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Page 6...The Portland Observer...June 10,1992
¡Portland Observer
Scripture o f the ‘Week
RELIGION
M a tth e w , C h a p te r
Insight on the Word: Jonah, A Lot More Than a Fish Story!
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean o f North Portland Bible College
reasonable to believe that Jonah be
longs in thcBiblc, and that it is a his
torically accurate book.
Most importantly, Jesus him self
refers to the book as anacc urate his
torical record (Matt 12:39-41), both in
the story ofthe great fish, and in the
repentance o f N ineveh. 1 sim ply
can ’tbelieve that the Lord would in
tentionally mislead people, if heknew
these stories were merely legends. He
had too muchintegrity.
All rig h t. All rig h t. So this really
happened. W hy d id n ’tjo n a h ju st do
w hat the L ord told him to do? Now
that is anintcresting question. I’ve asked
that question about m yself alot of
times— haven’t you? God has made
his way clearcnoughlhat anybody can
follow it, if he wants to. But we have
a lotofexcuses for disobey ing the Word
o f the Lord (see verse 1 in thetext?)
when it threatens our cherished ideas
about “ the realw orld.”
In Jonah’s case, the causes of his
disobedience come outthrough the rest
o f the story. Jonah didn’t want the city
ofNineveh to turn to God (repent), and
he wanted them to bedestroyed (Jon
4:2). He didn’t believe people should
help theirenemies. He wanted Israel’s
e n e m ie s to be d e s tro y e d . A nd
hethought he could stop God from
doing His will, by refusing to dohis
part.
Do you m ean lie had a problem
w ith p rejudice? Precisely. Hebought
into one o f the oldest and ugliest lies
Satan overproduced: that some kinds
o f p e o p le are in h e re n tly b e tte r
story really h ap pened? People have
been discounting the story o f Jonah for
centuries.calling it a legend, or a sym
bolic myth, or just a folktale. Ilis hard
for people to believe that a man could
be swallowed byany fish and live to tell
about it. Besides that, some havenoted
that there is absolutely no record that
the great city ofNineveh ever repented
o f its w ick ed n ess. It w ent on to
becom ethe violent enemy of Jerusalem
(in Isaiah and 2 Kings), and weknow
that Assyria and its capital Nineveh
worshipped idolsthroughout their later
Empire days.
But I do belie ve this story is histori
cal fact, though quiteamazing in its
content. S urely if anyone is a Christian,
andtherefore believes that God raised
Jesus Christ from the dead(Rom 10:9-
10), she or he ought to be able to accept
that God could have prepared a big
enough fish to swallow a man. L et’snot
be guilty o f limiting the power o f the
Almighty.
On the other hand, as we read
Jonah through, it reads like asimple
history. There are no symbolic connec
tions given, as inthe Revelation. There
are no allusions to earlier works of
Scripture, which would uncover a hid
den message in the story. There is a real
historical prophet in the starring role o f
thedrama, but not some major figure
(like Abraham, Moses, or Elijah)that
people might w ant to counterfeit. A lot
of people laterwrote fantastic “prophe
cies” in the names of these and other
OldTestam ent heroes. But none looked
like the history o f Jonah. All in all, it is
The B ible text fo r our Sunday School
classes this Sunday will beJonah 1 .1-9,
15-17. A gain w e’re using a little bit
ofinteractive m ake-believe, with ques
tions about our text and itsmessage
fr o m the best known o f the "M inor
P rophets."
So th is w eek w e’re studying the
sto ry o f J o n a h a n d thew hale, rig h t?
N ot quite. T here w asn’t any whale; the
B iblecalls it a “great fish” (verse 17),
and even the ancients knew that whales
(and dolphins) aren’t fish.Besides that,
the fish only plays a small role in the
dram ao f Jonah. The real action in the
first chapter centers onJonah’s desparate
attem pt to run away from his God.
So w ho w as J o n a h , any w ay? And
w hy is this fish sto ry in thebooks of
the p ro p h e ts? Jonah actually was a
prophet; one o f hisprophecies and its
fulfillm ent are recorded in 2 Kings
14:25. T hat scripture places Jonah be
fore the time of King Jeroboam Hof
Israel, and thus before Hosea and Amos.
