Messages from the Minor Prophets
Study Guide Week One
Message for Sunday July 1, 2018
This Week Reading: Jonah 4:5-11 Additional Reading: Read the book of Jonah
Introduction
There are 12 books in the Old Testament that are known as the books of the Minor Prophets. They are called minor not because of a lack of importance but because they are short books. Probably the most well known of the books of the Minor prophets is the book of Jonah. Almost everyone has heard of the story of the huge fish that swallowed up the prophet Jonah and then spit him back on land. You can watch cartoons based upon this well known story. The basic story is as follows - God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against the city because of its evil - Jonah runs away and goes in the opposite geographical direction towards Tarshish - Jonah gets into a boat - Gods send a storm that threatens to sink the boat - the sailors realize the storm was sent by God because of Jonah - the sailors with Jonahs consent throw Jonah overboard and the storm stops - Jonah is sinking but God sends a huge fish to swallow him up - Jonah lives inside the fish for 3 days - God commands the fish to vomit Jonah back on land - God a second time tells Jonah to go to preach against Nineveh - Jonah obeys and the entire City repents and turns to God - God forgives them - Jonah is now angry that God saved the people of Nineveh since they were the mortal enemies of his people - God gives Jonah an object lesson with a plant that first gives him shade and then dies - the story ends with Jonah still mad. Understanding the background information helps us to understand the meaning and lesson from the book of Jonah.
There are 12 books in the Old Testament that are known as the books of the Minor Prophets. They are called minor not because of a lack of importance but because they are short books. Probably the most well known of the books of the Minor prophets is the book of Jonah. Almost everyone has heard of the story of the huge fish that swallowed up the prophet Jonah and then spit him back on land. You can watch cartoons based upon this well known story. The basic story is as follows - God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against the city because of its evil - Jonah runs away and goes in the opposite geographical direction towards Tarshish - Jonah gets into a boat - Gods send a storm that threatens to sink the boat - the sailors realize the storm was sent by God because of Jonah - the sailors with Jonahs consent throw Jonah overboard and the storm stops - Jonah is sinking but God sends a huge fish to swallow him up - Jonah lives inside the fish for 3 days - God commands the fish to vomit Jonah back on land - God a second time tells Jonah to go to preach against Nineveh - Jonah obeys and the entire City repents and turns to God - God forgives them - Jonah is now angry that God saved the people of Nineveh since they were the mortal enemies of his people - God gives Jonah an object lesson with a plant that first gives him shade and then dies - the story ends with Jonah still mad. Understanding the background information helps us to understand the meaning and lesson from the book of Jonah.
Some Background Information
Jonah was a prophet which means that he spoke God's word to people. 2 kings 14:23-25 tells us a little bit about Jonah. He lived in the country of Israel north of the region of Galilee about 4 miles from Nazareth where Jesus grew up. He preached in Israel and apparently was used by God to bring about good reforms. Nineveh was the capital of the country of Assyria. The Assyrians were mortal enemies of the people of Israel. They were brutal, violent warriors. They had at times attacked and killed people in Israel. They would do such things as rip open pregnant women with swords and kill children. There was hatred between the two groups. The Assyrians worshiped false gods. When God had created the people of Israel in the time of Abraham God promised He would bless them and that they would be a blessing to the whole world. God's plan was to have a people - His people - who would be a light to all people everywhere so that many would turn to God. The Israelites however became self focused and viewed the other nations as outside of God's concern. It is interesting that even today that is the attitude of the Jewish religion. When Jesus came he confronted that attitude very strongly. Some examples are the parable of the prodigal son and the older son not being happy when the father accepted back the prodigal son (Luke 15:28) and the parable of the workers who were sent to the harvest at the last hour yet received the same wages (Matthew 20:15). The purpose of the book of Jonah was to confront the people of Israel with their lack of concern for those outside of their circle.
Digging Deeper Questions:
1. Tell the story of the book of Jonah in your own words. Discuss it together so everyone knows the basic facts.
6. How can we break out of our self focus and reach people outside of our circle? How can we have God's heart for the lost?
7. What will you apply from this study?
This Week’s Victory Challenge: Implement together a plan to reach other people through your group. (same as last week - keep at it until you have a plan)
Jonah was a prophet which means that he spoke God's word to people. 2 kings 14:23-25 tells us a little bit about Jonah. He lived in the country of Israel north of the region of Galilee about 4 miles from Nazareth where Jesus grew up. He preached in Israel and apparently was used by God to bring about good reforms. Nineveh was the capital of the country of Assyria. The Assyrians were mortal enemies of the people of Israel. They were brutal, violent warriors. They had at times attacked and killed people in Israel. They would do such things as rip open pregnant women with swords and kill children. There was hatred between the two groups. The Assyrians worshiped false gods. When God had created the people of Israel in the time of Abraham God promised He would bless them and that they would be a blessing to the whole world. God's plan was to have a people - His people - who would be a light to all people everywhere so that many would turn to God. The Israelites however became self focused and viewed the other nations as outside of God's concern. It is interesting that even today that is the attitude of the Jewish religion. When Jesus came he confronted that attitude very strongly. Some examples are the parable of the prodigal son and the older son not being happy when the father accepted back the prodigal son (Luke 15:28) and the parable of the workers who were sent to the harvest at the last hour yet received the same wages (Matthew 20:15). The purpose of the book of Jonah was to confront the people of Israel with their lack of concern for those outside of their circle.
6. How can we break out of our self focus and reach people outside of our circle? How can we have God's heart for the lost?
7. What will you apply from this study?
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