Things That Were Written Aforetime...

According to 2 Kings 14:25, Jonah, the son of Amittai, did his work in the Northern Kingdom when Jeroboam II was king (ca. 790-749). Of Jeroboam it is said, "He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel, which he spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher." The book of Jonah has four chapters consisting of forty-eight verses. The average reading time required to read the book is about ten minutes. A careful reading of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John will show that Jonah is the only minor prophet mentioned by Christ. As far as the historicity of the book is concerned, it must be accepted as genuine unless one wishes to deny the words of Jesus Christ who mentioned Jonah by name. Jesus, in fact, likened Jonah to Himself (cf. Matt. 12:38-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32). Jesus does not speak of that which is legendary or mythical; instead, He speaks of reality. Jonah is unquestionably an historical figure. Since the things written aforetime most assuredly refer to the writings of the prophets, what are the things we learn from looking at Jonah the prophet of the Old Testament?

JONAH ATTEMPTED TO RUN
AWAY FROM GOD

God's instructions to Jonah were to "go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it: for their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:2). But the prophet rejected divine instructions and followed the dictates of his own will. In a bold effort to "get away from the presence of the Lord," he went to Joppa, paid the fare, and went aboard a ship headed elsewhere (Tarshish). What was the prophet thinking? Did he not know that the Lord knew of his "downsitting, his uprising, and his thoughts afar off" (cf. Psa. 139:2)? Did he really think his actions would remove his responsibility? No man can escape the

presence of the Lord (Psa. 139:7-12). The fact that we may shirk our responsibilities does not excuse us.

JONAH RECOGNIZED HIS MISTAKE

Mistakes do not have to be fatal unless we wish them to be. Jonah made a terrible mistake and chapter two reflects it in no uncertain terms. He had been "swallowed up" by a great fish especially prepared by God for the task. Jonah realized his condition and what he had done. In unmistakable language the prophet's feelings are set forth (2:1-10). Like the prodigal son in the New Testament, Jonah "came to himself" (Jonah 2:7-10; Luke 15:17-18). Repentance is a needful thing. All men are required to do it (Acts 17:30), and without it we will all perish (Luke 13:3). Many of our congregations are filled with members of the church who need to repent, i.e., do their first works. Repentance gives us all a chance to set our lives in order and be restored to our "first love" (Revelation. 2:4-5).

JONAH FINALLY OBEYS GOD

When the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time instructing him to "go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee," Jonah arose and went to Nineveh (3:1-2). At first he rebelled and would not go, and this became a big problem. Man's indecisiveness, especially when it involves obligations put upon him by God, always creates a problem. The whole book of Jonah is really about one man's struggle with himself. It was not a question as to whether Jonah could do what the Lord instructed him to do, nor was it a question as to whether the Assyrians would repent. During this whole scenario Jonah demonstrated from time to time that he was not the answer to the problem, he was the problem! Jonah finally went to Nineveh in obedience to the Lord's instructions, only to find himself in a subsequent state of anger when he saw that God changed His mind about the fate of Nineveh (3:10-41). The truth is, God does not always do what we
(continued on page 5)