Jonah  
The  Man  Who  Ran  and  the  God  Who  Ran  After  Him  
 
SMALL  GROUPS  STUDY  GUIDE  
 
 
 
CONTENTS  
Introduction  to  the  book  of  Jonah  
Week  One  |  Jonah  1.1-­‐3  
Week  Two  |  Jonah  1.4-­‐17  
Week  Three  |  Jonah  2.1-­‐10  
Week  Four  |  Jonah  3.1-­‐10  
Week  Five  |  Jonah  4.1-­‐11  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All  Scripture  quotations,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  are  taken  from  the  Holy  Bible,  Today’s  New  
International  VersionTM.  TNIV  ®.  Copyright  ©  2001,  2005  by  Biblica,  Inc.TM  Used  by  permission  of  
Zondervan.  All  rights  reserved  worldwide.  
 
Introduction  to  the  book  of  Jonah  taken  from  the  Starting  Point  Bible  ©  2008  by  IBS  and  North  Point  
Ministries.  
 
Compiled  by  New  Denver  Church  
Adapted  from  Mars  Hill  Bible  Church  ©  2010    |  Special  thanks  to  them.
Introduction  to  the  book  of  Jonah  
Included  for  background  
 
The  book  of  Jonah  relates  how  the  “word  of  the  LORD”  came  to  Jonah,  a  Hebrew  prophet  who  lived  
during  the  reign  of  King  Jeroboam  II  of  Israel  (793–753  BC).  The  LORD  told  Jonah  to  go  to  the  foreign  city  
of  Nineveh  and  call  its  people  to  repentance.  This  city  was  the  capital  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  which  
would  soon  threaten  the  very  existence  of  Jonah’s  nation.  For  this  reason,  he  was  much  more  inclined  to  
see  it  destroyed  because  of  its  wickedness  than  to  help  it  be  spared.  So  Jonah  boarded  a  ship  and  fled  in  
the  opposite  direction.  God  sent  a  storm  to  intercept  him,  and  this  put  the  ship’s  entire  crew  in  danger.  
Jonah  was  forced  to  admit  to  everyone  on  the  boat,  “It  is  my  fault  that  this  great  storm  has  come  upon  
you.”  He  told  the  crew  to  throw  him  into  the  sea,  and  when  they  reluctantly  did,  the  storm  stopped.  
When  the  sailors  saw  this  miracle,  they  worshipped  the  true  God.  The  book  says  that  God  “provided”  a  
great  fish  to  swallow  Jonah,  and  that  when  the  prophet  realized  that  inside  the  fish  he  was  at  least  safe  
from  drowning,  he  thanked  God.  It’s  unclear  though  if  Jonah’s  heart  had  really  changed.  After  three  
days,  the  fish  spit  him  up  onto  dry  land.  
 
At  this  point,  the  story  seems  to  start  again.  It  tells  how  the  “word  of  the  LORD”  came  to  Jonah  a  second  
time,  and  how  he  took  another  journey,  this  one  toward  Nineveh  instead  of  away  from  it.  The  book  
relates  that  when  he  announced  God  was  about  to  overthrow  the  city,  the  people  turned  to  God.  The  
danger  passed,  as  God  showed  compassion  on  the  repentant  Ninevites.  And  once  again,  Jonah  
addressed  himself  to  God,  this  time  not  in  thanksgiving,  but  in  complaint.  He  resented  having  played  a  
role  in  preserving  a  nation  that  could  destroy  his  own.  The  book  says  that  God  provided  a  vine  to  shelter  
Jonah  from  the  sun,  then  provided  a  worm  to  kill  the  vine,  and  then  provided  a  scorching  wind  to  
intensify  the  heat.  When  Jonah  complained  how  distressed  he  was  over  the  loss  of  the  vine,  God  asked  
whether  he  himself  was  not  justified  in  being  distressed  over  the  potential  destruction  of  a  great  city  
and  all  its  inhabitants.  The  book  ends  with  that  question.  
 
It  is  not  known  when  the  book  of  Jonah  was  written  or  who  wrote  it.  Tradition  ascribes  authorship  to  
Jonah,  but  because  the  book  portrays  him  negatively,  it’s  possible  that  someone  else  wrote  the  account  
at  a  later  time.  If  so,  the  narrator  may  be  attempting  to  speak  to  the  situation  of  a  later  generation  of  
Israelites  who  have  become  exclusive  in  their  understanding  of  God’s  grace.  In  the  book,  Jonah  seems  to  
represent  the  attitude  that  many  of  the  people  of  Israel  had  at  various  times  toward  other  nations.  
Instead  of  recognizing  their  mission  to  help  these  nations  come  to  know  the  true  God,  they  considered  
them  their  enemies  and  expected  God  to  destroy  them.  So  God’s  final  question  to  Jonah  is  also  being  
posed  to  the  nation  of  Israel  at  large  or  to  any  readers  of  this  book  who  may  have  this  attitude.  
 
We  do  not  need  to  know  when  the  book  was  actually  written  in  order  to  appreciate  its  message.  The  
people  of  God  in  all  places  and  times  have  a  special  mission  to  help  others  come  to  know  the  true  God  
and  his  grace.  They  should  not  see  those  outside  the  community  of  faith  as  their  enemies  and  expect  
God  to  trample  them  down  before  them.  Instead,  they  should  rejoice  in—and  certainly  not  resent—the  
fact  that  they  serve  “a  gracious  and  compassionate  God,  slow  to  anger  and  abounding  in  love,  a  God  
who  relents  from  sending  calamity.”  

  1  
Week  One  |  Jonah  1.1-­‐3  
 
  The  word  of  the  LORD  came  to  Jonah  son  of  Amittai:  “Go  to  the  great  city  Nineveh  and  preach  
against  it,  because  its  wickedness  has  come  up  before  me.”    
  But  Jonah  ran  away  from  the  LORD  and  headed  for  Tarshish.  He  went  down  to  Joppa,  where  he  
found  a  ship  bound  for  that  port.  After  paying  the  fare,  he  went  aboard  and  sailed  for  Tarshish  to  
flee  from  the  LORD.  
 
[Read  the  following  either  out  loud  or  silently  and  discuss  the  questions  as  a  group.]  
One  night,  as  I’m  settling  down  to  read  my  three-­‐year-­‐old  daughter  stories  before  bed,  she  asks  me  to  
read  from  a  book  of  children’s  Bible  stories  that  her  grandmother  has  recently  given  her.  I  open  the  
book  to  a  random  story:  David  and  Goliath.  Like  most  children’s  books,  there  are  enthusiastic  and  
colorful  pictures  of  all  the  characters—so  for  this  story,  a  giant  angry  man  stands  ready  to  tear  a  puny  
little  David  limb  by  limb.  I  figure  being  pummeled  by  a  giant  might  not  be  the  best  image  to  send  her  to  
sleep  with,  so  I  flip  to  the  next  story:  Daniel  in  the  lion’s  den.  Naturally,  there  are  several  ravenous  lions,  
mouths  agape,  saliva  dripping  from  their  fangs,  looking  with  hunger  to  the  corner  where  Daniel  is  soiling  
himself  out  of  fear.  That  doesn’t  seem  quite  right  either,  so  I  turn  the  pages  to  another  story:  Shadrach,  
Meshach,  and  Abednego  in  the  fiery  furnace.  Hmm.  
 
Why  is  it  that  certain  biblical  stories  endure  in  our  faith  primarily  as  children’s  stories?  
 
Frederick  Buechner  offers  us  an  interesting  perspective  in  his  book  The  Hungering  Dark:  “Not,  I  suspect,  
because  children  particularly  want  to  read  them,  but  more  because  their  elders  particularly  do  not  want  
to  read  them  or  at  least  do  not  want  to  read  them  for  what  they  actually  say  and  so  make  them  instead  
into  fairy  tales,  which  no  one  has  to  take  seriously.  But  for  all  our  stratagems,  the  legends,  the  myths  
continue  to  embody  truths  or  intuitions  which  in  the  long  run  it  is  perhaps  more  dangerous  to  evade  
than  to  confront.”  
 
