Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, appointing him as God's chosen instrument with a special message and great responsibility to bear. It laid on him the serious command to arise, go to great Nineveh and cry against it because its wickedness had come up before God, declaring without reservation the words given him even with forbidding obstacles in the way. Instead Jonah was averse to bearing the message and rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord toward Tarshish, going down to Joppa and into a ship bound for Tarshish. The One who gave him this weighty task was able to sustain him and make his work successful, so that if he had obeyed without questioning he would have been spared bitter experiences and greatly blessed. Even when he despaired the Lord did not abandon him, but through severe affliction and trials taught him obedience and renewed his trust and resolve to obey at any personal sacrifice, while his disobedience stands faithfully recorded to show that disobedience to God's commands brings sure retribution.
The Prophet and Commission
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, naming him as the prophet chosen for the work in Nineveh. He was appointed as God's instrument to bear a special message there, a trust that laid great responsibility upon him.
That word brought a difficult commission to arise, go to Nineveh and cry against it because its wickedness had come up before God. He was to warn the city and proclaim its destruction, declaring without reservation the words given him. The command was serious, requiring him to move out in obedience even with forbidding obstacles in the way.
Nineveh was that great, ancient and populous city to which he was sent. It had been founded by Asshur the son of Shem, who went forth from the land of Shinar about the time of the dispersion from Babel. He built Nineveh along the fertile bank of the Tigris over two hundred miles north of Babylon.
Conditional Warning and Aftermath
The commission carried a divine warning to Nineveh that the city would be overthrown in forty days, and that proclamation was truly God's message even though the announced overthrow did not occur. Its fulfillment depended on the city's response, and when the people repented God accepted their repentance and spared them. The unfulfilled warning still served God's purpose by leading Nineveh to repentance, while Jonah became distressed over the humiliation of appearing to have spoken falsely and failed to value God's mercy in granting the city more time. His experience parallels the 1844 disappointment, where the expected event did not occur but the warning was still from God and served its purpose. Later prophetic light identified what did occur in 1844, that Christ entered the Most Holy Place in heaven to finish the atonement, and God's servants were to trust His wisdom and mercy, rejoice that the world had more time to prepare, and continue laboring to bring people to repentance and salvation.
For a time the Assyrians warned through Jonah humbled themselves before the Lord and sought forgiveness. Later they returned to idol worship and the effort to conquer the world.
Obedience, Discipline and Duty
Instead of obeying, Jonah was averse to bearing the message and rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord toward Tarshish, going down to Joppa, finding a ship going to Tarshish, paying the fare and going down into it to go with them. For a time he refused to speak the words given him, fainting with fear and wild with the awfulness of the message committed to him, and hurried away from the place where he was sent. In this he was overcome by temptation and fell into sin, showing himself a disobedient prophet who fled from duty.
The One who gave Jonah this weighty task and great responsibility was able to sustain him and make his work successful. If he had obeyed without questioning he would have been spared bitter experiences and greatly blessed. Even when Jonah despaired, the Lord did not abandon him, but through severe affliction, trials and unexpected events taught him the lesson of obedience. Through that discipline his trust in God's power to save was renewed and his resolve to obey at any personal sacrifice was restored, enabling him to fulfil God's purpose in behalf of the inhabitants of Nineveh.
Jonah's disobedience is faithfully recorded to show the principles of justice, that disobedience to God's commands brings sure retribution and that the wages of sin is death, as a warning to later readers against unbelief and disobedience. The record of his experience in the first and second chapters is worthy of most careful study. His failure also shows that even men favored of God and other believers can strive, waver and fall. Yet it encourages desponding hearts by showing that one who falls can through God's grace gain fresh vigor, rise above evil nature, take heart again and conquer, and that their struggles can encourage others to overcome obstacles.
