Some of the principles of good hermeneutics (interpreting Scripture) are to know who the author of the book was, when he wrote/when the action took place, where he lived, and the historical/cultural context in which he wrote. So let’s start off with a little background:
Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (as opposed to the Southern Kingdom of Judah). The events described in the book of Jonah took place in approximately 760 B.C., during the reign of King Jeroboam II. This would mean Jonah prophesied after Elisha and before Hosea and Amos, despite the fact that the book of Jonah actually comes after both of these books in the Old Testament.
During Jonah’s tenure, Israel was experiencing greater prosperity than at any other time in its history. Though previously attacked and oppressed by the Assyrians (of which Nineveh was the capital), the power of this enemy kingdom had weakened significantly and Israel was now at peace. Unfortunately, with this peace also came considerable moral decay and political corruption.
Though not recorded verbatim in the Bible, Jonah’s prophecies to King Jeroboam II assured him of continued prosperity for Israel and encouraged him to greatly expand the kingdom’s borders to reclaim land which had been previously captured by the Assyrians and others (II Kings 14:25).
Read Jonah 1:1-2
1:1-
II Kings 14:25 tells us that Jonah followed in the footsteps of his dad, Amittai—who was also a prophet—in his hometown of Gath-hepher. Gath-hepher was about 3-5 miles north of Nazareth, between the sea of Galilee and theMediterranean Sea.
Jonah had a pretty good gig. He was no weeping prophet like Jeremiah, that’s for sure. His country, Israel, was at peace, had a great economy, and he had the pleasant task of being able to tell the king exactly what the king wanted to hear: Go out and get our land back. You’ll be successful, the country’s prosperity will continue, and, oh, by the way, you’re going to be one popular dude.
Enter- God.
Scripture tells us that God sends the rain upon the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45), and God was about to rain all over Jonah’s little parade. Which, frankly, judging from Jonah’s attitude, he probably needed.
1:2-
These days, as Christians, we rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us as we make decisions about life. We pray and ask for His guidance. We check out the Scriptures to see which biblical principles apply to our situation. We look at the way circumstances are lining up and seek godly counsel. In the end, we usually have an impression of what God wants us to do, and we move in that direction. It’s not often we get precise, word for word instructions like Jonah did.
I love the imperative this verse begins with: “arise”. That’s what it says in my version (NASB), anyway. The HCSB version kicks it off this way: “Get up!” Is it possible Jonah had gotten a little too complacent or lazy? Maybe he was a bit too ensconced in the “good life”?
Ever been in Jonah’s shoes? Sometimes when we’ve got a nice cushy gig like Jonah had, God has to start off His instructions to us by saying, “Get up! Shake off your comfortable trappings and get ready to head ‘em up and move ‘em out!” Before He shows us where He wants us to go, He has to get us up and get us ready to go.
That happened to me about 16 years ago. Before my first child was born, I had a nice professional job in a nice office at a nice university. The baby was due in August. I had every intention of going back to work after my 12 weeks of maternity leave. It simply never occurred to me that there was any other path to take.
Enter- God.
My call to “Get up!” came at the end of June, which was also the end of the university’s fiscal year. The grant that funded my position wasn’t renewed, and I was out of a job. As it turned out, just like with Jonah, God wanted me to go somewhere I’d never been before: into the challenging fray of being a stay at home mom. And, just like with Jonah, it’s not a place I’d ever imagined myself going.
But as I’ve walked this road God laid before me so many years ago, I’ve learned a few things.
- God is sovereign, and my life is not my own. He made me, He owns me, and He has a right to do whatever He wants with me.
- Try it. You might like it. I love what God has called me to do.
- The more you love God and have a genuine affection for serving Him, the more able you’ll be to see things His way and love the things He loves.
I hope Jonah eventually learned those things, too.
Journal Time:
Has God ever called you to “Get up!” and get ready to move on to another plan He has for you? Describe that situation. Looking back, can you now see the purpose He had?
Read Romans 9:20-21. Have you ever been the clay questioning the Potter? What does it mean that God is sovereign? Which areas of your life are not fully submitted to God’s sovereignty?
Prayer Points:
Repent: Over any areas in which you’re not totally submitted to God’s sovereignty.
Request: Strength for whatever new tasks God has for you in the future.
Seek God: To discover if there is any new direction in which He is trying to move you.