Another  possibility  is  that  we  give  them  to  children  because  these  stories  ask  us  to  believe  the  
impossible.  We’re  much  too  hardened  by  reality  for  these  kinds  of  stories;  life  teaches  us  early  that  the  
little  guy  rarely  wins,  that  hungry  animals  bite,  and  that  if  you  play  with  fire  you  usually  get  burned.  But  
maybe  children  are  the  keepers  of  these  stories  because  they  are  the  only  ones  with  an  imagination  
capable  of  handling  the  truth—for  God,  even  the  impossible  is  possible.  
 
And  God  is  looking  for  people  who  will  partner  with  him  in  making  the  impossible  possible.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• Do  you  remember  the  first  time  you  heard  the  story  of  Jonah?  What  do  you  remember  about  
hearing  this  story  as  a  child?  
 
• Frederick  Buechner  suggests  that  there  is  something  rich  in  the  Bible  stories  that  we  give  to  
children  that  adults  would  rather  not  hear.  What  about  Jonah’s  story  is  difficult  for  people  to  
hear?  What  about  it  is  difficult  for  you?  
 
• Has  God  ever  asked  you  to  try  something  that  seems  impossible?  
 

  2  
As  for  Jonah,  nothing  could  be  more  impossible  than  being  sent  to  Nineveh.  Jonah  is  a  Hebrew  prophet,  
an  Israelite;  Nineveh  is  the  capital  of  Assyria—a  powerful  neighboring  nation  with  a  long  history  of  
brutality,  war  and  conquest.  In  fact,  in  722  BC  Assyria  crushed  the  Northern  Kingdom  of  Israel,  sending  
its  people  into  exile  and  wiping  it  off  the  map  forever.  The  Assyrians  are  the  enemy.  They  are  the  very  
ones  threatening  God’s  people.  Nineveh  is  a  dark,  wicked  place.  Yet  God  tells  Jonah,  “Arise,  go  to  
Nineveh  the  great  city  and  cry  out  against  it,  for  their  wickedness  has  come  up  before  me.”  [v.  2,  NASB]  
 
In  Hebrew,  however,  this  passage  can  be  translated  differently.  “Arise,  go  to  Nineveh  the  great  city  and  
cry  out  concerning  it,  for  its  wickedness  has  come  up  before  my  face.”  
 
God  isn’t  just  sending  Jonah  to  cry  out  against  Nineveh.    
God  is  sending  Jonah  to  cry  out  concerning  Nineveh.    
God  looks  to  Nineveh,  the  dark,  wicked  city,  and  is  concerned.  
 
For  God  to  send  Jonah  to  Nineveh  would  be  like  God  telling  a  present  day  Jewish  rabbi,  “Go  to  Tehran  
the  great  city,  and  cry  out  concerning  it.”  Or  to  a  South  Korean  pastor,  “Go  to  Pyongyang  the  great  city,  
and  cry  out  concerning  it.”  
 
This  seems  like  an  unthinkable  task  to  Jonah,  requiring  him  to  believe  that  God’s  love  extends  even  to  
the  enemy.  God  is  concerned  about  what  happens  in  the  darkest  corners  of  the  earth,  and  he  sends  his  
people  to  be  a  presence  in  those  dark  places.  

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• Jesus  tells  his  followers  to  love  their  enemies.  He  doesn’t  say,  “if  you  have  enemies,  then  you  
should  love  them.”  The  assumption  is  that  having  enemies  is  a  part  of  what  it  means  to  be  human  
in  a  fractured  world.  Who  are  the  people  you  regard  as  enemies,  whether  past  or  present?  Why?  
 
• Does  extending  God’s  love  to  an  enemy  seem  risky?  Why?  
 
• How  is  God  calling  you  to  be  a  presence  in  the  midst  of  your  enemies  and  to  cry  out  concerning  
them?  

Immediately,  without  hesitation,  Jonah  arises  as  he  has  been  commanded.  But  he  doesn’t  go  to  
Nineveh.  Instead  he  takes  off  for  the  Mediterranean  coast  to  catch  the  first  ship  headed  to  Tarshish.  
 
Nineveh  is  located  in  present  day  Iraq.  Tarshish  is  in  southern  Spain,  at  the  other  end  of  Jonah’s  world.  
 
The  journey  by  ship  would  take  almost  a  year  and  would  have  been  extremely  expensive  and  very  
dangerous.  Not  only  is  Tarshish  about  as  far  as  Jonah  can  get  from  Nineveh,  but  in  the  ancient  world,  
people  thought  of  Tarshish  like  we  think  of  Tahiti  or  Hawaii.  It  is  an  escape,  and  it  seems  there  is  no  
price  that  Jonah  isn’t  willing  to  pay  to  escape.  
 
Most  of  us  know  the  way  to  Tarshish.  
 
Like  Jonah,  we’ve  paid  the  fare  at  one  point  or  another.  The  escape  to  Tarshish  for  some  people  takes  
the  form  of  shopping,  where  the  temporary  fascination  with  something  new  takes  your  mind  off  of  
Nineveh.  For  others  there  is  the  workplace—going  to  work  or  bringing  work  home  keeps  them  from  

  3  
having  to  ever  really  be  home.  Others  retreat  inside;  they  escape  by  isolating  themselves  from  everyone  
around  them,  keeping  everyone  at  arm’s  length.  Some  fill  their  lives  with  busyness  to  ignore  their  inner  
dissatisfaction  with  life;  some  escape  in  pornography,  a  sense  of  intimacy  without  any  strings.  
 
Tarshish  is  all  around  us,  and  we  go  there  often.  
 
But  the  truth,  Eugene  Peterson  says,  is  simply  this:  “Tarshish  is  a  lie”.  The  release,  the  distraction,  the  
satisfaction  of  escape  is  only  a  temporary  and  fleeting  fix.  You  can  only  run  for  so  long  before  you  realize  
that  life  on  this  side  of  the  fence  is  quickly  becoming  just  like  life  was  back  on  that  side.  The  common  
denominator,  of  course,  is  you.  Your  own  heart.  As  the  saying  goes,  wherever  you  go,  there  you  are.  
 
The  world  doesn’t  need  people  who  are  good  at  jumping  fences.  It  needs  people  who  go  to  Nineveh.  
God  is  inviting  us  to  embrace  the  darkness,  the  broken  cracks  and  crevices  of  the  world.  It’s  there  that  
we  find  him.  Those  places  come  up  before  God’s  face,  and  he  is  concerned.  God  wants  to  meet  you  in  
Nineveh,  and  in  that  seemingly  impossible  place,  he  wants  to  change  everything.  
 
Why  do  we  run?  Jonah  isn’t  the  first  prophet  to  be  on  the  run.  Moses  did  some  running  of  his  own.  
Moses  had  murdered  an  Egyptian,  and  when  it  becomes  known,  he  flees  to  the  wilderness.  Moses  ran  
from  his  past.  Elijah  did  some  running  too.  He  flees  to  the  wilderness  after  defeating  the  prophets  of  
Baal,  afraid  because  Queen  Jezebel  wants  him  dead.  Elijah  ran  out  of  fear.  
 
But  Jonah’s  running  was  different.  The  Hebrew  phrase  used  to  describe  Jonah’s  running  is  mi  lifnei.  It  
suggests  a  rupture  of  contact,  a  turning  of  one’s  back.  It  means  flat  out  rebellion.  In  fact,  the  same  
phrase  is  used  to  describe  Cain’s  departure  from  the  Garden  of  Eden  in  Genesis  4.16,  “So  Cain  went  out  
of  the  LORD’s  presence  and  settled  in  the  land  of  Nod,  East  of  Eden.”  Notice  how  Jonah  1.2  repeats  the  
phrase  “away  from  the  presence  of  the  LORD”  twice.  Whenever  biblical  writers,  especially  Hebrew  
writers,  want  you  to  get  the  point,  they  repeat  words  or  phrases  multiple  times.  
 
