Transcript Document

Sunday School
Winter 2014
Jonah - Introduction
• Author
 No claims of authorship
o Autobiographical information points to Jonah
• Who was Jonah & where did he come from?
 2 Kings 14:25 - Gath-hepher is near Nazareth in
Galilee
 John 7:25 – “No prophet has arisen out of
Galilee” said the Pharisees
 Unverifiable Jewish tradition says Jonah was
the son of the widow of Zarephath whom Elijah
raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:8–24)
2 Kings 14:25 He
restored the
border of Israel from Lebohamath as far as the Sea
of the Arabah, according
to the word of the LORD,
the God of Israel, which he
spoke by his servant
Jonah the son of
Amittai, the prophet,
who was from Gathhepher.
Jonah - Background
• Jeroboam II was King (ca. 793–758 B.C.)
• Israel enjoyed prosperity but religion was ritualistic &
increasingly idolatrous, & justice had become perverted
• Nineveh, the capital of Assyria
 Founded by Nimrod, great-grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:6–12)
 On Banks of Tigris River, 500 miles northeast of Israel
 Possibly the largest city of its time (circumference of 60 miles)
 Destroyed 150 years after Jonah’s visit (Nahum 1, 3)
o Nebuchadnezzar in 612 BC
Jonah Overview
Chapter
1
Chapter
2
Chapter
3
Chapter
4
Running
from God
Running to
God
Running
with God
Running
ahead of
God
Disobedient
Discipline
Dynamic
Disappointment
Jonah 1 – Running From God
• What message was Jonah to have brought to Nineveh?
• Why did Jonah try and run away?
• Is there a gap between what Jonah knows and what he
is living? What’s behind this gap?
 Have you or do you know of someone who has tried to flee
from or ignore the direction in which they felt God pulling
them?
 What happened in the end?
• Jonah tried to get away from God's presence (verse 3).
Is this possible ?
• How can we as Christians keep away from God's
presence?
9 And
he said to them,
“I am a Hebrew, and I
fear the LORD, the God
of heaven, who made
the sea and the dry
land.”
Compare the 3 vs below
• Genesis 4:16
• Job 1:12
• Psalm 139:7 – 12
Psalm 51:11
Jonah 1 – Running From God
• How does God work through the elements of
his creation to redirect Jonah’s path?
• Who did the sailors initially look to for mercy?
• Where did the sailors find Jonah?
 How can we as Christian "sleep spiritually" ?
Romans 13: 11-14
• What changed their minds about who they
were praying too?
• Which is better obedience of sacrifice?
1 Samuel 15:22
Challenges for week 1
 In what ways
are you running
from God?
 Can something
in your life
change the
minds of
others?
 If obedience is better than
sacrifice, what kind of an
impact does it have on
your life in light of the
study of James?
Sunday School
Winter 2014
Chapter 2
The questions kids ask…..
• Does God celebrate holidays?
• Why do people think they can lie
to God and get away with it?
• What does it mean that God has
no beginning?
• Why did God make Earth if He
could make us and we go
straight to heaven?
• What’s so bad about the plague
with the frogs?
• What’s so bad about frogs?
• If God knows what you pray
before you pray it, then why do
we pray?
• How old is God?
• Do babies who die go to heaven?
• How do we know that the Bible
is true?
• Did Jonah really live inside a
fish?
Jonah 2 – Running to God
1. Summarize Jonah’s prayer.
What did he pray about?
2. Discuss the importance of prayer
in Jonah’s intimacy with God.
What did Jonah recognize?
What is the relationship between
prayer and our growth in Christ?
Why does it take dire circumstances
sometimes to get us to pray?
“When you run from
God the only direction
you can go is down.”
Warren Wiersbe
I Kings 8:38-39
Psalm 40:2-3
Psalms 103:1-5
Jonah 2 – Running to God
3. What do you forfeit when you cling
to idols? (v8)
4. Why was Jonah thankful? (v9)
Do you see a link to James 1?
5. What did Jonah understand about
affliction and the Lord’s discipline?
6. Where does Jonah say salvation
comes from?
2 Count
it all joy, my
brothers, when you meet
trials of various kinds, 3 for
you know that the testing of
your faith produces
steadfastness. 4 And let
steadfastness have its full
effect, that you may
be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-3
Jonah 2 – Running to God
7. What did Jonah mean when he said:
“But I with the voice of thanksgiving will
sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.”
8. How long was Jonah in the belly of
the fish?
 For how long was Jesus in the grave ?
9. What did Jonah do to make God let
Him out of the fish?
Hebrews 4:14–16
Hebrews 13:15-16
Acts 16: 23–26
Matthew 12:39-40
Digging Deeper
• Read Jonah 2:6, Psalm 40:23, and Psalm 103:1-5
 Why was Jonah thankful?
• Read James 1:23 and Hebrews 12:7-11
 What did Jonah understand about affliction and the Lord’s
discipline?
• Read Jonah 2:7-10
 Is there repentance in Jonah’s prayer? Explain.
 What is the meaning of verse 8?
