WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.840 Nancy: Welcome to immerse: the daily bible reading experience. 00:00:02.920 --> 00:00:04.170 day 200 and 83 00:00:04.907 --> 00:00:06.137 immersed in Jonah. 00:00:08.717 --> 00:00:13.187 Jonah was a prophet, but the Book of Jonah is not a book of prophecy. 00:00:14.027 --> 00:00:16.607 Instead, it is a book about the prophet himself. 00:00:17.627 --> 00:00:21.347 Unlike the other books in this volume, it doesn't present a collection 00:00:21.347 --> 00:00:22.877 of Oracles that Jonah spoke. 00:00:23.942 --> 00:00:29.102 Rather, with great literary skill, it tells a story about him and it 00:00:29.102 --> 00:00:33.242 appears to do so from a later vantage point, not like the messages of 00:00:33.242 --> 00:00:37.892 other prophets, which were recorded during or just after their lifetimes. 00:00:39.002 --> 00:00:43.172 According to Samuel Kings, the prophet Jonah lived in the Northern 00:00:43.172 --> 00:00:47.672 kingdom of Israel during the reign of JE Boland second, that is in the 00:00:47.677 --> 00:00:50.012 first half of the eighth century bc. 00:00:50.852 --> 00:00:54.272 It is hard to be certain, but there is evidence that the Book of Jonah may 00:00:54.272 --> 00:00:58.202 have been written after the return from exile in order to bring a particular 00:00:58.202 --> 00:01:00.182 message to God's people in that day. 00:01:01.232 --> 00:01:06.602 In the story, Jonah is sent to announce God's message to the city of Nineveh, the 00:01:06.602 --> 00:01:09.062 capital of the powerful Assyrian Empire. 00:01:09.932 --> 00:01:14.672 God is going to destroy Nineveh because of its wickedness, but Jonah 00:01:14.672 --> 00:01:18.182 has a problem with this assignment and he tries to run from God. 00:01:18.917 --> 00:01:19.697 What's the problem? 00:01:20.117 --> 00:01:24.317 He is afraid that Israel's enemies, the Assyrians, will actually repent 00:01:24.317 --> 00:01:27.947 of their wrongdoing and that God will not punish them after all. 00:01:28.667 --> 00:01:33.497 As Jonah says later in the story, I knew that you are a merciful and 00:01:33.497 --> 00:01:38.477 compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 00:01:38.987 --> 00:01:41.477 You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 00:01:42.617 --> 00:01:45.107 Jonah's description is exactly the language. 00:01:45.107 --> 00:01:48.917 God used to describe himself to Moses after he rescued Israel 00:01:48.917 --> 00:01:50.237 at the time of the Exodus. 00:01:51.377 --> 00:01:54.767 But Jonah believes God's compassion should only be for Israel. 00:01:55.427 --> 00:01:58.517 He doesn't share God's concern for the other nations of the world. 00:01:59.357 --> 00:02:03.857 So through an unusual series of events, God gets Jonah back on his mission. 00:02:04.667 --> 00:02:09.047 Jonah is thrown overboard during a storm at sea, swallowed by a great 00:02:09.047 --> 00:02:11.537 fish, and then spit out on the land. 00:02:12.377 --> 00:02:17.807 Ironically, Jonah sings a song thanking God for rescuing him from great personal 00:02:17.807 --> 00:02:22.097 danger while he's trying to make sure God doesn't rescue the people of Nineveh. 00:02:23.237 --> 00:02:27.887 Jonah finally gets to Nineveh and delivers a one sentence warning to them. 00:02:28.757 --> 00:02:32.057 40 days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed. 00:02:32.867 --> 00:02:37.487 And sure enough, as Jonah feared, the King of Nineveh responds by telling his people, 00:02:38.207 --> 00:02:40.487 everyone must pray earnestly to God. 00:02:40.817 --> 00:02:44.117 They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 00:02:44.627 --> 00:02:45.317 Who can tell? 00:02:45.737 --> 00:02:49.637 Perhaps even yet, God will change his mind and hold back his 00:02:49.637 --> 00:02:51.497 fierce anger from destroying us. 00:02:51.767 --> 00:02:56.687 The people of Nineveh do repent and the Lord does indeed relent 00:02:57.287 --> 00:02:59.537 his grace triumphing over judgment. 00:03:00.662 --> 00:03:04.982 Jonah protests unhappily that his enemies are spared, and that he saw this 00:03:04.982 --> 00:03:08.222 coming all along in the closing scene. 