Therefore, this bookmay be one o f the
earliest books of the writing prophets.If
you read the book o f Jonah through—
try it, it’s onlyfour little chapters—
y o u ’ll se e th a t Jo n a h h a d a
propheticm essage from Yahweh (the
Lord) his God, for the city o f Nineveh.
And it really isn’t unusual to find narra
tive stones in otherbooks of the proph
ets, such as Jerem iah, Ezekiel, Isaiah
andH osea. In this case, the story makes
up 3/4 o f the book, butthat’s okay.
Do you really believe the whole
thanothers— sm arter, or more honest,
or more worthy of God ’ sspiritual bless
ing.
W hat exactly did Jo n a h do? He
ran the other way! Literally! Instead of
going to N ineveh, north and east
oflsrael, he went west to Joppa, and got
on a ship headed as farwest as he could
go, to Tarshish. This was probably
present-day Spain. He was on a boat with
men from various ethnic g roups,
eachwith his own gods. We find out
about those gods because the shipgot
intoa violent storm, and they all started
praying to theirown gods for rescue
(verse 5). They hoped one god or
anotherwould hear them and save them,
but none of their gods paidattention.
How could they? Idols a r e n ’t
really able to save, a re they? No, but
these people, like many people today,
are will ing to tryanything.cven strange
new religions, to help them out of
life’serisis situations. The idols have
changed, but people surclyhaven’t!
Jonah knew better than to call on
his God, Yahweh. He knewthat Yahweh
was the One True G od, “the G od of
heaven, who madethe sea and the dry
land” (verse 9). Under pressure Jonah
explained his predicam ent to the sail
ors, and told them to throwhim over
board.
Jonah knew that the Lord had
caught up with him (so tospeak), and
expected to lose his life. To his credit,
he wantedto save the lives of the crew,
and thought the Lord might sparethem
if they threw him into the sea (verse
12). And he m ighthavc even helped
save them spiritually as well.
How could a disobedient se rv a n t
of the L ord have anypositive in flu
ence on the people aro u n d him ? That’s
just the w ayG od’s grace works! Jonah
didn’ t deserve to start a re vi val onboard
that ship, with all those people of vari
ous tribes andtongucs. But that’s what
happened. The sailors did learn tofear
the Lord “exceedingly” (verse 16), and
they made vows andsacrifices to him.
They saw the awesome power, and
judgm ent, andmcrcy o f Jonah’s God,
and they accepted Him.
The Lord always has a way of
bringing glory to His Name. W ew on’t
know till eternity whether any of these
men really gave uplheir false gods and
clung to Yahweh alone. But I suspect
som eof them will be in heaven with us
“A Gathering of Friends & Family
away.
Seriously, please! Okay. The fish
w asn’t a sign of G od’sjudgment— that
was in the raging storm. The Lord
prepared thegreat fish to rescue Jonah,
and bring him safely back to land. That
was the L ord’s mercy and forgiveness
at work. Read theprayer song of Jonah
in chapter 2, and y o u ’ll discover
howthankful Jonah was to see the big
fish coming.
No matter what mistakes we make,
or what sins w e’re guiltyof, the Lord
can still bring good out of it, and he can
stillmake something beautif ul from our
lives.
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Jfprth Tort iati d ‘flibie College presents
the annual
Calibration o f Ac i i w emen t
D u r in g the m o n th o f J u n e we w ill be ha vin g
s p e c ia l sevices f o r o u r fa m ilie s a n d frie n d s . I t
is o u r hope th a t y o u can be a p a r t o f this
c e le b ra tio n .
‘J riday ‘E vening, June 12,1992,
at 7p.m.
FEATURING
•
•
•
•
fuvted by
7
Life Changing Interviews.
Drama
Good Music
Refreshments
• / . *.
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£?<•
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'‘R jjoice in J o u r TfcritagC
6-7-92 “Real Christianity Is...”
6-14-92 “Money Equals Success?”
6-21-92 “Men & Women in the 1990s.”
6-28-92 “ Whats going on with our cities?”