What does Jonah conclude and the results?
Challenges
• If God could do these two great miracles why do
we find it hard to trust Him for smaller things?
• Jonah understood God's loving kindness and mercy.
How can we as Christians obtain the mercy of God ?
• Despite all that was happening to Jonah he still
made a " Sacrifice to God" with the voice of
thanksgiving. What does the sacrifice of praise
mean to you as Christians ?
• There are times when we must be made to go into
the lowest depths that we may regain a living faith.
Prayers in those times of need should be made with
an attitude of thanksgiving as well as petition
6 do
not be
anxious about
anything, but in
everything by
prayer and
supplication with
thanksgiving let
your requests be
made known to
God.
Philippians 4:6
Sunday School
Winter 2014
Chapter 3
Jonah Overview
Chapter
1
Chapter
2
Chapter
3
Chapter
4
Running
from God
Running to
God
Running
with God
Running
ahead of
God
Disobedient
Discipline
Dynamic
Disappointment
Jonah 3 – Running With God
Jonah 3:1-3
• What do we learn about the
character of God in His message
coming to Jonah a “second time”?
 How has this been evident in your life?
• What might have God used to
prepare the Ninevites hearts?
Second Chances
• Luke 22:54-62
• John 21:15-17
Jonah 3 – Running With God
Jonah 3:4-10
• Who did the people of Nineveh believe?
 What do you learn from this?
• Did they repent? How did they show it?
…. For it is the power of
God for salvation to
everyone who believes …
Rom 1:16
 Why were the animals mentioned?
• Because they repent, God does not destroy Nineveh. What message
of comfort can each of us find in that?
• What do you learn about the nature of God in the story thus far?
What do you find most comforting and/or troubling?
Jonah 3 – Running With God
• What two things happened once they believed God?
 Vs 5-6 - Vs 7-9 --
1. The Ninevites’ confession radically changed
their personal lives
2. The Ninevites’ confession radically changed
their public behavior
• What did the King of Nineveh proclaim (call for)?
• What was God’s reaction?
• Isn’t God’s way unchanging?
Joel 2:12-14
Numbers23:19
Challenges
• Do you remain open to the work
of God’s Grace? Are you willing to
eliminate worldly compromises?
• Who is beyond your prayer list?
• Are you willing to confess Jesus
publicly?
Even Roberts was used by
God to ignite the awakening
in Wales in the early 1900s .
He challenged believers to
change their lifestyle in 4
areas:
1.First, confess all known sin;
2.Second, get rid of anything
doubtful in your life;
3.Third, be ready to obey the
Holy Spirit instantly;
4.Fourth, confess Jesus
Christ publicly.
Sunday School
Winter 2014
Chapter 4
Jonah 4 – Running Ahead of God
Jonah 4:1-3
• Why is Jonah so angry?
• What is at the root of Jonah’s anger?
“When Jonah’s friends found out
that he had been the means of
saving Nineveh from God’s
wrath, they could have considered
him a traitor to official Jewish
foreign policy.” Warren Wiersbe
• What does God try to teach Jonah about who God loves
and who God is willing to show mercy?
• How can we be the same way at times? How did Jonah’s
view of God lead to despair?
Jonah 4 – Running Ahead of God
Jonah 4:4-5 – The Lord’s reply
• How does God answer Jonah’s prayer?
• Is there a purpose in God’s response?
• How did Jonah respond to God’s question?
Right Response
• Luke 19:41
• Acts 17:16
Jonah 4 – Running Ahead of God
Jonah 4:6-9 The Lord’s second response
• How does God respond?
• How do these verses illustrate Jonah’s spiritual
problem throughout the book?
• How is the progression of Jonah’s anger similar to
our anger at times?
Jonah 4 – Running Ahead of God
Jonah 4:10-11 The Lord’s third response
• What does God point out to Jonah in v10? In v11?
Challenges
• What lessons is God teaching Jonah and us?
• Do we spend more time tending to our lawn/yard
than doing God’s work
• Do we allow our own selfish anger to cloud our
relationship with god
Wrap up
How is Jesus greater than Jonah? Both were Jews & both were prophets.
Jonah was a man
Jesus was the God-man (John 1)
Jonah preached a message of judgment
Jesus preached a message of repentance and salvation
(John 3).
Jonah almost died for his own sins
Jesus willingly died for the sins of the world (I John 2).
Jonah’s ministry was to one city
Jesus Christ’s message will circle the globe (Rev 19).
Jonah’s obedience was not from the heart
Jesus always did what pleased His Father (John 8).
Jonah did not love the people he came to rescue
Jesus had compassion for the lost and came to seek and
to save them (Luke 19).
Jonah waited outside the city, hoping God would not forgive
those who had hated the Jews
Jesus Christ was put on a cross outside the city, praying that
His Father would forgive those who hated Him (Luke 23)
“The men of
Nineveh will stand
up with this
generation at the
judgment, and will
condemn it because
they repented at the
preaching of Jonah;
and behold, [One]
greater than Jonah
is here.”
Matthew 12:41