00:03:08.672 --> 00:03:13.292 Jonah struggles with God's mercy while God defends his greater interest in 00:03:13.297 --> 00:03:15.692 creating and preserving life in the world. 00:03:17.012 --> 00:03:20.402 The literary structure of Jonah shows that this short story has 00:03:20.402 --> 00:03:22.772 been built with artistry and care. 00:03:23.672 --> 00:03:27.212 Its two main narrative parts are separated by a Psalm of Thanksgiving, 00:03:27.662 --> 00:03:29.042 which is set right in the middle. 00:03:29.732 --> 00:03:34.367 Both narrative sections begin with God commanding Jonah to go to the great city 00:03:34.367 --> 00:03:36.917 of Nineveh and deliver God's message. 00:03:37.697 --> 00:03:40.727 The two parts of the story also mirror each other through the 00:03:40.732 --> 00:03:45.077 repetition of key Hebrew terms at the beginning, middle and end. 00:03:46.247 --> 00:03:50.147 Jonah's experiences also seem to mirror the experiences of the nation 00:03:50.147 --> 00:03:55.247 of Israel, his leaving the land being swallowed by a great fish. 00:03:55.757 --> 00:04:00.257 Being deposited back on the land appear to symbolize Israel's exile 00:04:00.287 --> 00:04:05.417 and return the challenge that Jonah faces to accept that God might 00:04:05.417 --> 00:04:07.187 have good purposes for the nations. 00:04:07.187 --> 00:04:11.327 The Israelites see as their enemies is also a challenge 00:04:11.387 --> 00:04:14.597 for the return exiles is Jonah. 00:04:14.657 --> 00:04:18.557 The only one God wants to save from chaos and destruction 00:04:19.487 --> 00:04:21.047 are Psalms of Thanksgiving. 00:04:21.047 --> 00:04:25.232 For God's great hacks of rescue, Only for Israel to sing. 00:04:26.462 --> 00:04:30.692 Reading the book of Jonah at the end of all the prophetic books helps prepare 00:04:30.692 --> 00:04:32.822 us for where Israel's story is going. 00:04:33.932 --> 00:04:38.102 The Bible's narrative is moving toward the time when God's larger vision to bring 00:04:38.102 --> 00:04:43.682 his salvation to all the earth, including people, great cities, and even the animals 00:04:44.462 --> 00:04:46.862 will be realized in a new creation. 00:04:52.817 --> 00:04:54.167 The prophet Jonah. 00:04:55.757 --> 00:04:58.937 The Lord gave this message to Jonah, son of a midi. 00:05:00.107 --> 00:05:02.717 Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. 00:05:03.467 --> 00:05:07.877 Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are. 00:05:09.137 --> 00:05:13.037 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. 00:05:13.787 --> 00:05:18.437 He went down to the Port of Jaa where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. 00:05:19.697 --> 00:05:23.057 He bought a ticket and went on board hoping to escape from the 00:05:23.057 --> 00:05:24.857 Lord by sailing to Tarshish. 00:05:25.787 --> 00:05:30.677 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent 00:05:30.682 --> 00:05:35.297 storm that threatened to break the ship apart, fearing for their lives. 00:05:35.357 --> 00:05:39.077 The desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and through the 00:05:39.077 --> 00:05:41.537 cargo overboard to lighten the ship. 00:05:42.407 --> 00:05:46.787 But all this time, Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 00:05:47.732 --> 00:05:49.652 So the captain went down after him. 00:05:50.492 --> 00:05:52.862 How can you sleep at a time like this? 00:05:53.132 --> 00:05:56.432 He shouted, get up and pray to your God. 00:05:56.882 --> 00:06:00.452 Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives. 00:06:01.022 --> 00:06:05.162 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the 00:06:05.162 --> 00:06:07.352 gods and calls the terrible storm. 00:06:08.342 --> 00:06:12.662 When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 00:06:13.697 --> 00:06:16.397 Why has this awful storm come down on us? 00:06:16.607 --> 00:06:17.417 They demand it. 00:06:17.777 --> 00:06:18.827 Who are you? 00:06:19.187 --> 00:06:20.687 What is your line of work? 00:06:20.987 --> 00:06:22.397 What country are you from? 00:06:22.877 --> 00:06:24.467 What is your nationality? 