('ahvsian., 1:12
Speaker: ‘J \fv. Aaron Jfatnfin
‘E xecutive Director,
Pastor, Piedmont ‘J riends Church
ff'J'BC founders (jroup
P astor M a rk Strong
Sundays at 11:00 am
Immanuel Free Methodist Church
311 N Ivy. (One block south fo Fremont, make a righ on Ivy.)
S'
Certificates w d i be awarded,
indent., u iil be recyn iced far cam fletiim a f sequences,
refreshments and an nppartunity ta catujratulate the student.,
North Portland Bible College
Temporarily located at Berean Baptist Church
P.O.Box 11437 - 2SS 2<J|9
7
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Jesus Loves You!
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Allen T e m p k CM E CL urch
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4236 NE Eighth Avenue
(corner of 8th £ Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
///ip 5. Nelson Pastor
ÿ a p i t s i (E lju r c lj
M t O livet
8101 N. Fiske Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97203
BAPTIST CHURCH
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Worship Services 8:(X) a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Church School 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E. Schuyler
10:30 a.m. and 7:(X) p.m.
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:(X) a.m. on KBMS
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
I P eter lv .1 1
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9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
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M ollerv Avenue
Christion Church
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"Come to me all you who ore
w eary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest"
Them e: W hatever you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
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Office: (503)288-0033
Fax#; (503)288-0015
/l/to tth e iv / h J W
Pavor. Rev Jam rt CE. Faulkner
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler St.
(503) 284-1954
PORTLAND OBSERVER
’ The Eyes and Ears of the Community’
G o d 's Presence prom ises
Power through Jesus Christ In
G o o d Times and Bad Times
Sunday Service
10:45
Sunday School
9:30
Bible Study
6:00
Evening Service
7 :0 0 P.M.
Stone Tower Church,
N.E. Sandy Blvd. & 30th
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Study P hone: 2 8 9 -1 9 1 1
Church Pho.»«: 2 8 9 -0 1 4 7
Has moved Sunday services to
■ ÏV
T edaris H arris earned sev eral
awards this past year at Martin Luther
King, Jr. Elementary School. He and
his family are fairly new to the com m u
nity. Being new has not hindered his
ability to excell in his achievements.
Congratulations Tedaris!
For Best Results
Advertise in the Observer
Psalm 34:3
t& e
Congratulations!
ellotvship Church o f (jod
5131 cffL . 23rd Ave.
‘Theme:
.
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Missionary Rosemay Daniel
Missionary Rosemary Daniel of
Portland has been the FGPA National
W omen Supervisor for the past three
years. During the week of June 21-28
the Full Gospel Pentecostal A ssocia
tion will host its 23rd Convention.
The W om en’s theme this year is
“Christian W omen Can Make A D iffer
ence”, Ephesians 5:1.
Missionary Daniel expects women
from each FGPA Church and around
the Country to speak on the theme as
well as to focus on the women pastors
Pastor Joan Ross and Pastor Lovely
of Los Angeles California, Pastor Annie
Bacher and Pastor Lisa Bowman G or
don o f Seattle W ashington, Pastor T
Gay of Denver Colorado.
Evangelist Mattie Wells has worked
closely with M issionary Daniel, they
have planned an inspiring W om ens’
day program in which you will not want
to miss.
Missionary Daniel will share the
FGPA womens Directory which has
been dedicated to M other Bennie Jack-
son from Seattle W ashington
The Public is invited to attend.
Chaplam James Coleman, D ost ‘P astor
ALSO INTERESTING TOPICS
<?.’ «5
F.G.P.A.
National Women
Supervisor Sets
Goals For
Womens’
Convention
one day.
So w h a t’s the point ab o u t the big
fish? I suppose he couldtell the other
fish back home about the man who got
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S u n d a y S chool
M o rn in g W o rs h ip
T u e sd a y B ib le
S tu d y a n d P rayer
In te r-ra cia l C o n g re g a tio n
D e n is e Ff Bell, P a s to r
1 2 6 N.C. R ib e rta t P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1 t ( 5 0 5 ) 2 8 8 - 5 1 7 3