Jonah  runs  because  he  thinks  he  knows  better  than  God  about  how  the  world  ought  to  work.  As  far  as  
Jonah  is  concerned,  “those  people”  in  Nineveh  don’t  deserve  a  warning.  The  only  thing  God  ought  to  be  
concerned  about  for  Nineveh  is  destroying  them  once  and  for  all.  In  a  way,  Jonah’s  running  is  about  
control.  Jonah  escapes  to  Tarshish  under  the  illusion  that  he  can  somehow  control  God,  or  at  the  very  
least  thwart  what  it  is  that  God  wants  to  do.  
 
So  as  Jonah  settles  in  for  the  long  journey  to  Tarshish,  he  appears  to  have  everything  under  control.  His  
plan  is  working,  but  there  are  clouds  in  the  distance.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• How  do  you  escape?  What  is  your  Tarshish?    
 
• Most  of  us  live  with  the  illusion  that  we’re  in  control.  We  give  lip  service  to  God  but  often  trust  in  
ourselves  more  than  we  trust  in  God.  In  what  ways  do  you  trust  in  your  own  perspective  and  
power  rather  than  God’s?  
 
• What  is  it  in  your  life  right  now  that  God  has  called  you  to  do—and  trust  him  with  it—that  you’re  
running  away  from?  

  4  
Week  Two  |  Jonah  1.4-­‐17  
 
  Then  the  LORD  sent  a  great  wind  on  the  sea,  and  such  a  violent  storm  arose  that  the  ship  
threatened  to  break  up.  All  the  sailors  were  afraid  and  each  cried  out  to  his  own  god.  And  they  
threw  the  cargo  into  the  sea  to  lighten  the  ship.    
    But  Jonah  had  gone  below  deck,  where  he  lay  down  and  fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  The  captain  went  
to  him  and  said,  “How  can  you  sleep?  Get  up  and  call  on  your  god!  Maybe  he  will  take  notice  of  us  
so  that  we  will  not  perish.”    
  Then  the  sailors  said  to  each  other,  “Come,  let  us  cast  lots  to  find  out  who  is  responsible  for  this  
calamity.”  They  cast  lots  and  the  lot  fell  on  Jonah.  So  they  asked  him,  “Tell  us,  who  is  responsible  for  
making  all  this  trouble  for  us?  What  kind  of  work  do  you  do?  Where  do  you  come  from?  What  is  
your  country?  From  what  people  are  you?”    
  He  answered,  “I  am  a  Hebrew  and  I  worship  the  LORD,  the  God  of  heaven,  who  made  the  sea  
and  the  dry  land.”    
  This  terrified  them  and  they  asked,  “What  have  you  done?”  (They  knew  he  was  running  away  
from  the  LORD,  because  he  had  already  told  them  so.)    
  The  sea  was  getting  rougher  and  rougher.  So  they  asked  him,  “What  should  we  do  to  you  to  
make  the  sea  calm  down  for  us?”    
  “Pick  me  up  and  throw  me  into  the  sea,”  he  replied,  “and  it  will  become  calm.  I  know  that  it  is  
my  fault  that  this  great  storm  has  come  upon  you.”    
  Instead,  the  men  did  their  best  to  row  back  to  land.  But  they  could  not,  for  the  sea  grew  even  
wilder  than  before.  Then  they  cried  out  to  the  LORD,  “Please,  LORD,  do  not  let  us  die  for  taking  this  
man’s  life.  Do  not  hold  us  accountable  for  killing  an  innocent  man,  for  you,  LORD,  have  done  as  you  
pleased.”  Then  they  took  Jonah  and  threw  him  overboard,  and  the  raging  sea  grew  calm.  At  this  the  
men  greatly  feared  the  LORD,  and  they  offered  a  sacrifice  to  the  LORD  and  made  vows  to  him.    
  Now  the  LORD  provided  a  huge  fish  to  swallow  Jonah,  and  Jonah  was  in  the  belly  of  the  fish  
three  days  and  three  nights.  
 
[Read  the  following  either  out  loud  or  silently  and  discuss  the  questions  as  a  group.]  
Prophets  led  peculiar  lives.  They  cried  out  against  injustice,  wrongdoing  and  evil.  They  regularly  
reminded  Israel  of  the  ways  in  which  it  was  failing  to  be  the  nation  that  God  had  called  it  to  be.  And  
prophets  weren’t  afraid  to  name  names.  Consequently,  they  were  usually  at  odds  with  the  people  of  
Israel,  especially  those  in  positions  of  power  and  authority.  The  Israelites  didn’t  appreciate  being  
disrupted  by  the  truth  that  God’s  dream  for  the  world  was  vastly  different  from  their  own.  In  fact,  they  
just  wanted  prophets  who  would  tell  them  what  they  wanted  to  hear:  Jerusalem  is  God’s  Holy  City,  it  
can  never  be  conquered,  don’t  listen  to  these  clowns  telling  you  that  unless  you  change  your  ways  God  
is  going  to  send  judgment—they  don’t  know  what  they’re  talking  about.  
 
The  Israelites  preferred  false  prophets  to  true  prophets.  
 
They  preferred  a  god  who  conformed  to  their  own  agenda,  and  they  surrounded  themselves  with  false  
prophets  who  supported  their  version  of  God.  
 
It’s  a  kind  of  idolatry  that  happens  still.  We  maintain  illusions  about  how  we  think  the  world  works,  how  
we  think  God  works,  and  we  don’t  like  being  confronted  with  the  idea  that  God  doesn’t  operate  
according  to  our  different  agendas.  Some  of  us  hold  fast  to  the  illusion  that  life  is  fair,  that  people  can  
simply  work  hard,  pull  themselves  up  by  the  bootstraps  and  do  anything  in  this  world  they  set  their  
minds  to.  

  5  
Those  of  us  who  hold  to  this  illusion  don’t  like  to  hear  Jesus’  parable  about  the  workers  in  the  vineyard:  
Some  workers  worked  a  full  day  while  others  worked  only  an  hour,  but  both  were  paid  the  same.  Nor  do  
we  like  Jesus’  story  of  the  prodigal  son  who  runs  off  and  blows  his  inheritance  and  gets  welcomed  home  
with  a  party.  
 
Jesus  is  clear:  life  isn’t  fair.  The  world  doesn’t  run  according  to  our  own  efforts.  It  runs  according  to  the  
mercy  of  God,  who,  in  his  kindness,  gives  to  every  person  as  he  chooses,  and  then  expects  those  he  
blesses  to  turn  around  and  be  a  blessing  to  others.  
 
We  hold  fast  to  the  illusion  that  we  are  in  control,  and  it’s  no  surprise  that  we  feel  the  most  fear  and  
anxiety  when  control  is  taken  away  from  us.  We  believe  that  if  we  play  by  the  rules  and  keep  our  noses  
clean  that  no  evil  will  ever  befall  us;  that  if  we  do  A,  B,  and  C  as  we  raise  our  children,  that  they  will  turn  
out  perfect  and  make  good  choices.  
 
Then  there  is  the  illusion  that  God  is  for  certain  people,  people  like  us,  and  against  certain  others,  
people  not  like  us.  We  think  of  “those  people”  in  the  same  way  Jonah  thinks  of  the  Ninevites.  Whatever  
illusions  we  have,  we  use  them  to  shape  God  in  whatever  way  is  most  convenient  for  us,  and  of  course,  
anyone  who  disagrees  with  us  isn’t  really  disagreeing  with  us.  They’re  disagreeing  with  God.  
 
One  of  the  most  interesting  aspects  of  Jesus’  ministry  was  that  he  was  constantly  disrupting  people’s  
notions  of  what  God  was  like.  Allowing  ourselves  to  be  disrupted  and  surprised  that  God  is  different  
than  we  think  is  a  significant  part  of  growing  in  the  faith.  Jonah  is  disrupted  by  the  call  to  Nineveh.  The  
Pharisees  and  religious  leaders  were  disrupted  by  Jesus’  affiliation  with  sinners,  tax  collectors,  and  
prostitutes.  We  need  to  pay  attention  to  those  moments  when  God  disrupts  us.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• We  may  be  hesitant  or  unwilling  to  see  our  own  illusions,  but  we  tend  to  be  experts  at  seeing  
them  in  other  people.  How  do  you  see  other  people  shaping  God  in  their  own  image?  
 