The verse teaches that God may assign people work they would not choose, and they should do the duty He places before them rather than go elsewhere. He has reasons for directing them to a particular place, and someone there may need their help. Turning away from appointed work and diverting effort and resources from it can hinder His work and dishonor Him, as Jonah's flight to Joppa and unsuccessful journey show. Jonah's history involving Nineveh teaches that people who are ignorant and morally defiled need help, a lesson that applies to duty toward the people of the Southern States.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, appointing him as God's chosen instrument with a special message and great responsibility to bear. It laid on him the serious command to arise, go to great Nineveh and cry against it because its wickedness had come up before God, declaring without reservation the words given him even with forbidding obstacles in the way. Instead Jonah was averse to bearing the message and rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord toward Tarshish, going down to Joppa and into a ship bound for Tarshish. The One who gave him this weighty task was able to sustain him and make his work successful, so that if he had obeyed without questioning he would have been spared bitter experiences and greatly blessed. Even when he despaired the Lord did not abandon him, but through severe affliction and trials taught him obedience and renewed his trust and resolve to obey at any personal sacrifice, while his disobedience stands faithfully recorded to show that disobedience to God's commands brings sure retribution.
The Prophet and Commission
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, naming him as the prophet chosen for the work in Nineveh. He was appointed as God's instrument to bear a special message there, a trust that laid great responsibility upon him.
That word brought a difficult commission to arise, go to Nineveh and cry against it because its wickedness had come up before God. He was to warn the city and proclaim its destruction, declaring without reservation the words given him. The command was serious, requiring him to move out in obedience even with forbidding obstacles in the way.
Nineveh was that great, ancient and populous city to which he was sent. It had been founded by Asshur the son of Shem, who went forth from the land of Shinar about the time of the dispersion from Babel. He built Nineveh along the fertile bank of the Tigris over two hundred miles north of Babylon.
Conditional Warning and Aftermath
The commission carried a divine warning to Nineveh that the city would be overthrown in forty days, and that proclamation was truly God's message even though the announced overthrow did not occur. Its fulfillment depended on the city's response, and when the people repented God accepted their repentance and spared them. The unfulfilled warning still served God's purpose by leading Nineveh to repentance, while Jonah became distressed over the humiliation of appearing to have spoken falsely and failed to value God's mercy in granting the city more time. His experience parallels the 1844 disappointment, where the expected event did not occur but the warning was still from God and served its purpose. Later prophetic light identified what did occur in 1844, that Christ entered the Most Holy Place in heaven to finish the atonement, and God's servants were to trust His wisdom and mercy, rejoice that the world had more time to prepare, and continue laboring to bring people to repentance and salvation.
For a time the Assyrians warned through Jonah humbled themselves before the Lord and sought forgiveness. Later they returned to idol worship and the effort to conquer the world.
Obedience, Discipline and Duty
Instead of obeying, Jonah was averse to bearing the message and rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord toward Tarshish, going down to Joppa, finding a ship going to Tarshish, paying the fare and going down into it to go with them. For a time he refused to speak the words given him, fainting with fear and wild with the awfulness of the message committed to him, and hurried away from the place where he was sent. In this he was overcome by temptation and fell into sin, showing himself a disobedient prophet who fled from duty.
The One who gave Jonah this weighty task and great responsibility was able to sustain him and make his work successful. If he had obeyed without questioning he would have been spared bitter experiences and greatly blessed. Even when Jonah despaired, the Lord did not abandon him, but through severe affliction, trials and unexpected events taught him the lesson of obedience. Through that discipline his trust in God's power to save was renewed and his resolve to obey at any personal sacrifice was restored, enabling him to fulfil God's purpose in behalf of the inhabitants of Nineveh.
Jonah's disobedience is faithfully recorded to show the principles of justice, that disobedience to God's commands brings sure retribution and that the wages of sin is death, as a warning to later readers against unbelief and disobedience. The record of his experience in the first and second chapters is worthy of most careful study. His failure also shows that even men favored of God and other believers can strive, waver and fall. Yet it encourages desponding hearts by showing that one who falls can through God's grace gain fresh vigor, rise above evil nature, take heart again and conquer, and that their struggles can encourage others to overcome obstacles.
The verse teaches that God may assign people work they would not choose, and they should do the duty He places before them rather than go elsewhere. He has reasons for directing them to a particular place, and someone there may need their help. Turning away from appointed work and diverting effort and resources from it can hinder His work and dishonor Him, as Jonah's flight to Joppa and unsuccessful journey show. Jonah's history involving Nineveh teaches that people who are ignorant and morally defiled need help, a lesson that applies to duty toward the people of the Southern States.