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Jonah and the Fish · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it,
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  Speaker 1: for their wickedness has come up before me. Jonah 1.2
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  Speaker 1: My God, when I hear the whisper of your voice
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  Speaker 1: like a cool breeze, I will heed your commands and
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  Speaker 1: come into alignment with your heart's desire. I will not
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: take the position of Jonah in my life by looking
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: out for myself, and ignoring the plans you have for me.
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  Speaker 1: Through my obedience, I am securing myself from being thrown
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: overboard in the storm of life and from causing others
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  Speaker 1: to suffer as a result of my disobedience. No matter
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  Speaker 1: how reluctant I might feel, through my faithfulness to you,
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  Speaker 1: no fish will be needed to get me to the
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  Speaker 1: place you've called me to go. Instead of being thrown up,
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  Speaker 1: I will grow up and acknowledge that you are in
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  Speaker 1: control of my life. And as I submit to your ways,
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  Speaker 1: deliverance and purpose will follow. Instead of being thrown up,
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  Speaker 1: I will grow up and acknowledge that you are in
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  Speaker 1: control of my life. And as I submit to your ways,
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  Speaker 1: deliverance and purpose will follow. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The Bible
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: Jonah and the Fish In our last story, we said
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: goodbye to the prophet Elisha, Along with the prophet was
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: the end of the era of kings. The nations of
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  Speaker 2: Judah and Israel continued to wrestle with God. Their hearts
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  Speaker 2: were in a continual state of drawing near and far
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  Speaker 2: from him. Soon a great threat would arise to take
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  Speaker 2: Israel captive. This was a threat they were not prepared for.
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  Speaker 2: Now we learn about the prophet Jonah. Unlike the prophets
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  Speaker 2: before him and after him, Jonah was a prophet that
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  Speaker 2: actively ran away from the Lord's calling on his life.
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  Speaker 2: Soon Jonah would be consumed by his own disobedience and
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  Speaker 2: learn the true meaning of closeness to God in the
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  Speaker 2: belly of a giant fish, inspired by the book of Jonah.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In yesterday's scripture, we heard of the downward
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: spiral of Israel, who under King Jehoaz, and later his
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  Speaker 3: son Jehoash, continued to turn to foreign gods, facing defeat
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  Speaker 3: after defeat from outside enemies. Israel would soon face a
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  Speaker 3: great fall like they had never seen before as God
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  Speaker 3: judged them for their stubbornness and sinful behavior. Today, we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear about an unwilling prophet by the name of Jonah,
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  Speaker 3: who was sent to a wicked people to call them
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  Speaker 3: to repentance. God's call for Jonah to preach in Nineveh
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  Speaker 3: will highlight just how merciful our God is, not only
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: to the Jewish people, but to everyone. Let's listen now
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: to the reading of God's Word.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: Jonah watched as the gentle tide rolled in from the sea.
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  Speaker 2: The morning breeze was cool on his face and filled
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  Speaker 2: his lungs with fresh air. He watched the water rise
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  Speaker 2: and fall to the rhythm of the tide. Jonah was
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  Speaker 2: a man who valued his peace. Although he was a
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  Speaker 2: prophet of God, he was not like Elijah or Elisha.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah valued harmony above all. During the crisis of King Jeroboam,
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  Speaker 2: Jonah prophesied that he would win all of his battles
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  Speaker 2: and bring victory to his kingdom. He did this because
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  Speaker 2: he did not want to tell the king something he
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  Speaker 2: did not want to hear. Jonah saved his own reputation
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  Speaker 2: and safety. The prophet Amos eventually rebuked him and told
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  Speaker 2: the king that he would certainly lose his battle and
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  Speaker 2: his kingdom. Jonah was not ashamed of these things. He
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  Speaker 2: knew that he must look out for his own peace
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  Speaker 2: and his own comfort first. So Jonah sat, staring out
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  Speaker 2: at the sea, enjoying his blissful morning without quarrel or stress.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah closed his eyes and allowed the morning sun to
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  Speaker 2: shine on his face. He could hear the waves slowly
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  Speaker 2: crashing on the shore and the sound of birds chirping
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  Speaker 2: in the air. With his eyes still closed, Jonah could
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  Speaker 2: hear another peculiar sound. A whisper came in with the breeze.
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  Speaker 2: The voice was gentle but clear and strong. Jonah could
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  Speaker 2: sense the presence of God drawing closer. Arise, God said.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah's forehead began to wrinkle as he listened to the words.
