance to do God's will, and thank God for second chances, amen? That's a message in this book. But none of us is guaranteed that second chance, isn't that true? We must first repent to receive God's mercy and grace. Then we must be courageous enough to fulfill God's ordained purpose, serving the Lord faithfully no matter the cost. Just as there are many, many of us waiting to hear God's message, there are many more eyes watching to see God's message in your life, amen? May we all bear fruit of God's mercy in our daily walk. Let's pray.