• In  what  ways  do  you  think  you  have  shaped  God  in  your  image?  
 
• When  have  you  been  disrupted  by  God?  When  have  you  experienced  God  to  be  different  from  
what  you  thought?  
 
While  Jonah  is  never  called  a  false  prophet,  he  has  some  illusions  of  his  own.  Namely,  the  illusion  that  he  
can  control  God  by  running  away  to  Tarshish,  and  the  illusion  that  God’s  love  only  extends  to  Israel.  
Jonah  simply  cannot  fathom  a  God  who  would  care  about  Israel’s  enemies.  
 
Picture  Jonah  staring  out  at  the  sea,  completely  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  the  wind  is  starting  to  pick  up  
and  the  waves  are  growing  by  the  minute.  He’s  probably  muttering  something  on  the  order  of,  “He  can’t  
be  serious.  I  won’t  let  him  do  it.  I’ll  hide  out  in  Tarshish  for  a  while.”  Thinking  he  has  everything  under  
control,  Jonah  goes  below  deck  to  sleep.  Then  it  happens.  The  Scriptures  say  that  the  LORD  sends  such  a  
violent  wind  that  the  ship  threatens  to  break  into  pieces  on  the  open  sea.  The  sailors  have  no  doubt  
seen  their  fair  share  of  storms  before,  but  this  is  different.  They  are  terrified  and  start  throwing  cargo  
overboard  to  lighten  the  ship.  Finally,  they  simply  resort  to  calling  out  to  their  gods,  none  of  which  
seemed  to  be  listening.  

  6  
The  captain  goes  below  deck  and  finds  Jonah  sleeping.  “Get  up  and  call  on  your  god!”  
 
And  at  this  point,  the  drama  of  the  story  moves  so  quickly  that  we  often  miss  something  vital.  Everyone  
is  praying,  and  the  captain  asks  Jonah,  a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  to  pray.  But  Jonah  remains  silent.  Most  of  
the  time  when  reading  the  Bible,  we  finish  one  sentence  and  simply  begin  reading  the  next.  We  don’t  
always  recognize  the  significance  of  silence  in  the  story.  
 
Imagine  that  a  woman  says  to  a  man,  “I  love  you.”  But  instead  of  saying  “I  love  you  too,”  the  man  smiles  
and  gives  the  woman  an  awkward  hug.  His  silence  is  clear;  he  does  not  love  her  and  can’t  bring  himself  
to  say  it.  The  same  thing  is  at  work  here  with  Jonah.  In  this  moment,  his  silence  is  his  way  of  saying  to  
God,  “Over  my  dead  body—I’ll  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  before  I  go  to  Nineveh.”  Somehow,  with  the  
ship  rocking  to  and  fro,  the  sailors  manage  to  cast  lots  and  find  out  that  the  storm  was  because  of  Jonah.  
But  Jonah  doesn’t  give  up  his  illusions  easily.  Instead,  he  tells  the  sailors  to  throw  him  overboard.  
 
Illusions  are  like  that.  We  don’t  give  them  up  easily.  In  fact,  we  don’t  normally  give  them  up  at  all  until  
they  stop  working  for  us  altogether.  And  like  Jonah,  sometimes  the  only  thing  that  can  save  us  is  to  be  
thrown  overboard,  to  have  our  illusions  stripped  away.  There  are  storms  that  blow  up  out  of  nowhere  
and  upset  our  agendas.  We  get  brought  to  our  knees  by  suffering.  
 
And  in  many  ways,  storms  bring  with  them  a  kind  of  salvation.  They  rescue  us  from  ourselves  because  
we  are  never  more  open  to  God’s  bigness  than  when  we  are  most  aware  of  our  own  smallness  and  
helplessness.  Storms  mess  with  our  agendas.  Suffering,  more  than  anything,  shapes  us  in  the  way  of  
Jesus.  It  softens  us  and  opens  us  to  a  kind  of  Christ-­‐likeness  that  we  wouldn’t  experience  otherwise.  
 
Jonah’s  hang  up  is  that  he  doesn’t  want  to  face  the  darkness  in  Nineveh,  but  one  wonders  if  he’s  running  
just  as  much  from  the  darkness  in  himself.  God  is  inviting  us  to  give  up  our  petty  illusions.  When  we  say  
that  someone  is  disillusioned,  what  we  often  mean  is  they’ve  had  a  rough  go  of  things  and  have  stopped  
hoping  and  only  see  the  negative.  In  part,  that’s  true.  Our  hopes  and  expectations  can  only  be  crushed  
so  many  times  before  we  give  them  up:  better  to  not  be  disappointed  than  to  get  let  down  again.  
 
Yet  it  seems  that  God  is  looking  for  disillusioned  people  because  they’re  the  only  ones  who  stand  a  
chance  at  seeing  the  world  as  he  sees  it.  God  is  longing  for  people  to  move  “from  illusion  to  prayer,  from  
false  certainty  to  true  uncertainty,  and  from  the  many  safe  gods  to  the  God  whose  love  has  no  limit.”  
[Nouwen,  Reaching  Out]  But  for  the  moment,  Jonah  is  so  deeply  entrenched  in  his  illusions  that  he  
simply  refuses  to  pray.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• Why  do  you  think  suffering  “opens  us  to  a  kind  of  Christ-­‐likeness  that  wouldn’t  otherwise  be  
possible”?  
 
• What  does  it  means  to  move  from  “false  certainty  to  true  uncertainty”?  
 
• What  storms  have  you  faced  in  your  life  that  reshaped  how  you  understood  God  and  the  world?  
 
• What  “storm”—external  or  internal—are  you  facing  now  that  is  revealing  your  own  illusions  
about  God?  

  7  
Week  Three  |  Jonah  2.1-­‐10  
 
From  inside  the  fish  Jonah  prayed  to  the  LORD  his  God.  He  said:  
 
“In  my  distress  I  called  to  the  LORD,  and  he  answered  me.  
From  deep  in  the  realm  of  the  dead  I  called  for  help,  and  you  listened  to  my  cry.  
You  hurled  me  into  the  deep,  into  the  very  heart  of  the  seas,  and  the  currents  swirled  about  me;  
  all  your  waves  and  breakers  swept  over  me.  
I  said,  ‘I  have  been  banished  from  your  sight;  yet  I  will  look  again  toward  your  holy  temple.’  
The  engulfing  waters  threatened  me,  the  deep  surrounded  me;  seaweed  was  wrapped  around    
  my  head.  
To  the  roots  of  the  mountains  I  sank  down;  the  earth  beneath  barred  me  in  forever.  
But  you,  LORD  my  God,  brought  my  life  up  from  the  pit.    
When  my  life  was  ebbing  away,  I  remembered  you,  LORD,  and  my  prayer  rose  to  you,  to  your    
  holy  temple.    
Those  who  cling  to  worthless  idols  forfeit  God’s  love  for  them.  
But  I,  with  shouts  of  grateful  praise,  will  sacrifice  to  you.  
What  I  have  vowed  I  will  make  good.  I  will  say,  ‘Salvation  comes  from  the  LORD.’”  
 
And  the  LORD  commanded  the  fish,  and  it  vomited  Jonah  onto  dry  land.  
 
[Read  the  following  either  out  loud  or  silently  and  discuss  the  questions  as  a  group.]  
There  is  a  story  in  the  gospel  of  Mark  that  is  fascinating  in  its  similarities  to  Jonah’s  adventure  on  the  
boat.  In  Mark  4.35-­‐40,  Jesus  and  his  disciples  are  on  a  boat  crossing  the  Sea  of  Galilee  when  a  raging  
storm  threatens  to  sink  the  boat.  
 
Like  Jonah,  Jesus  is  asleep  down  below.    
Like  Jonah,  Jesus  is  awakened  by  his  terrified  companions.    
Unlike  Jonah,  Jesus  doesn’t  remain  silent.  He  speaks  up,  and  the  sea  becomes  calm.  Jonah  knew  that  if  
he  prayed  the  sea  would  become  calm,  but  he  couldn’t  bring  himself  to  do  it.  
 