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In July 2008, I was quite comfortable and happy. I had a great job as an editor with a local publishing house (a branch of a much larger publisher) and I’d just signed my first three book contracts. While money wasn’t rolling in, I was no longer living from paycheck to paycheck. I started thinking about saving for “the future” in which I would possibly be able to stop working for someone else and become a self-employed writer/editor.
And then I got laid off. No warning. No plan in place. Not much in the way of savings. No insurance.
But that was okay, because I could just take a few weeks off and then go find another job.
And then the economy tanked and all the jobs dried up.
Looking back on it even just three or four months later, it was clear to me that this was my “arise” moment. I’d become too self-reliant—my money, my savings, my book contracts, my plan. If I worked until I could afford to become that self-employed person, it would have been done under my own power. But that’s not what God wanted me to do—that’s not the testimony He wanted me to have. He wanted to give me the desires of my heart, but He wanted me to do it through faith in Him alone—because, otherwise, I’d still be comfortably working full time and saving for the day when I could do it by my own wherewithal. The last three years have taught me quite a bit about what it means to live by faith. (Though I do sometimes get tired of some of the extra little lessons God gives me, like a broken ankle with no health insurance—but though I’m still paying some of those bills, that’s turned out to be just one more step toward relying more greatly on Him and trusting that He will provide.)
I’m really excited about this study!
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My “arise, get with it” moment were several that kept me going in a direction I’d never planned. I said many times that I would NEVER become a teacher because I saw what my parents went through agonizing about students, tutoring a particularly difficult student, grading papers after the younger kids went to bed and on and on.
Late in August in Anchorage, Alaska, I was a stay-at-home-mom of two cute little girls (and I have pictures to prove it) ages 3 and 5. Mid morning I got a phone call from my husband (Mike) who had just started a new ROTC program at Anchorage Community College. He was at registration and overheard another faculty member saying so someone, “If we had someone who could teach non-majors introductory biology, we could offer another section.” He spoke up, told them I was available and could do a great job for them, then called me to inform me of the conversation. Then he asked, “You CAN teach biology, can’t you?” I went out to the campus that afternoon, picked up the textbook and was hired that day to start the following Monday.
But God didn’t stop there. One day a few weeks later my class was in the lab. I noticed in the prep room a large flask of liquid cooking on a hotplate. I recognized it as basic medium for growing bacteria. Soon a man walked into the prep room and my students were busy so I joined him in there. I asked if he was Dr. Norrell, the microbiology prof from the senior college and he agreed that he was. Then I teasingly commented, “You should have a lab prep person doing this for you!”
He turned around completely serious (nearly scared my socks off) and said, “How did you know? Who told you?” I had no idea what he meant and said as much. He explained that he had just come from a meeting where that exact position was approved. He told me how to apply and ultimately I was hired to prep his labs for the spring semester. Meanwhile the pre-nursing department was looking for someone who could teach a 7 week 2 hour 1 day per week microbiology course for nursing students. They approached me after Dr. Norrell suggested that they do that. I was also signed up to teach the second semester biology class. The spring was busy and by mid semester Dr. Norrell was having me help him during lab and then letting me teach the lab when he had to be out of town.
But God didn’t stop there. I mentioned to Dr. Norrell one day that we were going to New Mexico on Mike’s next tour and that I was thinking about getting a second MS in microbiology. He encouraged me to go on for the Ph.D. instead.
But God didn’t stop there. And did I get the message that I was to be a teacher? Yes, through the words of a smart little girl. One evening while getting ready for bed she said, “Mommy, now you’re what you always wanted to be – a teacher!” “Not exactly, I didn’t really want to be a teacher, especially.” Then why are you teaching – did somebody volunteer you for that job?” “Yes, your Daddy.” “Well, he shouldn’t do that – you should be WHATEVER you want to be!”
Thanks, smart little girl for speaking the words God wanted me to hear. I AM a teacher!
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Thanks for your awesome comments, ladies! :0)
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Reblogged this on Michelle Lesley and commented:
Last week I finished teaching a brief summer Bible study on the book of Jonah. It was based on an on line study I wrote a few years ago. I enjoyed Jonah so much I thought you might enjoy it too, so for the next few weeks, I’ll be re-running a lesson on Wednesdays and Fridays until we complete all twelve lessons. Please feel free to share this around on social media and get a gospel discussion going with your friends. It’s also a great study for your small group or the break room at work. Hope you enjoy Jonah!
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