Questions for Jonah chapter 1

QUESTIONS FOR JONAH              Chapter 1

DAY 1 “Just the Facts”  

(In this section we seek to answer five questions that give us the facts of the text:  “Where? When?  What?  Who?  How?”)

vs 1-2 Who spoke to whom?

Where did God want Jonah to go?

What did God want Jonah to do?

vs 3- What did Jonah do?

Is there any indication Jonah “planned” his excursion?

vs 4-5 What did Jonah do?

What was God's reaction to what Jonah did? What was the result?

What was the difference between Jonah and the sailors?

What did the sailors do in an attempt to change things?

vs 6-7 What did the captain think Jonah should be doing?

What did the men do to discover the guilty party?

vs 9-10 What did Jonah say that caused the sailors to be terrified?

vs 11-12 From whom did the sailors expect to find direction and guidance?

What was Jonah's reply to the men?

vs 13-16 What did the sailors want to do? What did they try to do? What was the result?

Who threw Jonah into the sea?

What happened to the men after Jonah was cast out of the boat?

vs 17 What provision did God make for Jonah?

DAY 2    Character Study 

(In this section we seek to examine the main characters of the text.)THE SAILORS

Most likely, the voyage to Tarshish began like any other trip for the gritty Gentile sailors that left Joppa port the day Jonah came aboard.  However,  they soon discovered this trip would be like none other they had experienced before.  They would encounter a storm that would force them to sail into unchartered territory within their own hearts. 

1.     What emotions did the sailors experience? Why were they so scared when they had their own gods on whom they called?

2.     From their words, (vs 11-12) what do the sailors appear to understand about the Lord, Jonah and their predicament?

3.     Why do the sailors not immediately cast Jonah overboard but instead, attempt to get the boat to shore? (This is an opinion question.)

4.     When they obeyed God, what was the result for them?

5.     What does verse 16 reveal about the hearts of these men? How have the men changed (compare vs 5)?

JONAH

Jonah could  refuse God’s command and go his own way, he was allowed to do just that.  Jonah made his way to Joppa apparently unhindered by any delays or detours.  How convenient everything worked out for him!  He was able to find a ship going to Tarshish -  as far from Nineveh as he could manage to get.  Things were going favorably for him  - he had money enough for the fare, a place on the ship, and comfort enough to sleep.  As he drifted off to sleep, he could probably say to himself “I’m at peace with my decision.”  Then the storm came and revealed his behavior had far- reaching consequences not just for him but for the lives of everyone around him.

1.     From chapter 1, do you see any reasons given for why Jonah disobeyed God?

2.     When does it appear that Jonah understood the seriousness of his situation?

3.     What price did Jonah really pay for his trip to Tarshish?  Was it a bargain?

GOD,  the LORD

God is always revealing Himself to all people:  through His beautiful creation and through the circumstances of life.  He reveals Himself most completely through His Word as He interacts with His most special creation – humankind.  He is the protagonist of the Bible  appearing on every page.  As you read any Bible “story” or passage, always look to see what God is revealing about Himself.

There are things that happen in Jonah that ONLY He could do. What He does reveals a lot about Who He is.

• Re-read chapter one and make a list of things only God could do: (Hint: It is helpful to look for verbs -action words- associated with God)

• God seems to manifest His grace, mercy and righteousness. 

      grace – God giving what one does not deserve;  

      mercy – God withholding what one does deserve; 

    holiness – God’s separateness from sin.   

What examples of His grace, mercy and holiness do you see in chapter 1?

• Notice the names/phrases for God.  Who uses them in these verses? 

Name	Person who used it	Name	Person Who Used it
LORD (vs 1)	Narrator	The Lord God of heaven (vs 9)
his god (vs 5)		The LORD (vs 12)
Your God (vs 6)		O LORD (vs 14)

Something to think about:  If God has limited knowledge, Jonah’s disobedience probably took Him by  surprise!  However, the Holy Scriptures tell us clearly that God is sovereign and  knows all things?  Why would God choose Jonah knowing he would disobey?

Day 3  Comparing Scripture With Scripture

Jonah sinned against God, but God refused to give up on him.  God loved Jonah so much that He went after him. Though Jonah fled from God, he was pursued by God.  God’s pursuit of Jonah is typical of His actions from the beginning of time, when the first man and woman sinned, In Genesis 3:8-10 we see God seeking out Adam and Eve.  They certainly weren’t looking for Him; they had gone into hiding.

