Week 2
series
Description
God’s justice and mercy often don’t make sense to us, and they certainly didn’t make sense to Jonah. In this Old Testament narrative, we see God’s prophet obsessed with exacting his notion of justice against a nation of evildoers. In his sovereignty, God exposes the ridiculous nature of Jonah’s self-righteousness and showcases the wideness of his mercy as he pursues all nations. As we study the book of Jonah, may we be willing to look in the mirror of God’s Word and ask ourselves—am I willing to be a vehicle of God’s mercy to those who have wronged me?
main
passages
Jonah 2:1-10
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said,
“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble,
and he answered me.
I called to you from the land of the dead,
and Lord, you heard me!
You threw me into the ocean depths,
and I sank down to the heart of the sea.
The mighty waters engulfed me;
I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.
Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’
“I sank beneath the waves,
and the waters closed over me.
Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
I was imprisoned in the earth,
whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
snatched me from the jaws of death!
As my life was slipping away,
I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you
in your holy Temple.
Those who worship false gods
turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
and I will fulfill all my vows.
For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
related
passages
For additional context on Nineveh, the prophet Nahum prophesied against the city because of its wickedness and cruelty. This happened about a century after Nineveh had repented at the preaching of Jonah.
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