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  Speaker 2: Go inland to the great city of Nineveh. They have
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  Speaker 2: fallen into a great deal of wickedness. Go and point
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  Speaker 2: out their evil so they can repent. Then the voice
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  Speaker 2: of the Lord trailed off with the breeze. Jonah opened
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  Speaker 2: his eyes and stood to his feet. No, Jonah thought
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  Speaker 2: to himself, absolutely not. Jonah would not help the wicked
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  Speaker 2: people of Nineveh. Jonah had a deep-seated hatred for them.
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  Speaker 2: He would not preach the word of God to them.
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  Speaker 2: He would not help them. He would not allow them
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  Speaker 2: to be spared. Jonah knew they deserved to die, and
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  Speaker 2: he wanted no part in whatever redemptive plan he had
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  Speaker 2: in store. So Jonah boarded a ship to Joppa that
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  Speaker 2: was setting sail for Tarshish. He paid the fare and
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  Speaker 2: ventured off with a Tarshish was the furthest city from Nineveh.
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  Speaker 2: There he would seek safety from the uncomfortable and dangerous
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  Speaker 2: call of God. Jonah watched Israel become smaller and smaller
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  Speaker 2: as they sailed away. Jonah sighed and decided to go
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  Speaker 2: down and sleep. As Jonah slumbered, clouds were rolling in
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  Speaker 2: from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The waves began
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  Speaker 2: to chop at the side of the boat. The clouds
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  Speaker 2: grew darker and thunder echoed across the waters. Lightning struck
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  Speaker 2: dangerously close to the ship and the wind began to
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  Speaker 2: howl with gratefulness. Jonah could not outrun God. The sailors
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  Speaker 2: tugged at the ropes trying to keep the sails from
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  Speaker 2: tearing to shreds. The boat was taking on water and
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  Speaker 2: the waves were threatening to destroy the entire vessel. Each
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  Speaker 2: sailor grew more and more fierce. They had never experienced
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  Speaker 2: such a storm. Each man prayed to his own god,
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  Speaker 2: desperately asking for mercy. As the frightened mariners prayed for
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  Speaker 2: their lives, Jonah was fast asleep in the brig, content
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  Speaker 2: in his disobedience to God. The captain burst open the
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  Speaker 2: doors and awoke Jonah.' How could you be sleeping?' the
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  Speaker 2: captain wailed.' Get up! You better be praying to your
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  Speaker 2: god as we are praying to ours!' Perhaps yours were
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  Speaker 2: actually answer. Jonah rose from his cot and walked up
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  Speaker 2: to the deck. He fell forward as the waves shook
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  Speaker 2: the boat. Jonah looked up and saw a mighty tempest
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  Speaker 2: surrounding him. The cold wind felt like a razor blade
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  Speaker 2: on his face, and the rain drummed against the wood
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  Speaker 2: of the ship. Jonah knew what was happening.
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  Speaker 3: God had found him.
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  Speaker 2: There would be no escape. The crew gathered lots to
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  Speaker 2: see who was responsible for the unprecedented storm. They cast
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  Speaker 2: them onto the deck, and the lot fell on Jonah.
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  Speaker 2: They looked at him in disgust. Who are you?
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  Speaker 3: They shouted.
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  Speaker 2: Tell us why this evil has come upon us. Where
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  Speaker 2: do you come from, and why are you here? Jonah's
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  Speaker 2: lips quivered slightly. He looked at the men and said,
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  Speaker 2: I am a Hebrew. You worship gods of water, wind,
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  Speaker 2: or land. But I worship the God who has made
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  Speaker 2: the water, wind, and land. And I am running from him.
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  Speaker 2: The men were exceedingly afraid. They were harboring a man
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  Speaker 2: who was fleeing the almighty creator of the sea. Even they,
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  Speaker 2: in their limited knowledge of God, knew that Jonah made
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  Speaker 2: a big mistake joining them. What are we supposed to
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  Speaker 2: do with you?
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  Speaker 3: They asked.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah looked out at the vast sea raging. It was
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  Speaker 2: growing more violent by the minute. These sailors would be
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  Speaker 2: underwater in less than an hour unless Jonah did something.
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  Speaker 2: He took a deep breath and said, throw me in.
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  Speaker 2: The men gasped for a moment. Pick me up and
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  Speaker 2: hurl me into the sea. The storm should quiet after that. Lord,
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  Speaker 2: forgive us and do not hold this man's life against us.
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  Speaker 2: The men cried out as they threw Jonah into the water.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah was hurled into the air and then surrounded by
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  Speaker 2: the raging sea. The men repented and bowed before God.
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  Speaker 2: They worshipped him and made vows of devotion to him.
