WK 43 JONAH II: THE RELUCTANT MISSIONARY

KEY VERSE: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3. Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city- a visit required three days. JONAH 3:1, 2.

SCRIPTURE LESSON: JONAH CHAPTER 2&3
JONAH 2: 1. From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.
2 He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
1. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.
2. I said, ‘ I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
3. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surround me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
4. To the roots of the mountains I sank down: the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
5. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to your holy temple.
6. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
7. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”
8. And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

JONAH 3:1. Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
1. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
2. Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city- a visit required three days.
3. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaim: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”
4. The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
5. When the news reached the king of the Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.
6. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast. Herd or flock. Taste anything: do not let them eat or drink.
7. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
8. Who knows? God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring them the destruction he had threatened.

INTRODUCTION
Last week we studied how Jonah, commissioned by God to preach to the people of Nineveh. Decided to go on a different assignment to tar shish (Jonah 1: 3). God could have ignored Jonah and chosen a different person to perform the assignment but he had a specific agenda for Jonah. In God’s own sovereign will he passed Jonah through a series of circumstances to make him willing to undertake the very assignment he had dodged. Jonah went through the following:
Jonah was able to pay the fare to tar shish.
The ship Jonah boarded had a tempest on the sea
Jonah was brought before the captain of the ship.
Jonah made a confession to the captain
Jonah was thrown into the sea.
God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.
After three days and three nights Jonah was vomited upon the land.

Jonah learnt his lesson in the hard way. God’s agenda for us may be slightly different from that of Jonah, but we may learn from his experience.

THE WORD IN OUR LIVES
A pastor was posted to one of the remotest areas in the country. Most of his friends who heard of the posting were very unhappy about the pastor’s posting; some even advised him to refuse his posting and tender in his resignation. The pastor’s congregation was not happy either, considering the fact that he had started to build anew chapel.

Apart from these facts, the people of his station were said to be hostile to visitors: the road network was bad and basic necessities like water and electricity were absent.

Just as the pastor was about to write a resignation letter, he saw a sheet of paper on which was printed his ministerial vow. A sentence which came to his attention was: “Will you be willing to serve the church wherever you will be needed?” ‘I will’. The pastor could not sleep and after struggling with his conscience, he decided to obey God.
When the pastor and his well-wishers arrived at his new station, they were welcomed by a delegation among who was his classmate at school. He and his mate embraced each another and engaged in conversation to the admiration of all the people present. The people at the new station proved to be affable, co-operative and warm.

He won many souls for Christ at the new station. Church attendance increased; he started a double service and new churches were opened at the outstations. God blessed his endeavours. “If I had listened to my friends and refused my station I would not have seen the hand of God”, he declared.

In the work of missions, we need to submit to the directives of the Director of Operations, who id God. He knows where the field is most ripe for harvest. Moreover we should throw away our prejudices and proclaim, in faith, the word of truth. Who would have thought that Nineveh, a pagan city to the core, would repent in the way they did.

The experiences of Jonah made him willing to go in the end… and what a fruit! Do we need unpleasant experiences to help us put our will in line with the Lord? It is most unnecessary!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What excuses do people give for not evangelizing?
Does God always allow unpleasant circumstances in our lives in order to help us put our will in line with his? Explain your answer.
“The Holy Spirit does the conversion; it is our duty to proclaim the message”. How Jonah 3 does: 1-10 support this statement?
Give testimonies that illustrate the lessons taught by today’s study: God does not make us go against our will; he only makes us willing to go. Highlight the results that have occurred in the instances cited.

BIBLE LESSON APPLICATION
This week during your time of devotion, reflect on your life to see whether you have ever had Jonah’s experience at your level. Resolve in prayer to be always obedient to the Lord.

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Monday 2Kings 7:9-15 the responsibility for evangelism
Tuesday Genesis 12:1-11 Abraham – A Missionary
Wednesday Acts 1: 1-8 you are my witnesses
Thursday Matthew 12: 38-41 Greater than Jonah
Friday John 4:40-42 The Woman evangelists
Saturday Mathew 24:46-51 Faithful of God