Prayer  plays  a  significant  role  in  the  story  of  Jonah.  On  three  separate  occasions  people  who  are  in  
trouble  cry  out  to  God—first  the  sailors  on  the  ship,  then  Jonah  in  the  belly  of  the  fish,  and  finally  in  
chapter  3  the  Ninevites  cry  out  to  God.  In  all  three  cases,  God  is  quick  to  respond.  
 
Prayer  is  an  odd  topic.  Most  everyone  would  agree  that  it’s  a  necessary  part  of  a  healthy  life  in  God.  Yet  
so  many  people  feel  inadequate  when  it  comes  to  prayer.  We’re  not  good  at  prayer,  we  say.  There’s  a  
long  list  of  reasons  that  keep  us  from  praying,  and  because  of  that,  the  topic  of  prayer  can  easily  leave  
people  feeling  guilty,  shamed,  and  inferior.  We’re  tempted  to  think  that  the  solution  to  the  dilemma  of  
prayer  in  our  lives  is  simply  to  try  harder—praying  more  and  with  more  passion.  Yet  despite  our  best  
efforts,  we  often  find  ourselves  back  at  square  one.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• What  kinds  of  things  keep  you  from  praying?  
 
• How  have  you  been  disappointed  by  prayer  in  your  life?  

  8  
What  we  need  is  an  entirely  new  way  of  thinking  about  prayer,  and  one  of  the  more  shocking  pieces  of  
the  story  of  Jonah  is  that  God  uses  a  man  who  blatantly  refuses  to  pray  to  teach  us  one  of  the  most  
poignant  lessons  on  prayer  in  all  the  Scriptures.  
 
Surprisingly,  hardly  any  of  the  words  in  Jonah’s  prayer  are  original.  Instead,  he  borrows  virtually  phrase  
or  idea  straight  out  of  the  Psalms  [3,  5,  18,  30,  42,  69,  120,  and  139].  For  as  long  as  the  Psalms  have  
been  around,  people  of  faith  have  used  them  to  learn  how  to  pray,  and  it’s  simple  enough  to  understand  
why:  there  are  moments  in  our  lives  when  we  simply  don’t  know  what  to  say  to  God—moments  when  
we’re  so  angry,  so  confused,  or  so  flat  out  uninspired  that  we  can’t  choke  out  even  the  simplest  prayer.  
In  such  moments,  the  Psalms  become  words  of  life.  
 
When  you  can’t  find  your  own  words,  borrow  someone  else’s.    
When  you  can’t  find  your  own  hope,  borrow  someone  else’s.  
 
Time  and  time  again,  people  find  themselves  staring  at  the  songs  that  are  sung  on  Sundays,  unable  to  
sing  the  words.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  there  are  moments  when  our  heart  does  not  choose  to  say,  
“Lord,  blessed  be  your  name.”  And  in  those  moments,  it’s  the  community  around  us,  singing  “My  heart  
will  choose  to  say,  Lord,  blessed  be  your  name”  that  gives  us  the  courage  and  the  faith  to  keep  on  
trusting.  Praying  borrowed  words  has  a  way  of  guiding  us  into  the  presence  of  God  in  those  moments  
when  we  can’t  seem  to  find  the  way  ourselves.  
 
But  there  is  more.  
 
One  of  the  great  mysteries  of  the  Christian  story  is  that  words  have  a  way  of  becoming  flesh.  In  Hebrew,  
davar  means  “word”,  but  it  also  means  “event”.  Words  don’t  simply  convey  ideas.  They  also  make  things  
happen,  just  as  God’s  speaking  in  Genesis  1  made  creation  happen.  They  have  the  capacity  to  get  loose  
in  a  person  and  rattle  around  inside  them  for  weeks  on  end,  sometimes  for  a  lifetime.  These  are  the  
kinds  of  words  that  don’t  let  you  alone—they  linger,  they  nag  at  you  until  you  change.  They  literally  
become  flesh.  So  Jonah,  with  his  back  against  an  intestinal  wall,  recalls  the  Psalms  and  weaves  these  
borrowed  words  into  a  prayer.  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• What  are  some  words  that  you  have  found  yourself  coming  back  to  again  and  again  in  your  life?  
How  have  those  words  helped  shape  you?  
 
• When  in  your  life  have  you  not  known  what  to  say  to  God?  

 
There  are  basically  two  kinds  of  Psalms:  Psalms  of  lament  and  Psalms  of  thanksgiving.  Everything  about  
Jonah’s  situation  points  to  lament.  He’s  angry.  He’s  on  the  verge  of  death.  But  Jonah,  remembering  the  
Psalms,  prays  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving.  It’s  an  odd  choice.  
 
A  similar  thing  occurs  in  the  book  of  Job.  In  one  twenty-­‐four  hour  period  Job  loses  everything:  his  vast  
wealth  gets  stolen  by  thieves,  all  of  his  servants  are  killed—except  for  the  few  who  live  to  tell  him  what  
happened—and  every  last  one  of  his  children  is  killed  in  a  freak  windstorm.  It  is  immediate  and  
overwhelming  loss,  and  Job’s  response  is  not  what  you  would  expect.  

  9  
“At  this,  Job  got  up  and  tore  his  robe  and  shaved  his  head.  Then  he  fell  to  the  ground  in  worship  and  
said:  ‘Naked  I  came  from  my  mother’s  womb,  and  naked  I  will  depart.  The  LORD  gave  and  the  LORD  has  
taken  away;  may  the  name  of  the  LORD  be  praised  .’”  [Job  1.20-­‐21]  
 
Both  Jonah’s  prayer  and  Job’s  worship  are  so  counter-­‐intuitive,  unexpected.  Who  gets  swallowed  by  a  
fish  and  prays  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving?  Who  loses  everything  and  falls  to  the  ground  in  worship?  
 
In  the  midst  of  overwhelming  sadness  and  hopelessness,  Jonah  reaches  into  the  rich  history  of  prayer  
and  prays  words  of  hope  and  trust.  This  prayer  might  be  the  greatest  truth  that  gets  revealed  by  Jonah’s  
life:  
 
Prayer  helps  us  live  into  truths  that  we  sometimes  don’t  feel  or  can’t  see.  The  truth  that,  despite  the  
overwhelming  evidence  to  the  contrary:  God  is  in  control.  God  can  be  trusted.  God  hears  the  prayers  
that  rise  up  to  him  out  of  the  depths;  they  come  up  before  his  face,  and  he  is  concerned.  
 
In  our  moments  of  sadness,  confusion,  and  anxiety,  praying  Psalms  of  thanksgiving  helps  us  move  
beyond  our  helplessness  into  the  realm  of  God’s  helpfulness.  They  move  us  out  of  our  own  smallness  
and  into  God’s  bigness.  Whatever  our  circumstance,  the  Psalms  show  us  the  way  when  we  can’t  find  it  
on  our  own.  
 
There  is  only  one  problem.  Look  at  Jonah’s  prayer  again.  Twice  he  speaks  about  God’s  holy  temple;  then  
he  commits  to  offering  sacrifices  to  God,  in  Jerusalem,  in  Israel.  He  just  wants  to  go  home.  Jonah  never  
says  anything  about  Nineveh  or  his  running.  He  doesn’t  apologize.  He  doesn’t  repent.  He  doesn’t  say  
he’ll  go  to  Nineveh.  And  judging  from  what  we’ve  seen  of  him  so  far,  his  omission  is  suspicious.  
 
So  which  is  it?  
 
Are  his  words  sincere?  Is  he  a  changed  man?    
Or  is  he  simply  saying  all  the  right  things?    
Or,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  is  it  a  little  of  both  at  the  same  time?  
 
Maybe  one  of  the  most  precious  gifts  of  the  story  of  Jonah  is  that  God  so  often  works  in  the  world  
through  people  who  are  a  curious  mixture  of  dignity  and  depravity,  sincerity  and  selfishness.  Either  way,  
his  prayer  comes  up  before  God,  and  God  commands  the  fish,  and  it  vomits  Jonah  onto  the  dry  land.  