00:06:25.457 --> 00:06:31.397 Jonah answered, I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, 00:06:31.517 --> 00:06:33.497 who made the sea and the land. 00:06:34.637 --> 00:06:38.957 The sailors were terrified when they heard this for he had already told 00:06:38.957 --> 00:06:40.817 them he was running away from the Lord. 00:06:41.732 --> 00:06:43.322 Oh, why did you do it? 00:06:43.682 --> 00:06:47.972 They groaned, and since the storm was getting worse all the time, 00:06:48.272 --> 00:06:52.832 they asked him, what should we do to you to stop this storm? 00:06:53.882 --> 00:06:58.742 Throw me into the sea, Jonah said, and it will become calm again. 00:06:59.222 --> 00:07:02.252 I know that this terrible storm is all my fault. 00:07:03.242 --> 00:07:08.042 Instead, the sailors rode even harder to get the ship to the land. 00:07:08.717 --> 00:07:12.617 But the stormy sea was too violent for them and they couldn't make it. 00:07:13.517 --> 00:07:15.167 Then they cried out to the Lord. 00:07:15.257 --> 00:07:18.617 Jonah's God, oh Lord, they plead it. 00:07:19.007 --> 00:07:24.587 Don't make us die for this man's sin and don't hold us responsible for his death. 00:07:25.157 --> 00:07:29.957 Oh Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons. 00:07:30.932 --> 00:07:35.612 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, 00:07:35.912 --> 00:07:38.132 and the storm stopped at once. 00:07:38.852 --> 00:07:43.082 The sailors were all struck by the Lord's great power, and they offered 00:07:43.082 --> 00:07:46.382 him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. 00:07:48.272 --> 00:07:52.262 Now, the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah, 00:07:52.922 --> 00:07:56.762 and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. 00:07:57.632 --> 00:08:01.502 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God, from inside the fish. 00:08:01.832 --> 00:08:07.112 He said, I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble and he answered me. 00:08:07.892 --> 00:08:11.912 I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me. 00:08:12.872 --> 00:08:17.912 You threw me into the ocean depths and I sank down to the heart of the sea. 00:08:18.872 --> 00:08:20.702 The mighty waters engulfed me. 00:08:21.152 --> 00:08:24.242 I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. 00:08:25.457 --> 00:08:31.337 Then I said, oh Lord, you have driven me from your presence, yet I will look 00:08:31.337 --> 00:08:33.797 once more toward your holy temple. 00:08:35.057 --> 00:08:38.477 I sank beneath the waves and the waters closed over me. 00:08:39.197 --> 00:08:41.657 Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. 00:08:42.137 --> 00:08:45.047 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. 00:08:45.677 --> 00:08:49.157 I was imprisoned in the earth whose gates lock shut forever. 00:08:49.832 --> 00:08:54.452 You, oh Lord, my God snatched me from the jaws of death. 00:08:54.932 --> 00:09:00.212 As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord and my earnest 00:09:00.212 --> 00:09:05.192 prayer went out to you in your holy temple, those who worship false Gods 00:09:05.342 --> 00:09:08.072 turn their backs on all God's mercies. 00:09:08.672 --> 00:09:12.902 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and 00:09:12.902 --> 00:09:14.852 I will fulfill all my vows. 00:09:15.782 --> 00:09:19.502 For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. 00:09:20.612 --> 00:09:25.472 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. 00:09:27.932 --> 00:09:30.722 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. 00:09:31.472 --> 00:09:36.522 Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message I have given you. 00:09:37.997 --> 00:09:44.147 This time, Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large 00:09:44.147 --> 00:09:46.307 that it took three days to see it all. 00:09:47.237 --> 00:09:52.757 On the day, Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds, 40 days 00:09:52.762 --> 00:09:55.577 from now, Nineveh will be destroyed. 