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.

Jonah Facebook Bible Study- Introduction

May 15, 2011May 18, 2011 Michelle Lesley

If you follow my web site, but not my Facebook page (Michelle Lesley- Author), you may not be aware that I’m starting a daily (M-F) Facebook Bible study on the book of Jonah on Monday, May 16. If you’re not on Facebook, you will get the whole Bible study right here except for the discussion. That will take place on my Facebook page. Why not join up now and jump in and chat with us? (Go to www.facebook.com and you can easily set up a personal account in about 5 minutes. Then go to my page and click on the “like” button at the top.)

The Format:

I’m formatting this study on Jonah almost exactly the same way I formatted my book Jacob: Journaling the Journey. Each lesson will begin with a Scripture reading from Jonah, followed by expository teaching on that Scripture.

After you read the teaching, there is a section marked “Journal Time”. Get out your pen and a journal, legal pad, or spiral notebook (or open up a Word document!), and jot down what God has spoken to you personally through that day’s lesson. The “Journal Time” section has some questions to help get you started, but you don’t have to use them if God’s leading you another direction. They’re just there to get your journaling juices flowing. Don’t feel obligated to write a long, drawn out essay every day. Let God lead you.

Following the “Journal Time” section is a section labeled “Prayer Points”. I want to stress that:

MAN/WOMAN CANNOT LIVE BY BIBLE STUDY ALONE

In order to have the deep, dynamic relationship with God that He desires for you, you MUST spend quality and quantity time in prayer. The “Prayer Points” are just a very loose suggestion as to some of the things you might want to pray about that day. They are not a check list, they’re just a jumping off point.

If I’ve got my settings correct, each day’s lesson should automatically post here, on the web site, and on Facebook, at 12:01 a.m. So, if you’re an early riser and you want to use this for your morning quiet time, it should be there for you when you get up.

Whenever I get up :0) I’ll go to my Facebook page and post a/some question(s) for discussion that are relevant to that day’s lesson. Jump in and share! Let’s learn from each other!

Wanna Share?

If you decide you like this little Bible study on Jonah, I’d love for you to print it out and use it at your church, small group at your home, etc. as a Bible study, Sunday School lesson, or whatever. You have my permission to print and make as many copies as you’d like. There are just two provisos to doing so (we’ll have to be on the honor system here):

1. Please put my name on it somewhere (“by: Michelle Lesley”) so that nobody else gets blamed for having written it :0).

2. Please “support the arts” :0) and purchase a copy of my book Jacob: Journaling the Journey. It’s currently available at Amazon and BarnesAndNoble.com.

Any questions? Post a comment below or on Facebook.

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Here it Is! The Big Reveal!

May 13, 2011 Michelle Lesley

And the recipeint of the $25 gift card to Amazon.com is:

Patti Jo Kester Cook!

Congratulations, Patti Jo! You have one week to send me (michellelesley1@yahoo.com) your e-mail address so I can get you all squared away.

Thanks so much to all of my wonderful Facebook “likers”. You are the best!

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Today’s the Big Day!

May 13, 2011May 13, 2011 Michelle Lesley

You like me! You really like me! You have all been so kind to join in this journey with me, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support and your prayers. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you better in the future.

I’m so excited that I have over 125 friends who like me that I wish I could give all of you a thank you present. Unfortunately, I only have one, and it is (insert drumroll here):

A $25 gift card to Amazon.com!

At 4:00 p.m. (Central) today, I will randomly choose which one of you, my friends who like me ;0) will receive this gift.

Amazon has all kinds of merchandise from books and music to groceries and car parts. And it even has (insert BIGGER drumroll here)…

Jacob: Journaling the Journey
now available for pre-order for just $10.19!

Of course, you can use the gift card any way you like, but this is a great price if you want to order it now (it’ll be delivered in September). The regular retail price will be $14.99.

So check back here after 4:00 p.m. to see if there’s an Amazon shopping trip in YOUR future! (FYI- I’ll need the recipient to send me his/her e-mail address: michellelesley1@yahoo.com)

And be sure to check the article I posted yesterday. It has some VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION about future give aways.

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VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FACEBOOK FANS OF MICHELLE LESLEY- AUTHOR!!!

May 12, 2011May 12, 2011 Michelle Lesley

Hi Facebook Fans-

I found out some important information today about Facebook’s policies regarding holding contests and promotions on my “Michelle Lesley-Author” page.

In a nutshell, they’ve made it virtually impossible for “little guys” like me to hold any sort of competition or drawing where there’s a prize at stake. If you want to read the official policy, you can find it at– face book dot com slash promotions underscore guidelines– I’d provide the actual link, but I’m afraid they might be “watching” (and if you do any sort of promotions on your own page, you will definitely want to read and abide by this, because if they find you in violation, they can terminate your page without warning).

Does this mean I’m going to stop doing competitions and give aways? No way! They’re too much fun! So here’s what we’re going to do:

Take a look at your News Feed on your own personal page. Not your Wall (Profile), where you can only see things you’ve posted, but your News Feed– the part where you can see everybody else’s statuses and stuff. Are we all on the same page? Good.

Ok, in the upper left corner, you’ll see your profile picture and your name. Under that, it will say “News Feed”, and under that it will say “Messages”. Click on the word “Messages”. When you do, the word “Updates” should appear.

An Update is a message from a fan page to all of its fans. Now, from time to time, I’ll have some “VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION” to share with you that I won’t be able to share with you directly on my Facebook page, so I will send you an Update. You’ll be able to tell that it’s “VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION” because the subject line of the message will say “VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION”. In order to read that “VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION” you’ll need to come here to my web site. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a link to click on. (If you don’t understand what I’m getting at here, e-mail me at michellelesley1@yahoo.com and I’ll explain further.)

So, to sum up, CONTESTS AND PROMOTIONS WIL NO LONGER BE HELD ON MY “MICHELLE LESLEY- AUTHOR” page. They will be held here instead. It would be a very good idea to subscribe to this web site (there’s a “subscribe” button to your upper right on the side bar) so you’ll also receive e-mail notifications about any contests that take place in the future.

My apologies if this inconveniences anybody. Tomorrow’s “125 Likers” drawing will take place tomorrow as scheduled, but it will be handled here instead of on Facebook. Be sure to check and see if you’ve won!