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• Read  Psalm  138  [a  Psalm  of  thanksgiving]  out  loud  together.  As  you  listen  to  the  words,  pay  
attention  to  the  phrases  that  catch  your  attention.  What  in  the  Psalm  moves  you?  What  in  the  
Psalm  did  you  need  to  hear  right  now  in  your  life?  
 
• Now  read  Psalm  13  [a  Psalm  of  lament]  out  loud,  and  pay  attention  to  the  phrases  that  catch  your  
attention.  What  in  the  Psalm  moves  you?  What  in  the  Psalm  did  you  need  to  hear  in  your  life  
right  now?  
 
• In  what  ways  has  prayer  helped  you  find  hope  in  the  midst  of  hopelessness?  

  10  
Week  Four  |  Jonah  3.1-­‐10  
 
  Then  the  word  of  the  LORD  came  to  Jonah  a  second  time:  “Go  to  the  great  city  of  Nineveh  and  
proclaim  to  it  the  message  I  give  you.”    
  Jonah  obeyed  the  word  of  the  LORD  and  went  to  Nineveh.  Now  Nineveh  was  a  very  large  city;  it  
took  three  days  to  go  through  it.  Jonah  began  by  going  a  day’s  journey  into  the  city,  proclaiming,  
“Forty  more  days  and  Nineveh  will  be  overthrown.”  The  Ninevites  believed  God.  They  declared  a  
fast,  and  all  of  them,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least,  put  on  sackcloth.    
  When  the  news  reached  the  king  of  Nineveh,  he  rose  from  his  throne,  took  off  his  royal  robes,  
covered  himself  with  sackcloth  and  sat  down  in  the  dust.  Then  he  issued  a  proclamation  in  Nineveh:  
  “By  the  decree  of  the  king  and  his  nobles:  
   
Do  not  let  people  or  animals,  herds  or  flocks,  taste  anything;  do  not  let  them  eat  or  drink.  But  let  
people  and  animals  be  covered  with  sackcloth.  Let  everyone  call  urgently  on  God.  Let  them  give  
up  their  evil  ways  and  their  violence.  Who  knows?  God  may  yet  relent  and  with  compassion  turn  
from  his  fierce  anger  so  that  we  will  not  perish.”    
 
  When  God  saw  what  they  did  and  how  they  turned  from  their  evil  ways,  he  relented  and  did  not  
bring  on  them  the  destruction  he  had  threatened.    
 
[Read  the  following  either  out  loud  or  silently  and  discuss  the  questions  as  a  group.]  
The  Bible  doesn’t  say  anything  about  Jonah’s  long  walk  from  the  Mediterranean  coast  to  Nineveh,  only  
that  the  fish  vomits  him  onto  the  dry  land,  and  that  he  goes  to  Nineveh.  Three  days  in  the  belly  of  the  
fish  and  a  long  walk  is  a  lot  of  time  to  think.  
 
What  does  Jonah  think  about  as  he  makes  the  long  trek?  Is  he  so  grateful  to  be  alive  that  every  step  felt  
like  a  gift?  Or  does  he  stew  over  his  conviction  that  Nineveh  doesn’t  deserve  so  much  as  a  second  
thought  from  God,  let  alone  a  second  chance?    
 
The  Bible  doesn’t  say.  It  simply  says  that  this  time,  he  went.  
 
One  thing  is  clear:  Jonah  despises  Nineveh,  and  maybe  for  good  reason.  It  turns  out  that  Nineveh  isn’t  
the  only  city  in  the  Scriptures  whose  wickedness  was  so  great  that  it  caught  God’s  attention.  The  sin  of  
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  was  so  grievous  that  God  decided  to  “go  and  see  if  what  they  have  done  is  as  bad  
as  the  outcry  that  has  reached  me.”  We  understand  from  the  Bible  that  things  in  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  
were  really  bad,  and  because  Nineveh’s  wickedness  comes  up  before  God  in  the  same  way,  things  in  
Nineveh  must  have  been  really  bad  too.  
 
And  things  in  Nineveh  were  bad.  So  bad  that  the  prophet  Nahum  spoke  of  it:  “The  city  of  blood,  full  of  
lies,  full  of  plunder,  never  without  victims!  The  crack  of  whips,  the  clatter  of  wheels,  galloping  horses  
and  jolting  chariots!  Charging  cavalry,  flashing  swords  and  glittering  spears!  Many  casualties,  piles  of  
dead,  bodies  without  number,  people  stumbling  over  the  corpses—all  because  of  the  wanton  lust  of  a  
prostitute,  alluring,  the  mistress  of  sorceries,  who  enslaved  nations  by  her  prostitution  and  peoples  by  
her  witchcraft.”  [Nahum  3.1-­‐4]  
 
Who  can  blame  Jonah  for  not  wanting  to  go?  
 
It’s  easy  for  us  to  focus  so  much  on  the  fact  that  Jonah  is  finally  on  the  same  page  as  God  that  we  forget  

  11  
just  how  bad  things  are  in  Nineveh.  You  could  mistake  Nahum’s  description  of  Nineveh  for  the  atrocities  
in  present-­‐day  Congo:  forced  labor,  systematic  rape,  and  human  trafficking.  And  it’s  not  about  personal  
sin—if  you  read  to  the  end  of  Jonah  chapter  4,  God  mentions  the  animals  of  Nineveh.  It’s  a  strange  
detail  and  a  sad  one  because  sin  always  extends  beyond  us  to  the  people  and  things  around  us,  even  
creation.  It  always  has  implications  for  others.  
 
Questions  to  Discuss  
 
• Does  everyone  deserve  a  second  chance?  
 
• How  would  you  feel  if  you  were  Jonah,  making  your  way  into  a  city  of  depravity?  
 
• In  what  ways  have  you  been  impacted  by  someone  else’s  sin?  
 
• When  have  you  seen  your  own  sin  have  consequences  for  other  people?  

 
Whether  Jonah  learned  to  share  God’s  concern  for  Nineveh  or  just  went  out  of  obligation,  the  miracle  is  
that  he  goes  at  all.  He  walks  into  the  heart  of  darkness  and  begins  making  his  way  up  and  down  the  city  
streets  proclaiming,  “Forty  more  days  and  Nineveh  will  be  overturned.”  
 
In  Hebrew,  the  number  40  is  symbolic  of  an  extended  period  of  time.  The  great  flood  of  Genesis  lasted  
40  days,  the  Israelites  spent  40  years  in  the  wilderness,  Jesus’  temptation  in  the  wilderness  lasted  40  
days.  God  is  giving  the  Ninevites  an  extended  period  of  time  before  overturning  the  city.  
 
It’s  a  warning.  
 
Word  of  Jonah’s  warning  spreads  through  the  city.  The  news  even  makes  its  way  to  the  king,  who,  upon  
hearing  it,  does  something  totally  unexpected  and  unbecoming  of  a  king:  he  gets  off  his  throne,  takes  off  
his  royal  robes,  puts  on  sackcloth,  covers  himself  in  ashes  and  sits  low  in  the  dust.  He  sends  a  royal  
decree  throughout  the  city  declaring  that  everyone  fast  and  wear  sackcloth—even  the  animals.  
 
Nineveh’s  response  to  God  is  an  example  of  true  repentance.  Verse  10  says  that  “When  God  saw  what  
they  did  and  how  they  turned  from  their  evil  ways,  he  relented  and  did  not  bring  on  them  the  
destruction  he  had  threatened.”  
 
God’s  compassion  in  the  story  of  Jonah  is  not  random.  It’s  aroused  by  the  repentance  of  the  sailors  and  
the  Ninevites.  It  triggers  something  in  God  that  he  can’t  resist.  God  acts  when  people  repent.  
 
