Douglas Jacoby Podcast

OT Jonah

Episode Summary

Douglas continues his series on Old Testament Characters now looking at the story of Jonah . Douglas shares what we can learn from Jonah's life as well as what we can learn about God from his story.

Episode Notes

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Hebrew words: Yonah (Jonah) – may mean “dove." 28x in the Bible.

Further study:

• Passages referred to in this podcast
  • 2 Kings 14:25
  • Jonah 1-4
  • Jeremiah 18:1-10
  • Luke 9:52-55
  • Exodus 34:6
  • Romans 12:21, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Peter 2:21
• Even more:
  • Did God resurrect Jonah? Click here.
  • Listen to an entire seminar on Prejudice and Separation, including the Atlanta story. Order here.
  • Of special interest to those in the Restoration Movement, watch the 3-lesson DVD series Friend or Foe.
  • Check out Joel 2:14. The King of Nineveh (3:9) seems to have a better handle on theology than the prophet Jonah!

Some things we learn about God:

• The people of God tend to be insular, whereas God is expansive. They tend to be exclusive, while the Lord surprises us by being so inclusive. This was a scandal for the religious establishment in Jesus’ time, and it is no different today. This is another way of saying that God is love.
• God is not partial. With him there is no prejudice or favoritism.  But we don’t always get it! So…
• God will sometimes go to extremes to get our attention

For kids:

• Check out this link (for younger kids).
• For older children, read sections of the story (esp. ch. 1:1-17, 3:1-5, and 4:1-11) pausing to ask the following questions:
  • Why do you think Jonah ran away?
  • Did God's command to him change between chapter 1 and chapter 3? What does this tell us about the word of God?
  • Does the prophet seem happy when the Ninevites repent?
  • How angry is Jonah about these outsiders being spared? (Several times he shows that he prefers death to God saving the Assyrians!)
  • How should we view those outside the church?

Key verses:

• Jonah 1:3 – Jonah evades his orders to preach to the Gentiles.
• Jonah 1:12 – He would rather die than take the message to the Assyrians.
• Jonah 2:8 – Jonah (hypocritically) looks down his nose at the pagans. He is happy to receive God’s grace, but is unwilling for God to extend his grace to others.
• Jonah 4:1 – Jonah is very upset that God has forgiven the Ninevites. He would rather die (4:3, 4:8, 4:9)!
• Jonah 4:11 – But God cares about all people, even the Gentiles.