Sabbath School Lesson for September 11-17, 2021
Teresa’s YouTube channel about the lesson: http://www.youtube.com/teresathompson
Overview for Lesson 12
Our study of Jonah helps us see how he turned out to be a restless prophet:
- why Jonah ran away from God’s rest–Jonah 1 (Sunday)
- how God gave Jonah rest in the belly of a big fish–Jonah 2 (Monday)
- when the city of Nineveh found rest in God through Jonah’s preaching–Jonah 3 (Tuesday)
- why Jonah missed having rest for himself–Jonah 4 (Wednesday)
- how rest and repentance are related, and why Jonah needed repentance as much as Nineveh–Jude (Thursday)
The story of how a big fish swallowed Jonah grabs our attention and makes us want to know more about this incredible prophet who tried to run away from God. His restlessness must be examined, if we are to find rest in our troubled circumstances today.
It’s important for us to remember the story of Jonah. Here was a prophet of God who was in as much need of growth and repentance as the city where God told him to preach. We, too, must guard our own salvation and never take our relationship with God for granted. Jonah had much growing to do, but God never lost hope that he would come around and find the spiritual rest he needed.
Memory Text: ” ‘And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left–and much livestock?’ ” Jonah 4:11 NKJV
God tried many ways to get Jonah’s attention. His time in the fish’s belly may seem like an outlandish thing for God to do, but it worked. It brought Jonah to his knees and gave him the resolve to follow God’s will and go to Nineveh. But even then, we discover Jonah showing his worst tendencies. God continued to gently reason with him to come back to his senses and see his own need of repentance. How often we all are like this restless prophet.
Sunday: Running Away (Jonah 1)
Nineveh was the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian armies were known for their vicious attacks. They would not only attack a city, but would literally destroy it–killing or enslaving all its inhabitants in the most cruel and inhumane way.
Jonah knew the reputation of the city where God was calling him to preach. He must have been filled with nervous anxiety at the thought of even visiting such a vile place. Surely, God must have been mistaken in sending him to preach such an unwelcome message of doom there. Jonah was so intent on not going that he boarded a ship that would take him twice as far away in the opposite direction.
Jonah’s effort to run away from his calling is somewhat easier for us to understand when we admit that we, too, often question what God wants us to do. Even with clear directions, the task many times seems overwhelming. It’s much easier to move in another direction that feels more comfortable and likely to have success. The story of Jonah helps us see that erroneous thinking for what it is. An attempt to run away from God’s rest. When that happens, we, like Jonah, are without rest, or restless.
Bible Verses to Read and Discuss:
2 Kings 14:25 and Jonah 1:1-3
- Instead of listening to God as he did earlier, why might Jonah have hesitated at God’s calling this time?
- What was Jonah running away from?
Jonah 1:12-16
- How were the sailors rewarded for doing what Jonah asked of them, even though it was difficult?
- What makes us think they may have been sincere in their vows to God, and why does Jonah bring this to our attention?
Monday: A Three-Day Rest (Jonah 2)
God had an unusual experience for Jonah after being tossed into the stormy sea. God sent a big fish to swallow him. One can only imagine the change in environment that must have occurred for Jonah. One minute he was being tossed and turned by the raging waters, and the next he was inside the warm, calm waters of a whale-sized sea creature.
For three days he was eerily suspended and trapped in this miserable, uncomfortable setting. He had plenty of time there to think of his recent actions that had caused his current predicament. These thoughts led to a fervent prayer, recorded in Jonah’s second chapter.
Jonah was blessed with a new perspective inside the whale and he was sincere in praising God for it. Like the sailors who had thrown him overboard, he made a vow to God, the One who had shown mercy to His wayward prophet. Immediately after the prayer, Jonah wrote of his escape when the fish vomited him up onto dry land.
This story sounds impossible, but there have been incidents where humans survived attacks such as this. Even though three days and nights are mentioned, in Hebrew time reckoning that may have only been part of one day, then the second day, and part of a third day. These reduced hours makes it even more likely that it is a true story.
Bible Verses to Read and Discuss:
Jonah 2:7-10 and Psalm 18:6
- What temple of God is most likely meant in these prayers–the earthly one or the heavenly one?
- Why do we often wait till we are in deep trouble before praying to God so fervently?
