LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JONAH

 

Jonah is the central character in the Book of Jonah, in which God commands him to go to the city of Nineveh to prophesy against it "for their great wickedness is come up before me," but Jonah instead attempts to flee from "the presence of the Lord" by going to Jaffa (sometimes transliterated as Joppa or Joppe). He sets sail for Tarshish.

Jonah is a masculine name of Hebrew origins. The name derives from the Hebrew word "Yonah," meaning "dove," sharing ties with prophet Jonah, who was a leading figure in the Book of Jonah.  Jonah was a proud, stubborn, disobedient, unfaithful, a grumbler, and altogether a bad-tempered person.

“PREPARED” Is the Keyword of Jonah and the Solution of all difficulties.  God Himself prepared everything in His will to solve all human problems.

1.   1.  God prepared (sent out) a great wind – to turn the backslider. – Jonah 1:4

 “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.”

Jonah was fleeing from the presence of the Lord going somewhere not willing to obey God to go to Nineveh.  And God prepared a great wind to get him back to his will and purpose.

2.    2.  God prepared a great fish – to swallow Jonah  - Jonah 1:17

17 “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

God has prepared a fish for the purpose. Notice God commanded the fish to swallow and God commanded the fish to throw Jonah out to the dry land. God will call you to something impossible to show you what’s actually possible. God will never call you to something you can’t accomplish. JONAH was in the belly of the fish three days and nights – this speaks about Jesus too in the tomb. A breakthrough is coming after the third day. Jonah repented and many souls were saved in Nineveh also.

3.   3.   God prepared a gourd (plant) - to cover the despondent prophet – Jonah 4:6

6 “Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.  So, Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.”

Complaining only contaminates life. There is NO FRUIT in complaining. To complain about what you DON’T have is to WASTE what you do have. We should always thank God for everything we do for God and His blessings for us.

4.   4.   God prepared a worm – to wither all man’s hopes of earth. – Jonah 4:7

7 “But when dawn came up the next day, God prepared a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.”

Jonah was questioning God’s will and wanted to die than to live. But the whole thing was that he was angry for his comfort has been taken away when the tree that shaded him was taken away.

5.  5.    God prepared a silent east wind – to cast him only upon Jehovah –          Jonah 4:8

“When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah was very angry with God that he wanted to end his life. He was very emotional person. God is saying are the souls saved more important than all the comforts God has given us. Are the spiritual things in life more important than the physical comfort of life?

In conclusion the Book of Jonah summed up like this - “Though you may have started WRONG, you can always finish STRONG,”

I heard an old statement that states, “Though you can’t go back and make a brand new start my friend, you can start now and make a brand new end.” Lift up your head, God is the glory and lifter of our heads (Psalm 3:3). Shake off the dust and get going in the plans God has for you. It’s never too late to be all that God has called you to be.

May the Good Lord bless you all!  Amen.