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Jonah 1:1-3

1 Now the word [dabar] of the LORD [Yahovah] came unto Jonah [Yonah] the son [ben] of Amittai [Amittay], saying [amar],
2 Arise [quwm], go [yalak] to Nineveh [Niynaveh], that great [gadowl] city [iyr], and cry [qara] against it; for their wickedness [ra] is come up [alah] before [paniym] me.
3 But Jonah [Yonah] rose up [quwm] to flee [barach] unto Tarshish [Tarshiysh] from the presence [paniym] of the LORD [Yahovah], and went down [yarad] to Joppa [Yapho]; and he found [matsa] a ship [oniyah] going [bow] to Tarshish [Tarshiysh]: so he paid [nathan] the fare [sakar] thereof, and went down [yarad] into it, to go [bow] with them unto Tarshish [Tarshiysh] from the presence [paniym] of the LORD [Yahovah]. KJV-Interlinear

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 'Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.' 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. NASB

The descendants of Noah through Ham are, Cush and then Nimrod who built Nineveh. Nineveh became the capital of Assyria, one of the earliest empires in history. Assyria will eventually (many centuries later) invade and overrun the Northern Kingdom of Israel after the nation has split into two nations - the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the Southern Kingdom called Judah.

Nineveh has been around for a couple of thousand years before Jonah comes onto the scene. Nineveh was a large city, of some 600,000 people. If you take into account the number of infants and toddlers which are numbered in Jonah 4:11 at 120,000, and then use a factor of five to determine the rest of the population. A multiplier number which is typical for determining family sizes and so forth by adding older children, teenagers, and adults.

The city is located in present day Iraq near Mosul on the Tigris River, southwest of Baghdad. There have been a lot of archaeological discoveries in the area. That is, up and until Sadaam took control of the country several decades ago. But now that he is no longer in power, I'll just bet that archaeology will begin to take off in Iraq again, and lots of discoveries will come out of Iraq in the next few years.

Jonah means dove. His fathers name, Amittai, means faithful. Yet when God gives Jonah a direct command to go to Nineveh and warn them of their impending doom, Jonah runs away in the opposite direction. Not a very dove like response. But then the 'dove' and 'faithful' meanings are really ascribed to God and not to the people who carry His message. It is Gods word and Gods faithfulness on which we can depend, which will bring peace into the lives of those who faithfully pursue their spiritual lives.

Just because Jonah had some spiritual growth in him, does not mean that he was free from the pitfalls of prejudice. We all have our sin natures.

For a long time (for generations), the Israelites had looked down on the gentiles as a lessor form of people. They were barbaric, and idol worshippers and so forth. Jonah did not want to give them any warning. He would just as soon watch them be destroyed - they deserved it, in Jonah's eyes anyway.

However, Jonah was blind to the failures of his own people, and yet God forgave and was merciful to the Israelites for their many failures throughout history. Why should he not be just as forgiving to the gentiles?

Jonah saw things differently however. We'll see his pouting later in the study. He will be more emotional over a dying plant than over the many thousands of people who turn to God. Wrong priorities! But then people who are prejudiced (selfish, out of fellowship) in its many forms, think more of lessor things (hobbies, money, work, social pleasures, environmental crusades, etc.), than they do of things that are obviously more important (responsibility, family, children, the needs of people, their own spiritual life).

Jonah, in stead of heading east toward Assyria (Iraq), headed west for the Mediterranean Sea coast in northern Israel, and boarded a ship bound for the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. Tarshish is presumed to have been located in the region of Spain.

Jonah was blatantly disobedient and defiant toward God. He left the presence of God, which certainly means that he left the country of Israel, but also he left his spiritual life by turning his back on Gods commands.

Jonah did not misunderstand Gods will. He knew full well what God wanted. He just did not want to obey God. And that is typical of people who fight tooth and nail against Gods commands. We all know the rules of life. We all know the difference between right and wrong. We all know what is expected of us. We all know what our responsibilities are to ourselves, to our spouses, to our family, to our work, to other people in this world and so forth. But, it is easier to ignore them. Often times we just do not agree with what God has designed for our life and our relationship with others.

In many cases God has placed us in situations that we just do not like. So we rebel. Why did God put me here? Why did God allow this to happen to me. Why does God expect me to subordinate to someone else when I know that I am better.

So we have Jonah rebelling because he does not like Gods command. 'The gentiles do not deserve a warning. Just destroy them now and be done with them. After all, they are such a backward people they might even kill me (Jonah) if I go there.'

Another view we have here, is that God did give all peoples throughout history, warnings as to their spiritual failures. The Israelites were not the only ones who received Gods warnings and/or blessings.

Now is the time to post a prayer.

End Of Lesson

Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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