Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World (Jonah 1–4; Micah 2; 4–7)

Link to Gospel Doctrine Teachers Manual:
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Some things that you may not find in the manual
Supplemenet to Lesson 33

BIBLE DICTIONARY

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/j/59?sr=1
Jonah

"now the Lord had prepared a great fish"

Of Gath-hepher in Zebulun. He lived under Jeroboam II, whose success in restoring the ancient boundaries of Israel he predicted (2 Kgs. 14: 25). The present book of Jonah does not claim to be from the hand of the prophet; it describes an episode in his life, and is due to some later writer. The key to the book is to be found in Jonah 3: 10 - 4: 11, in the reasons the prophet gives for his flight and unwillingness to preach at Nineveh. The writer is opposing a narrowmindedness that would confine the love of God to a single nation. He shows that Jehovah reigns everywhere, over sea and land; even in the heathen world and minds of men are conscious of sin and prepared to admit the Godhead of Jehovah. The book is a beautiful poem, whether it paints the humanity of the heathen sailors; the mourning of the prophet over the decay of the grass of the field; or the Divine tenderness in ministering to the prophet with his imperfect conceptions or in pitying the little children of Nineveh. The story of Jonah was referred to by our Lord on two occasions when he was asked for a sign from heaven. In each case he gave “the sign of the prophet Jonah,” the event in that prophet’s life being a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection (Matt. 12: 39-41; Matt. 16: 4; Luke 11: 29-30).

Jonah
An Old Testament prophet who was called by the Lord to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh (Jonah 1: 1-2). “Since Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam, it is possible to date him at approximately 788 B.C. ” ( The Voice of Israel’s Prophets, p. 326.)

The Book of Jonah: (CES Institute Manual)
 A book in the Old Testament that tells of an experience in Jonah’s life. Jonah probably did not write the book himself. The major idea of the book of Jonah is that Jehovah reigns everywhere and does not confine his love to a single nation or people.

In chapter 1, the Lord called Jonah to preach to Nineveh. Instead of doing as the Lord had commanded, Jonah fled by boat and was swallowed by a large fish. In chapter 2, Jonah prayed to the Lord, and the fish vomited Jonah out onto dry ground. Chapter 3 records that Jonah went to Nineveh and prophesied of its downfall. However, the people repented. In chapter 4, the Lord rebuked Jonah for being angry that the Lord saved the people.

Jesus taught that Jonah’s being swallowed by the fish served as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection (Matt. 12: 39-40; 16: 4; Luke 11: 29-30).

Scriptures referenced above:
1. Jonah 1: 1-2
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto aJonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and acry against it; for their bwickedness is come up before me.
2. Matt. 12: 39-40
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a asign; 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 athree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
3. Matt. 16: 4
4 A wicked and aadulterous generation seeketh after a bsign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the csign of the prophet dJonas. And he left them, and departed.
4. Luke 11: 29-30

29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a asign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

The Setting of Jonah c. 760 B.C.Jonah prophesied during the politically prosperous time of Jeroboam II of Israel (2

Kings 14:23–28). During this time the Assyrians were occupied with matters elsewhere in the empire, allowing Jeroboam II to capture much of Syria for Israel. The Lord called Jonah to go to the great Assyrian city of Nineveh to pronounce judgment upon it. Jonah attempted to escape the Lord’s calling by sailing from the seaport of Joppa to Tarshish, which was probably in the western Mediterranean. Eventually he obeyed the Lord and traveled overland to Nineveh at the heart of the Assyrian Empire.

Jonah 1:3 . “Jonah Rose Up to Flee unto Tarshish”
Jonah’s life and experiences, like Job’s, provide a universal lesson similar to an allegory, and the application to all men is drawn from one man’s actual experiences.
Jonah was a type of Christ in that he was in the belly of the whale—in “hell,” in his own words ( Jonah 2:2 )—just as Jesus was in the grave for three days, and then came forth again. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch showed that the significance of Jonah’s story is broader than that:
“The mission of Jonah was a fact of symbolical and typical importance, which was intended not only to enlighten Israel as to the position of the Gentile world in relation to the kingdom of God, but also to typify the future adoption of such of the heathen, as should observe the word of God, into the fellowship of the salvation prepared in Israel for all nations.
 “As the time drew nigh when Israel was to be given up into the power of the Gentiles, and trodden down by them, on account of its stiff-necked apostasy from the Lord its God, it was very natural for the self-righteous mind of Israel to regard the Gentiles as simply enemies of the people and kingdom of God, and not only to deny their capacity for salvation, but also to interpret the prophetic announcement of the judgment coming upon the Gentiles as signifying that they were destined to utter destruction. The object of Jonah’s mission to Nineveh was to combat in the most energetic manner, and practically to overthrow, a delusion which had a seeming support in the election of Israel to be the vehicle of salvation, and which stimulated the inclination to pharisaical reliance upon an outward connection with the chosen nation and a lineal descent from Abraham. . . . The attitude of Israel towards the design of God to show mercy to the Gentiles and grant them salvation, is depicted in the way in which Jonah acts, when he receives the divine command, and when he goes to carry it out. Jonah tries to escape from the command to proclaim the word of God in Nineveh by flight to Tarshish, because he is displeased with the display of divine mercy to the great heathen world, and because, according to ch. iv. 2 , he is afraid lest the preaching of repentance should avert from Nineveh the destruction with which it is threatened. In this state of mind on the part of the prophet, there are reflected the feelings and the general state of mind of the Israelitish nation towards the Gentiles. According to his natural man, Jonah shares in this, and is thereby fitted to be the representative of Israel in its pride at its own election. . . . The infliction of this punishment, which falls upon him on account of his obstinate resistance to the will of God, typifies that rejection and banishment from the face of God which Israel will assuredly bring upon itself by its obstinate resistance to the divine call. But Jonah, when cast into the sea, is swallowed up by a great fish; and when he prays to the Lord in the fish’s belly, he is vomited upon the land unhurt. This miracle has also a symbolical meaning for Israel. It shows that if the carnal nation, with its ungodly mind, should turn to the Lord even in the last extremity, it will be raised up again by a divine miracle from destruction to newness of life. And lastly, the manner in which God reproves the prophet, when he is angry because Nineveh has been spared ( ch. iv. ), is intended to set forth as in a mirror before all Israel the greatness of the divine compassion, which embraces all mankind, in order that it may reflect upon it and lay it to heart.” ( Commentary on the Old Testament, 10:1:383–85.)

The City of Nineveh which was situated at the confluence of the Tigris and Khosr rivers (modern-day Mosul, Iraq), was first settled in the seventh millennium B.C. According to the Bible, Nimrod was the founder of the city (Gen. 10:11). Major excavations took place under the direction of Henry Layard from 1845 to 1854. The diagram below pictures the results of those excavations, especially as they reflect the period of the Assyrian Empire (1420–609 B.C.). Around 1000 B.C. there occurred a great revival of Assyrian power, and Nineveh became a royal city. It was a thriving city during the first half of the first millennium, and contained such luxuries as public squares, parks, botanical gardens, and even a zoo. One of the great archaeological finds of the period is the library of King Ashurbanipal (669–627 B.C.; called Osnappar in Ezra 4:10). The size of the city was approximately 1,850 acres. The book of Jonah reflects the flourishing nature of Nineveh at this time (3:1–5). Nineveh eventually fell to the Medes and Babylonians in 612 B.C. The invading armies dammed the rivers that supplied water to the city, causing a flood that broke through one of the perimeter walls giving the foreign armies access to the city