00:09:56.717 --> 00:10:00.077 The people of Nineveh believed God's message and from 00:10:00.077 --> 00:10:01.817 the greatest to the least. 00:10:02.027 --> 00:10:05.657 They declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. 00:10:06.647 --> 00:10:11.177 When the King of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from 00:10:11.177 --> 00:10:13.517 his throne and took off his royal robes. 00:10:14.087 --> 00:10:18.197 He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 00:10:18.857 --> 00:10:22.937 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city. 00:10:23.717 --> 00:10:28.787 No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks may 00:10:28.787 --> 00:10:31.007 eat or drink anything at all. 00:10:31.787 --> 00:10:36.467 People in animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone 00:10:36.467 --> 00:10:38.177 must pray earnestly to God. 00:10:39.047 --> 00:10:42.857 They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 00:10:43.517 --> 00:10:44.357 Who can tell? 00:10:44.987 --> 00:10:48.707 Perhaps even yet, God will change his mind and hold back his 00:10:48.712 --> 00:10:51.437 fierce anger from destroying us. 00:10:52.667 --> 00:10:57.947 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways. 00:10:58.382 --> 00:11:02.582 He changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction. 00:11:02.582 --> 00:11:03.602 He had threatened 00:11:05.642 --> 00:11:12.212 this change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry, so 00:11:12.212 --> 00:11:14.192 he complained to the Lord about it. 00:11:15.092 --> 00:11:18.092 Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this? 00:11:18.092 --> 00:11:21.602 Lord, that is why I ran away to Tarshish. 00:11:22.262 --> 00:11:27.332 I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry 00:11:27.332 --> 00:11:29.462 and filled with unfailing love. 00:11:30.062 --> 00:11:32.942 You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 00:11:33.662 --> 00:11:35.402 Just kill me now, Lord. 00:11:35.972 --> 00:11:40.262 I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen. 00:11:41.252 --> 00:11:45.332 The Lord replied, is it right for you to be angry about this? 00:11:46.772 --> 00:11:51.002 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to 00:11:51.002 --> 00:11:55.652 sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city and the Lord. 00:11:55.652 --> 00:12:00.092 God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread 00:12:00.092 --> 00:12:04.052 its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. 00:12:05.072 --> 00:12:09.572 This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 00:12:10.622 --> 00:12:13.682 But God also arranged for a worm. 00:12:14.507 --> 00:12:18.077 The next morning at dawn, the worm ate through the stem of the plant 00:12:18.287 --> 00:12:24.377 so that it withered away, and as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a 00:12:24.377 --> 00:12:27.347 scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. 00:12:28.097 --> 00:12:32.297 The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. 00:12:33.467 --> 00:12:35.887 Death is certainly better than living like this. 00:12:36.547 --> 00:12:37.407 He exclaimed. 00:12:38.467 --> 00:12:40.007 Then God said to Jonah. 00:12:40.877 --> 00:12:44.207 Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died? 00:12:44.867 --> 00:12:45.497 Yes. 00:12:45.857 --> 00:12:49.547 Jonah retort it even angry enough to die. 00:12:51.107 --> 00:12:55.817 Then the Lord said, you feel sorry about the plant, though 00:12:55.817 --> 00:12:57.587 you did nothing to put it there. 00:12:58.187 --> 00:13:00.527 It came quickly and died quickly. 00:13:01.277 --> 00:13:07.217 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness. 00:13:07.277 --> 00:13:09.167 Not to mention all the animals. 00:13:09.692 --> 00:13:12.692 Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city? 00:13:17.222 --> 00:13:20.072 This concludes today's Immerse reading experience. 00:13:20.222 --> 00:13:21.422 Thank you for joining us. 00:13:21.582 --> 00:13:21.702 I.