King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, July 07, 2024
Chapters: Jonah Chapters 1-4
Message: The Only Sign of Salvation
Hello My Friend,
Out of all the books in the Bible that tell of the judgment to come, there is one that stands out to tell us how we can be saved from it more than even the New Testament books, and that is Jonah. In fact, one cannot read through Jonah without thinking about Jesus as He did reference him when the Pharisees wanted a sign that He was from God, He said this, [Matthew 12:39-40 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.]
The book of Jonah contains four chapters, the author of the book is Jonah and it was written to the nation of Nineveh. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 825BC to 790BC. The purpose of the book was to get Nineveh to acknowledge God, repent, and turn to Him for their salvation. What we are to learn from the book is that God does not put a restriction on salvation, it is for all who call upon the name of the Lord, [Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?]
We first learned about Jonah yesterday when he was sent to the Northern Kingdom to inform Jeroboam II that even though he still followed the man made religion that Jeroboam made up He was still going to restore their land to them because He saw their affliction.
[2 Kings 14:24-26 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher. 26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.]
God, told him to go to Nineveh to warn them of the judgment placed upon them, but Jonah, like many Jews, believed that salvation was only for the Jews, and therefore, refused to go. He found a ship headed in the opposite direction, boarded it, found a cozy spot to lay in, and fell asleep. All the while a hurricane forms right before them.
[Jonah 1:1-6 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.]
[Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god,] Hundreds of men aboard a ship of various races crying out to the god of their nation in hopes that their god would calm the storm and save their lives. And yet here is Jonah sound asleep as though nothing was going on, but watch what happens when the men discover who Jonah’s God is when they asked him who he was and where he came from.
[Jonah 1:9-12 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.]
[I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.] Did you ever stop to think that the affliction you and those around you were facing was because you were running from something that God wants you to do? Sometimes I think that is what is going on with me. When God calls us to do things and we delay or even run it will bring affliction. However, God, will use every purpose to His advantage as little did Jonah know that while he was running from God the people onboard the ship would run to Him. These men not only cried out to God they repented and offered an offering to Him, this was not the priestly offering, but it was a peace offerings to God, but they also threw Jonah overboard.
[Jonah 1:14-17 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. 15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.]
[Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice] Talk about your quick conversion, these men did not hesitate to forsake their false gods and turn to the one and only living and Almighty God. If Jonah was not on that ship the men would have never realized that there is only ONE GOD, and He is truly Almighty and willing to save anyone who comes to Him, [John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
[Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.] Why was it important to write it as three days and three nights? The Jews counted a natural twenty-four hour day from dusk to dusk the next day. The Jews had no other way of expressing a natural twenty-four hour day but by day and night. This signified that he was in the belly of the whale for thirty-six hours with no harm done to him. God, surely works in mysterious ways at times and while God had prepared the whale to hold Jonah in its belly for three days and three nights, there was Jonah with lots of time to think about why he was in there.
[Jonah 2:1-5 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.]
[I am cast out of thy sight;] Jonah, made the mistake of thinking that he could hide from God, but even David testified that no matter where you God can find you, [Psalms 139:7-12 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.]
[the weeds were wrapped about my head.] I can only imagine what it felt like to sit there or rather float in the belly of a whale, the pitch darkness, the seaweed wrapped around his head, the fish and other sea creatures bumping into him. He may not even known that he spent three nights and three days in there, but what God had actually prepared the whale for was to preserve him while he had time to come to his senses and he did. That was when Jonah discovered the true meaning of salvation.
[Jonah 2:7-10 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. 10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.]
[I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;] This is why salvation is granted only by the grace of God, through our faith in Him alone regardless of what race we are or what time we are here, [Romans 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.]
God, gives everyone the opportunity to learn the truth about Christ and how to be saved from the depths of hell through Him. Those who choose the false religions over the truth are truly forsaking their own mercy. Well, as soon as Jonah was spat out of the whales mouth, he went to Nineveh as he was told, and what would have been a three day journey only took a day because he was led by God. Jonah, spoke to the king, and right away he responded as well as all the people. They put away their false gods, removed anything that was evil, even fasted and prayed, all led by the king himself.
[Jonah 3:2-5,10 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.]
[God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;] We can say that we believe that Christ died for us and saves us by grace, and even accept that He alone is our salvation, but the proof is in the pudding as they say, our works is what proves our faith after we receive Him as our Saviour, [James 2:17-20 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?]
While salvation is solely given to us by the grace of God through our faith in Christ, we still must call out to Him and ask Him to save us otherwise anything we do for Him would be vain. Now, Jonah, just knew that the people of Nineveh had vain faith and would forsake God and return to their wicked ways at any time, he actually became angry about telling the people how they could get saved.
[Jonah 4:1-4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?]
[for it is better for me to die than to live.] Why would Jonah rather die than live to see another nation get saved? Jonah, could not get over the fact that God would save a heathen nation, and could not understand why God spared them when they would just go back to their wicked ways. What he should have been doing was looking in the mirror as his own people were heathens themselves. Then again, perhaps this was the reason for his anger? After all, he did say, [I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful,]
[Doest thou well to be angry?] Jonah, sounds a lot like Elijah when he wanted to die because he thought that his attempt at reaching the lost was getting him nowhere and that he was the last to be saved. God, reminded him that there were many in the Northern Kingdom who had not forsaken Him and reminds us the same thing about our country, [1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.]
We cannot pick and choose who we tell the Gospel to, it is to be told to whomever God tells us. Well, Jonah, still angry, encamped himself at a distance to watch them, convinced that they would turn on Him. God, tried to show Jonah that by planting a squash where he was camping,
[Jonah 4:6-8 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.]
[God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day,] God, was trying to show Jonah, that regardless of whether or not a person turns from their sin completely, what is important is that they got saved. Well, that still did not convince Jonah that it was a good thing to tell Nineveh how to be saved, that was when God just came out and said that it was not his choice, [Jonah 4:9-11 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. 10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?]
[And should not I spare Nineveh…that cannot discern] This is where we teach them the right way, and let God handle the rest. You see, they do not know that what they are doing is wrong because of the way they were taught. God, did not want them to end up in hell, He wants to save all, but unless we tell them they will know not the way, [Romans 10:15-17 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You have blessed us with so much, You have given life to all who believe in and receive Your Son. We are saved only by trusting in His sinless death, burial, and resurrection, and He even saves us out of every mess that we have gotten ourselves when call on Him. How merciful You are, how wonderful You are to save a sinner like me. Thank You, Jesus, and thank You God, for giving me the opportunity to repent of my vain works and enjoy a new found, abundant, never boring, life with You have purposed for me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, let me not run from anyone You lay upon my heart to tell about Jesus, and let me boldly speak and proclaim You as my Saviour and how they can be saved too. I ask these things pray in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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