Repentance  was  at  the  heart  of  everything  Jesus  did.  Everywhere  he  went,  he  preached  “Repent,  for  the  
kingdom  of  heaven  has  come  near”  [Matthew  4.17].  And  it  was  repentance  that  Jesus  was  talking  about  
when  he  made  reference  to  Jonah  in  Matthew  12.  In  that  passage,  some  Pharisees  and  teachers  of  the  
law  asked  Jesus  to  give  them  a  sign.  Jesus  responded  by  saying,  “A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation  
asks  for  a  sign!  But  none  will  be  given  it  except  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonah.  For  as  Jonah  was  three  
days  and  three  nights  in  the  belly  of  a  huge  fish,  so  the  Son  of  Man  will  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  
the  heart  of  the  earth.  The  people  of  Nineveh  will  stand  up  at  the  judgment  with  this  generation  and  
condemn  it;  for  they  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and  now  one  greater  than  Jonah  is  here.”  
[Matthew  12.39-­‐41]  

  12  
The  pagan  sailors  and  the  bloodthirsty  Ninevites  repented,  but  as  we’ll  see,  Jonah,  a  Hebrew  prophet,  a  
leader,  never  seems  to  come  around.  He  is  hard-­‐hearted  and  stubborn  to  the  very  end.  And  when  Jesus,  
the  Son  of  God,  comes  to  earth,  it’s  the  leaders  of  the  faith,  the  Pharisees  and  the  teachers  of  the  law  
who  refuse  to  accept  his  message,  “Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  has  come  near.”  

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• Why  do  you  think  it  was  so  hard  for  Jonah  and  the  Pharisees  and  teachers  of  the  law  to  accept  
God’s  invitation  to  repent?  
 
• Why  do  you  think  it  can  be  so  hard  to  repent?  

 
The  Ninevites  “turned  from  their  evil  ways.”  The  Hebrew  word  for  “turn”  is  the  word  shuv.  It  means  “to  
turn”,  but  it  also  means  “to  return”.  Repentance—true,  life  altering  repentance—is  about  more  than  
just  dying  to  sin.  It’s  also  about  returning  to  the  kind  of  life  we  were  created  for.  Repentance  is  about  
stopping  and  going,  dying  and  living,  giving  up  and  taking  on.  It  is  surrender  and  liberation  all  at  once.    
 
Both  the  story  of  Jonah  and  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  are  centered  on  the  powerful  act  of  
repentance.  They  are  an  invitation  to  turn  from  sin  and  return  to  the  life  that  God  created  us  for.  
 
What  are  the  habits,  patterns,  behaviors,  and  ways  of  thinking,  speaking,  and  living  that  we  need  to  
leave  behind?  Because  God  created  us  for  so  much  more.  But  we  don’t  just  leave  things  behind,  we  
replace  them  with  new  habits,  patterns,  behaviors,  and  ways  of  thinking,  speaking,  and  living.  
 
We  replace  death  with  life.  
We  exchange  hearts  of  stone  for  hearts  of  flesh.  
We  turn  and  we  return.  
 
One  of  the  most  powerful  images  of  repentance  in  this  chapter  of  Jonah  is  the  king  of  Nineveh  getting  
off  his  throne.  It’s  an  acknowledgment  that  he’s  not  in  control,  that  there  is  Someone  else  who  belongs  
in  that  seat.  Repentance  is  a  way  of  getting  off  the  throne  of  our  own  lives,  of  stepping  down  and  
confessing  that  we  are  not  capable  of  living  the  redeemed  kind  of  life  God  created  us  for  when  we  try  to  
do  it  under  our  own  power.  
 
God  is  just  waiting  for  people  to  turn  from  their  sin  and  return  to  him.  The  question  is,  “How  will  we  
respond?”  Will  we  respond  like  the  sailors  and  the  Ninevites  or  like  Jonah?  Will  we  respond  like  the  
sinners  and  tax  collectors  of  Jesus’  day  or  like  the  Pharisees  and  teachers  of  the  law?  

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• What  new  habits,  patterns,  behaviors,  and  ways  of  thinking,  speaking,  and  living  do  you  want  in  
your  life?  
 
• What  habits,  patterns,  behaviors,  and  ways  of  thinking,  speaking,  and  living  do  you  want  to  leave  
behind?  

  13  
Week  Five  |  Jonah  4.1-­‐11  
 
  But  to  Jonah  this  seemed  very  wrong,  and  he  became  angry.  He  prayed  to  the  LORD,  “Isn’t  this  
what  I  said,  LORD,  when  I  was  still  at  home?  That  is  what  I  tried  to  forestall  by  fleeing  to  Tarshish.  I  
knew  that  you  are  a  gracious  and  compassionate  God,  slow  to  anger  and  abounding  in  love,  a  God  
who  relents  from  sending  calamity.  Now,  LORD,  take  away  my  life,  for  it  is  better  for  me  to  die  than  
to  live.”    
  But  the  LORD  replied,  “Is  it  right  for  you  to  be  angry?”    
  Jonah  went  out  and  sat  down  at  a  place  east  of  the  city.  There  he  made  himself  a  shelter,  sat  in  
its  shade  and  waited  to  see  what  would  happen  to  the  city.  Then  the  LORD  God  provided  a  gourd  
vine  and  made  it  grow  up  over  Jonah  to  give  shade  for  his  head  to  ease  his  discomfort,  and  Jonah  
was  very  happy  about  the  vine.  But  at  dawn  the  next  day  God  provided  a  worm,  which  chewed  the  
vine  so  that  it  withered.  When  the  sun  rose,  God  provided  a  scorching  east  wind,  and  the  sun  blazed  
on  Jonah’s  head  so  that  he  grew  faint.  He  wanted  to  die,  and  said,  “It  would  be  better  for  me  to  die  
than  to  live.”    
  But  God  said  to  Jonah,  “Is  it  right  for  you  to  be  angry  about  the  vine?”    
    “It  is,”  he  said.  “And  I’m  so  angry  I  wish  I  were  dead.”    
  But  the  LORD  said,  “You  have  been  concerned  about  this  vine,  though  you  did  not  tend  it  or  
make  it  grow.  It  sprang  up  overnight  and  died  overnight.  And  should  I  not  have  concern  for  the  great  
city  Nineveh,  in  which  there  are  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  people  who  cannot  tell  
their  right  hand  from  their  left—and  also  many  animals?”  
 
[Read  the  following  either  out  loud  or  silently  and  discuss  the  questions  as  a  group.]  
Jonah  is  past  frustrated.  He  is  beyond  upset.  He  is  angry.  So  angry  that  for  the  second  time  in  this  story  
he  would  rather  just  die.  
 
Jonah  says  one  of  the  reasons  he  is  angry  is  because  God  is  “a  God  who  relents  from  sending  calamity”.  
The  word  calamity  means  great  loss  or  lasting  distress,  or  maybe  we  could  just  say  lasting  tragedy.  When  
we  think  of  lasting  tragedy,  it’s  easy  to  remember  the  people  of  Haiti,  hit  with  an  earthquake  that  left  
thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children  dead  and  thousands  more  without  food,  water,  or  a  place  to  
sleep.  An  entire  city  in  utter  distress  for  many  years  to  come  and  with  very  little  hope  to  cling  to.  
 
This  is  calamity.  And  this  is  what  Jonah  hopes  for  the  people  of  Nineveh?  I  think  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  
the  roots  of  Jonah’s  anger  run  very  deep.  This  kind  of  anger  isn’t  built  overnight.  
 
In  fact  the  Hebrew  word  for  anger  is  the  word  chara.  Not  only  does  it  mean  anger  but  it  also  means,  “to  
burn”.  Jonah’s  anger  is  a  seething,  bubbling  kind  of  rage  just  below  the  surface.  It’s  the  kind  of  anger  
that  has  been  around  for  a  long  time  and  could  explode  through  the  surface  at  any  moment.  And  it  
finally  does.    
 
This  is  a  man—who  claims  to  speak  for  God—and  he  is  utterly  enraged  that  God  has  shown  grace  and  
mercy  to  a  city  of  people.  It  doesn’t  match  up.  You  would  think  that  a  person  who  speaks  for  God  would  
have  an  idea  of  how  God  works.  But  that  is  the  problem.  Jonah  responds  to  God  saying,  “I  knew  that  you  
are  a  gracious  and  compassionate  God,  slow  to  anger  and  abounding  in  love,  a  God  who  relents  from  
sending  calamity.”  Jonah  knows  how  God  works,  and  he  doesn’t  like  it.  
 