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  Speaker 2: The Gentile men had more repentant hearts than Jonah himself
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  Speaker 2: The waters continued to thrash in every direction. Jonah swam
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  Speaker 2: to the best of his ability, but was eventually consumed
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  Speaker 2: by the dark and vast ocean. He fell deeper and
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  Speaker 2: deeper into the depths. Jonah closed his eyes, embracing his
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  Speaker 2: inevitable demise. Even now, surrounded by a storm, Jonah was
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  Speaker 2: happy he wasn't in Nineveh. As Jonah was ready to
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  Speaker 2: welcome death, a large shadow loomed over him. He opened
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  Speaker 2: his eyes in terror. A gargantuan fish was swimming towards him.
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  Speaker 2: Jonah screamed, but the sound was trapped by the water
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  Speaker 2: surrounding him. And in an instant he was consumed by
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  Speaker 2: the scaly gray. Jonah awoke in darkness. He could barely
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  Speaker 2: move and could see nothing around him. The stench of
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  Speaker 2: rotting fish and stomach acid filled his nostrils. He could
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  Speaker 2: hear nothing but his own panicked breathing. For hours he
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  Speaker 2: lamented his own undoing. He tried to escape with no success.
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  Speaker 2: He was trapped in an underwater tomb. Hours passed. Then
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  Speaker 2: a day. Hunger and thirst consumed him, and he could
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  Speaker 2: feel his joints beginning to cramp in place. Yet there
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  Speaker 2: was this peace that Jonah felt during the second day.
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  Speaker 2: Surrounded by darkness, Jonah began to feel the presence of God.
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  Speaker 2: Joy welled up inside Jonah, and he began to sing
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  Speaker 2: to the Lord. I called to God in my time
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  Speaker 2: of need, and he answered me. From the belly of
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  Speaker 2: the grave I cried, and he heard. You cast me
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  Speaker 2: into the depths, O Lord. You threw me into the
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  Speaker 2: heart of the seas, and your waves crashed over me.
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  Speaker 2: I am driven away from you, but I will set
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  Speaker 2: my eyes upon your temple. The waters have closed in
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  Speaker 2: to kill me. The deep has surrounded me. The weeds
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  Speaker 2: are wrapping around my neck. Yet I will praise and
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  Speaker 2: give thanks to you, my God. On the third day,
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  Speaker 2: as Jonah accepted his place with God in the sea,
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  Speaker 2: he felt a surge come through the belly of the fish.
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  Speaker 2: Rumbling surrounded Jonah, and he looked up to see a
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  Speaker 2: faint light. The fish threw Jonah up, and once again
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  Speaker 2: he found himself surrounded by water. It consumed him, but
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  Speaker 2: he could still see a light above him. He swam
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  Speaker 2: towards it. His bones were sore and his body was weak,
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  Speaker 2: but he swam with all his might. Then Jonah emerged
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  Speaker 2: out of the water. He gasped for air. The sun
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  Speaker 2: was shining brightly, and Jonah could see the soft sand
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  Speaker 2: only a few yards away. He clawed his way to
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  Speaker 2: shore and basked in freedom. A tired laughter came across
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  Speaker 2: Jonah as he allowed the gentle breeze to tickle his
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  Speaker 2: face again. He was spared for a purpose. A purpose!
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  Speaker 2: He was still reluctant to accept.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture is a very familiar story to so many people.
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  Speaker 3: It is God's word about a prophet by the name
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  Speaker 3: of Jonah. We discover very quickly that not all prophets
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  Speaker 3: were as obedient or quick to obey as great men
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  Speaker 3: like Nathan or Elijah or Elisha, who spoke God's truth
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  Speaker 3: to people powerfully. knowing very well that it could even
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  Speaker 3: cost them their lives. These were faithful men from the start.
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  Speaker 3: But Jonah was nothing like these men. So when God
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  Speaker 3: called him to go to a Gentile land, a very
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  Speaker 3: violent and wicked city called Nineveh, and to call the
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  Speaker 3: people there to repent and to revival, what did he do?
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  Speaker 3: Did he object or ask God why or share his
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  Speaker 3: fears or frustrations with God? No, he ran. He was
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  Speaker 3: a runaway would-be prophet. Now, before we judge him too quickly,
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  Speaker 3: how many times have some of us run from the
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  Speaker 3: will of God in our lives? How many times have
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  Speaker 3: we refused to obey God? But Jonah wasn't acting just
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  Speaker 3: out of self-preservation. God was calling this man to go
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  Speaker 3: to the Gentiles. They were enemies, very violent enemies of Israel.