God is always acting first to reconcile sinners to Himself.  In Roman 3:10-11 we are given the diagnosis of the condition of the heart of all people on earth before God.  Vs 11 specifically tells us “There is none that seeks after God”.  Like our first parents, we also hide from our just, holy and pure Creator.  We don’t simply sew fig leaves together and scrunch down behind bushes, we build up our own religious standards and make ourselves content with knowing we are “good enough” in our opinion. We tell ourselves that “doing our best” should be acceptable to God. 

Thanks be to God!  He does not allow us to stay in hiding, deceiving our own selves.  John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”.  Through the message of the gospel we learn that God the Father took the first step toward us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to be our Savior.  God is always reaching out to sinners and taking the first step towards them. 

The following are three examples from Scripture of  how God dealt with people who were in sin.   

Genesis 3:6-24  The first man and woman

Acts 5:1-11 – the example of Ananias and Sapphira

John 5:1-18 - The healing of the paralytic.

Choose one (or all three) of these examples:

Explain what was the sin, how God intervened, and what the incident seems to teach about God’s dealing with sin and sinners.   Seek to find God’s grace, mercy and justice in the example you choose. (John 5, was the most difficult for me)

Day 4     Key Words/Phrases    -   “DOWN”

For each chapter we read in Jonah we will look for key words. I chose the word DOWN as a word of importance because it is mentioned or alluded to four times in the first chapter,

·       vs 3 Jonah… went down to Joppa

·       vs 3 Jonah… went down into the ship

·       vs 5 Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship

·       vs 15 So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea (a downward move for Jonah)

I believe “down” is descriptive of the negative course of Jonah’s life in this first chapter.  Jonah’s downward descent begins with the first decision he made to say “no” to God. 

Can you find any other key words or phrases in this chapter, if so, list them and explain why you chose them?  If you are having difficulty, please look at the following table.  Reproduced from PreceptAustin  - https://www.preceptaustin.org/observation

KEY WORDS... / KEY PHRASES...	ACTION POINT WHAT DO I DO?
• Are usually identified by the fact that they are repeated	• Read the text taking special note of those words or phrases which the author uses repeatedly (e.g., What is repeated in Proverbs 118 times in 915 verses and at least once in every chapter?  Some form of the word “wisdom”) • Note however that not every repeated word or phrase is key (see next action point).
• Are vital to the understanding of the text and cannot be removed without leaving the passage devoid of meaning.	• Applying the "rule of removal" helps determine whether a repeated word is truly a key word. If you can remove it from the text, it is not a key word and is not crucial to the overall meaning of that passage, chapter, etc.
• May include pronouns, synonyms, closely related phrases	• Be alert to the fact that the author may use synonymous words or phrases in lieu of the more obvious key word or phrase and these synonyms can be subtle and more difficult to identify, especially in the initial reading of a passage. In general, the more one reads a given passage, the more obvious the subtle synonyms will become!
• May be key only in a paragraph, in a chapter or throughout the entire book	• For example you may identify a key word/phrase in one chapter which may not be found anywhere else in the book. In that case it is key for that chapter and serves to help understand the main point of the chapter. Another chapter will have a different key because the main point is different.

Day 5     Application

 (This section is designed for YOU and the Holy Spirit  to prayerfully examine YOU.  Just as you have read the text to see God and the other characters, my prayer is that these questions will be used by Him,  the God of the text, to allow the text  to read you. )

1.     When Jonah wanted to “get away” his plan was to escape to Tarshish – the place that was furthest from Nineveh.  When you want to get away from it all where do you go? What and/or where is your Tarshish?

2.     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?

3.     The Gentile sailors were not the same after their encounter with God and the storm.  What storms have you faced in your life that have shaped you into the person you are today? 

4.     Think about the times when God  calmed the storms  and other times He allowed the winds and waves to go wild.  What was consistent about your understanding and experience of Him?  What has been most baffling?

 5.  Have you ever been swallowed by a “great fish” especially prepared by God?  Keep in mind the fish’s belly was  a smelly, damp, frightening, uncomfortable place, but it was also a place of safety for Jonah where could take “a time out” and also take time out to think and seek God uninterrupted.