Tuesday: Mission Accomplished (Jonah 3)
Jonah had given the city of Nineveh a message that must have sent chills to all who heard it. The city was so spread out that it would have taken Jonah three days to travel across it (Jonah 3:3). But on the very first day, there was a positive response from the king. The king was so overcome when he heard that they would be destroyed in forty days that he covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes, a sign of deep humility and remorse. He then declared that all should likewise fast and appeal to the God of Jonah for their safety. Which they did.
When we repent, God relents (Jonah 3:10). The number forty is used throughout Scripture to indicate the time needed to prepare for something. God was giving them ample time to repent of their wicked ways and prepare to be saved. Jonah had every reason to be happy that his preaching had been a total success.
There are few times when we can announce that a mission is accomplished. But when all of Nineveh responded collectively to Jonah’s preaching, we can’t help but rejoice that it was true for Jonah. It helps us understand that it wasn’t God’s purpose to destroy them, but to save them. And isn’t that God’s mission for all who trust and obey Him even today?
Bible Verses to Read and Discuss:
Jonah 3:8, 9, Jeremiah 25:5, Ezekiel 14:6, and Revelation 2:5
- How has God been consistent with His appeal to repent, and His willingness to save?
- Why is repentance needed? And how often should it be done?
Wednesday: An Angry, Restless Missionary (Jonah 4)
You’d think that with Jonah’s successful preaching and the whole city of Nineveh saved through his effort that Jonah would have nothing to complain about. But instead we find the prophet once again having a bad attitude about his circumstances.
His prediction of Nineveh’s fall had not come true. Surely, the next time he preached such a message, no one would believe him. He would be ignored, or even worse, he would be scoffed and ridiculed. He might even be persecuted and driven away. These possibilities tormented him so much that he pleaded with God to take his life.
But God was not willing to let his servant wallow in such self-centered thinking. Through the withering of a plant that caused Jonah even more anguish and death wishes, God reasoned with him once again and tried to make him understand His love for all mankind, including the evil Ninevites. Including even Jonah himself.
Bible Verses to Read and Discuss:
Jonah 3:10 and 4:1-3
- What caused Jonah such anger and frustration with God?
- How was it possible to have such anger and still pray to God? What does this tell us about Jonah and why God was willing to keep working with him?
Jonah 4:10, 11
- How did God point out Jonah’s lack of compassion?
- Why does having more compassion bring us rest with God?
Thursday: A Two-way Street (Jude)
Verse 21 of Jude reminds us that compassion is something we need to keep striving for. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Jonah’s story illustrates that point very well. God sent Jonah to Nineveh, not just to save the inhabitants of that city, but to save Jonah as well. The prophet had obviously allowed his feelings about the cruel Assyrians to become hatred. Hating our enemies is our natural tendency and something we can only conquer through loving them instead.
Yes, Jonah needed repentance as much as the Ninevites. His angry feelings are seen throughout the events described in his book. He was angry about his calling, angry that his message of doom didn’t happen, and angry that a plant withered up and left him without shade. It even sounds like Jonah is angry with God, who allowed these things to happen to him.
Only when Jonah’s compassion breaks through does the story have positive outcomes. He encouraged the sailors to toss him into the sea, because he recognized his running away from God for what it was. He had compassion for his fellow travelers. His motives seem to have been corrected when he went into Nineveh to preach, but afterward, he reverted to anger when they responded well and God saved them.
Bible Verses to Read and Discuss:
Jude 21 and 1 John 4:8
- How does love help us repent?
- Why is having love and compassion the only way to grow in Christ?
Friday: Final Thoughts
“Thousands can be reached in the most simple and humble way. The most intellectual, those who are looked upon as the world’s most gifted men and women, are often refreshed by the simple words of one who loves God, and who can speak of that love as naturally as the worldling speaks of the things that interest him most deeply.” ~Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 232.
Jonah doesn’t present himself as the most gifted of God’s prophets, but God used him whenever Jonah chose the right, loving thing to do for others. Allowing the sailors to throw him overboard showed that he cared about their survival from the perilous storm. That sacrificial act was followed by his choice to go to Nineveh as God was calling him to do. We can see glimpses of Jesus everywhere in this story. Even the three days in the belly of the fish was a hint of how long Jesus would be in the grave.
We can not allow our compassion and mercy to wither up and die, like the plant at the end of Jonah’s story. Having love in our hearts is the only way to keep resting in God and not be like restless Jonah.
Next Week: The Ultimate Rest
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