Like  many  of  us,  Jonah  is  not  getting  his  way.  He  doesn’t  want  “Gracious,  Compassionate  God”  he  wants  
“Angry,  Bring  the  Calamity  God”.  He  wants  his  idea  of  justice  to  be  served.  And  it’s  not  happening.  

  14  
Jonah  and  Nineveh  are  more  alike  than  Jonah  wants  to  admit.  Jonah,  in  the  belly  of  the  fish,  cries  out  for  
God’s  grace  and  mercy,  and  God  delivers  him.  Nineveh  cries  the  same  cry  to  the  same  God  and  God  
responds  in  the  same  way.  Grace.  Jonah  and  Nineveh  are  in  need  of  the  same  thing  from  the  same  God.    
 
But  Jonah  can’t  accept  that  he  is  his  enemy,  and  his  enemy  is  him.  So  he  finds  himself  in  a  place  he  is  
familiar  with,  feeling  that  same  itch  to  get  away—wanting  to  escape  it  all.  Jonah  wants  to  die,  which  is  
really  just  another  form  of  escape.  In  the  same  way  that  Jonah  ran  to  Tarshish,  he  is  running  still.  
 
When  we  begin  to  take  a  long  hard  look  inside  ourselves  for  the  root  of  our  anger  we  start  to  see  things  
we  may  or  may  not  like;  things  like  fear  and  self-­‐hatred.  Jonah  is  not  running  from  God;  he  is  running  
from  himself.  And  no  matter  how  far  he  runs,  he  will  always  have  to  keep  running.  
 
Maybe  like  Jonah,  you’re  angry.  Maybe  you’re  on  the  run.  And  the  more  you  run  the  more  you  distance  
yourself  from  the  grace  that  is  waiting.  It  is  time  to  stop  running.  
 
Questions  to  Discuss  
 
• What  things  have  you  seen  in  others  that  made  you  angry  only  to  later  find  those  same  things  in  
yourself?  
 
• If  you  look  just  behind  or  underneath  your  anger,  what’s  the  real  source  of  it?  
 
• Where  or  to  whom  in  your  life  have  you  been  showing  anger  where  instead  you  should  be  
extending  grace?  

 
Jonah  is  angry  at  God  and  angry  about  Nineveh.  These  folks  have  murdered  and  killed.  They’ve  cracked  
whips  on  the  backs  of  slave  laborers.  And  Jonah  still  expects  them  to  earn  their  share  of  calamity.  So  he  
leaves  the  city  and  finds  a  place  to  sit  and  watch  what  will  happen  next.  He  fully  believes  that  Nineveh  
will  backslide,  even  hopes  they  will.  Jonah  sits  down  because  he  wants  a  front  row  seat  to  watch  God  
wipe  these  people  off  the  map.  He  is  sitting  and  waiting,  watching  for  his  sweet  justice  to  finally  come.  
 
But  while  he  waits  it  becomes  extremely  hot  and  God  causes  a  plant  to  grow  behind  him  to  give  him  the  
shade  he  needs.  
 
Now  if  you  are  like  me  you  are  reading  that  part  of  the  story  saying,  Wait,  you  gave  him  shade?  Jonah  
finds  a  seat  and  is  waiting  to  throw  God’s  actions  back  in  his  face  and  say  Ha!  I  told  you  so,  I  told  you  
that  you  were  wrong—and  God  makes  him  more  comfortable?  Jonah  cannot  wait  to  prove  God  wrong  
and  God’s  response  is,  need  an  umbrella?  Sure  you’re  comfy?  Can  I  get  you  anything?    
 
Jonah  is  still  waiting  to  enjoy  his  justice  and  God  responds  with  grace  and  mercy.  The  irony  here  is  that  
God  is  showing  Jonah  grace  while  Jonah  sits  and  hopes  for  God’s  grace  to  fall  apart  for  Nineveh.  As  if  it  is  
somehow  good  enough  for  him,  but  not  for  them.  
 
And  I  think  that  word  is  the  key  here:  “them”.  Those  people,  that  group,  them.  The  word  “them”  often  
carries  with  it  an  idea  of  separation.  There  is  “us”  and  then  there  is  “them”.  And  often  when  “them”  is  
used  to  describe  our  enemies,  they  get  stripped  of  their  humanity.  They  begin  to  represent  something  
that  is  less  than  human.  Something  we  can  hate  and  not  feel  bad  about  because  it  is  justified.  

  15  
God  says  to  Jonah  “Nineveh  has  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  people  who  cannot  tell  their  
right  hand  from  their  left.”  What  an  odd  way  to  describe  people.  But  this  was  actually  a  common  
Hebrew  way  of  referring  to  children  or  helpless  people  who  don’t  know  any  better.  God  is  saying  to  
Jonah,  “There  are  120,000  helpless  people  in  that  city,  should  I  not  care  for  them?”  
 
God  reminds  Jonah  that  his  enemies  are  human.  But  Jonah  is  hoping  for  revenge.  

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• When  is  a  time  that  you  have  viewed  someone  as  less  than  human?    
 
• When  was  a  time  that  you  wanted  revenge?  Did  you  get  it?  If  so,  how  did  it  make  you  feel?  

 
The  story  of  Jonah  is  ultimately  about  God  and  what  he  is  like.  What  his  desires  for  the  world  are.  It’s  a  
story  that  puts  Jonah’s  desire  alongside  God’s  desire  and  builds  to  a  question:  Will  God’s  desires  become  
Jonah’s  desires?  Will  God’s  hope  for  the  world  become  Jonah’s  heart  for  the  world?  
 
God  is  a  “gracious  and  compassionate  God,  slow  to  anger  and  abounding  in  love,  a  God  who  relents  
from  sending  calamity.”  This  phrase  is  repeated  all  over  the  Old  Testament.  Jonah’s  hope  for  Nineveh’s  
misfortune  is  contrasted  with  this  God.  The  one  who  speaks  on  behalf  of  God  is  not  reflecting  the  same  
desires  as  God.  Jonah  has  a  different  hope.  What  Jonah  wants  is  not  what  God  wants.  
 
Do  we  want  the  same  things  that  God  wants?  
 
Great  stories  tend  to  leave  us  hanging.  They  don’t  resolve.  We’re  left  sitting  in  the  tension  wondering  
what  happened.  Jesus’  story  of  the  prodigal  son  ends  this  way.  In  the  final  scene,  the  father  is  pleading  
with  his  older  son  to  come  join  the  party  that  is  being  thrown  for  his  younger  brother.  But  the  story  ends  
before  the  older  son  makes  a  choice,  and  we’re  left  wondering,  Does  he  go  into  the  party?  Or  does  he  sit  
outside  and  sulk?    
 
The  book  of  Jonah  ends  like  this  too,  which  is  a  clever  way  of  jolting  us  out  of  the  story  and  into  our  own  
lives.  The  question  is  not  so  much,  Will  Jonah  come  around?  as  it  is,  Will  I  come  around?  The  question  is  
not,  Will  the  older  brother  ever  join  the  party?  The  question  is,  Will  I  join  the  party?  The  simple  storyline  
of  Jonah  is  this:  God  has  a  dream  for  the  world.  Jonah  has  a  dream  for  the  world.  Those  dreams  are  very  
different.  God  is  compassionate.  Jonah  is  angry.  God  invites  Jonah  to  share  his  dream  for  the  world,  to  
exchange  his  anger  for  compassion.  Will  he?  God  extends  that  same  invitation  to  us—to  share  his  
dreams  for  the  world,  to  exchange  our  anger  for  compassion,  grace,  and  mercy.  Will  we?  
 

Questions  to  Discuss  

 
• What  are  a  couple  of  things  you  can  do  personally  to  align  your  dream  for  the  world  closer  to  
God’s  dream  for  the  world?  
 
• What  are  a  couple  of  things  your  group  can  do  together  to  align  your  dreams  for  the  world  closer  
to  God’s  dream  for  the  world?  
 

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