Thoughts from Jonah/Part 1

Last week I began a summer sermon series preaching from the OT book of Jonah. Over the course of the next few weeks I will share some teaching points from these sermons. I would certainly appreciate your prayers with this endeavor. Thank you.

"Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.' But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord."

Jonah 1:1-3


Within the first three verses of Jonah, we see the drama unfolding. But this is not a work of fiction. Jonah is to be given a literal reading. It is to be understood as such. Some years ago, while visiting another church for a friend's wedding, I noticed a table holding copies of the pastor's sermon manuscripts. I picked up the one about Jonah and began reading. In both sadness and anger I read this pastor's words that he had offered his congregation. He instructed them to embrace Jonah as an allegory, a work of imaginative literature whereby we learn from the fictional characters and events. But we see that Jesus affirms the literal rendering of Jonah in Matthew 12:38-40. Unless, of course, the resurrection is also an allegory, as some foolishly believe; but that's a lesson for another day. There is no reason for us to doubt the authenticity of this OT book. These things did happen in the life of an actual human being. Knowing this will bring Jonah vividly alive in our minds and hearts as we study God's word.