Jonah, The Perverse Prophet

I. THE CALL OF JONAH (Jonah 1:1-2)

A. The Source of the Call (Jonah 1:1)

1. The word of the LORD (Jonah 1:1; Jonah 3:1, 3); Note: Jonah apparently understood the power of the word of God, because he previously predicted the restoration of Israel’s coast according to the word of the LORD God of Israel (2 Kings 14:25).
2. The presence of the LORD (Jonah 1:3, 10)
3. The people of Nineveh believed God (Jonah 3:5)

B. The Recipient of the Call (Jonah 1:1)

1. The lineage
a. Jonah, meaning peace
b. The son of Amittai, meaning truth
c. Note: Truth preceded peace
2. The ministry
a. God’s servant (2 Kings 14:25)
b. The prophet (2 Kings 14:25); Note: Jonah is identified as such four times in scripture.
3. The hometown—Gathhepher, in what would later be known as Galilee which would explain Christ’s usage of Jonah as His one sign of the death, burial, and resurrection

C. The Content of the Call (Jonah 1:2)

1. Arise
2. Go
a. To Nineveh
b. That great city
3. Cry
a. Against it
b. Their wickedness is come up before me

II. THE FLIGHT OF JONAH (Jonah 1:3)

A. The Contrast of the Flight

1. Now the word of the LORD (Jonah 1:1)
2. But Jonah (Jonah 1:3)

B. The Cost of the Flight

1. He went from the presence of the LORD. Note: Notice the bookends.
2. He found a ship and went down into it.
3. He paid the fare thereof.

III. THE TROUBLING OF JONAH (Jonah 1:4-8)

A. The Origin of the Troubling—the LORD (Jonah 1:4)

B. The Manner of the Troubling (Jonah 1:4)

1. A great wind into the sea
2. A mighty tempest in the sea

C. The Consequences of the Troubling (Jonah 1:4-5)

1. The ship was like to be broken (Jonah 1:4).
2. The fear and idolatry of the mariners (Jonah 1:5)
3. The people cast forth the wares to lighten the ship (Jonah 1:5).

D. The Cause of the Troubling (Jonah 1:5-8)

1. The behaviour of the cause (Jonah 1:5-6)
a. He lay and was fast asleep (Jonah 1:5).
b. He was awakened by the shipmaster (Jonah 1:6).
2. The beseeching of the cause (Jonah 1:6)
a. Call upon thy God
b. If so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not
3. The identification of the cause (Jonah 1:7)
a. They determined to cast lots.
b. The lot fell upon Jonah.
4. The inquiry of the cause (Jonah 1:8)
a. For whose cause is this evil upon us?
b. What is thine occupation?
c. Whence comest thou?
d. What is thy country?
e. Of what people are thou?

IV. THE HYPOCRISY OF JONAH (Jonah 1:9-10)

A. The Façade of the Hypocrisy (Jonah 1:9)

1. I am an Hebrew—identifying him as one of God’s people.
2. I fear the LORD.
a. The God of heaven.
b. He which made the sea and the dry land.

B. The Unveiling of the Hypocrisy (Jonah 1:10)

1. The fear of the men
2. The question of the men—“Why hast thou done this?”
3. The knowledge of the men