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  Speaker 3: Surely they deserve whatever judgment and devastation was coming their way.
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  Speaker 3: Why would God... want to save the wicked Ninevites anyway.
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  Speaker 3: So instead of obeying God, Jonah headed to the nearest
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  Speaker 3: port and caught a ship in the opposite direction of Nineveh,
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  Speaker 3: a boat headed to Tarshish. It, of course, was a
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  Speaker 3: very futile attempt to run from God because it is
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  Speaker 3: impossible to run from God. And it wasn't long before
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  Speaker 3: the Lord came after him. His boat ride away from
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  Speaker 3: God's will soon hit rough seas. The vessel was tossed
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  Speaker 3: about in a storm in the waves terrifying the sailors
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  Speaker 3: who began praying to their false gods. They woke up Jonah,
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  Speaker 3: who somehow managed to sleep through the terror and urged
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  Speaker 3: him to pray to his own god lest they all die.
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  Speaker 3: But pray as they might, the seas just got rougher
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  Speaker 3: and rougher. Desperate, the sailors decided to cast lots to
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  Speaker 3: decide who was responsible for their situation, someone to blame.
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  Speaker 3: And of course, by that time, Jonah most certainly knew
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  Speaker 3: it was all his fault. He was the runaway and
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  Speaker 3: he was the problem. And when they cast lots, this
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  Speaker 3: was confirmed. So Jonah confessed. He came clean and said
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  Speaker 3: that he served the Hebrew God, the creator of the
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  Speaker 3: sea and the dry land, and he was fleeing from him.
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  Speaker 3: Jonah knew that there was only one solution. He was
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  Speaker 3: to be thrown overboard to save the men and satisfy
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  Speaker 3: God's judgment. The sailors at first resisted this suggestion, doing
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  Speaker 3: all they could do to row the boat to safety
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  Speaker 3: and calm, but all of their efforts were in vain. Finally,
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  Speaker 3: they gave in, and they threw Jonah into the sea. Immediately,
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  Speaker 3: the waters were stilled. All was calm. Even in this moment,
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  Speaker 3: God had shown these pagan sailors that he was indeed
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  Speaker 3: God of heaven and earth, of the land and the seas,
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  Speaker 3: of the sun and the storms. They fell before God,
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  Speaker 3: offering sacrifices and vows to this one God who could
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  Speaker 3: calm the raging seas. One day, the disciples of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: would witness this. this same God in the person of
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ, calming the seas and stilling the storm. When
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  Speaker 3: he said, peace, be still. Jonah, of course, would have
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  Speaker 3: been lost, drowned in the deep waters, had God not
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  Speaker 3: mercifully provided a rescue. Jonah 1.17 says this, And the
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  Speaker 3: Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And
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  Speaker 3: Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days
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  Speaker 3: and three nights. You might think that being swallowed by
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  Speaker 3: a giant fish was God's punishment, when in reality it
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  Speaker 3: was God's rescue plan. Was it terrifying?
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  Speaker 1: Of course.
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  Speaker 3: Was it very unpleasant? Yes, without a doubt. But what
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  Speaker 3: was the alternative for Jonah? Being swallowed by the deep,
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  Speaker 3: dying alone and never having fulfilled his purpose in life,
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  Speaker 3: or to find in God a rescue plan? The fish
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  Speaker 3: was a second chance for Jonah. And as he awoke
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  Speaker 3: in the belly of the fish, he sang a song
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  Speaker 3: of praise and adoration to God. Just like the Ninevites,
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  Speaker 3: Jonah did not deserve to be spared his gruesome fate.
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  Speaker 3: And yet as he worshiped God, he sang to the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: salvation belongs to the Lord. And that is a great
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  Speaker 3: truth that we always must remember, that salvation always comes
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  Speaker 3: from God. At God's command, the fish threw Jonah up
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  Speaker 3: on the shore. Perhaps now this reluctant prophet was ready
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  Speaker 3: to announce to the people of Nineveh that they also
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  Speaker 3: could repent and find salvation in God. That's what we'll
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  Speaker 3: find out in tomorrow's reading. Dear God, we thank you
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  Speaker 3: that you are always the God of the second chance
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  Speaker 3: and as many chances as we need when we truly
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  Speaker 3: confess our sins and come to you. We thank you
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  Speaker 3: for the cross and the promise of salvation. We know
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  Speaker 3: that salvation comes from you and you only. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for your son, Jesus Christ, who died, who was buried,
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  Speaker 3: and on the third day rose again so that this
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  Speaker 3: good news message could be delivered to the whole world. Amen.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily tasks and
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.