Jonah 1:1-3 - Prayer Tents

Jonah Runs from the Lord

1The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:H1697H3068H3124H1121H573H559 2“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”H6965H3212H5210H1419H5892H7121H7451H5927H6440 3But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.H3124H6965H1272H8659H6440H3068H3381H3305H4672H591H935H8659H5414H7939H3381H935H8659H6440H3068 4But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.H3068H2904H1419H7307H3220H1419H5591H3220H591H2803H7665 5Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.H4419H3372H2199H376H430H2904H3627H591H3220H7043H3124H3381H3411H5600H7901H7290 6So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”H7227H2259H7126H559H7290H6965H7121H430H430H6245H6 7Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit.H559H376H7453H3212H5307H1486H3045H7945H7451H5307H1486H1486H5307H3124 8“Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”H559H5046H7451H4399H370H935H776H5971 9Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”H559H5680H3373H3068H430H8064H6213H3220H3004 10The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned.H582H1419H3374H3372H559H6213H582H3045H1272H6440H3068H5046 11And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”H559H6213H3220H8367H3220H1980H5590 12“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”H559H5375H2904H3220H3220H8367H3045H7945H1419H5591 13Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it.H582H2864H7725H3004H3201H3220H1980H5590 14Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”H7121H3068H559H577H3068H6H376H5315H5414H5355H1818H3068H6213H2654 15Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!H5375H3124H2904H3220H3220H5975H2197 16The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.H582H3372H3068H1419H3374H2076H2077H3068H5087H5088 17Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.H3068H4487H1419H1709H1104H3124H3124H4578H1709H7969H3117H7969H3915

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

3Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time:H1697H3068H3124H8145H559 2“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”H6965H3212H5210H1419H5892H7121H7150H1696 3This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.H3124H6965H3212H5210H1697H3068H5210H430H1419H5892H7969H3117H4109 4On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”H3124H2490H935H5892H259H3117H4109H7121H559H705H3117H5210H2015 5The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.H582H5210H539H430H7121H6685H3847H8242H1419H6996 6When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.H1697H5060H4428H5210H6965H3678H5674H155H3680H8242H3427H665 7Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city. “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all.H2199H559H5210H2940H4428H1419H559H120H929H1241H6629H2938H3972H7462H8354H4325 8People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.H120H929H3680H8242H7121H2394H430H7725H376H7451H1870H2555H3709 9Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”H3045H430H7725H5162H7725H2740H639H6 10When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.H430H7200H4639H7725H7451H1870H430H5162H7451H1696H6213H6213

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Mercy

4This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.H3415H3124H1419H7451H2734 2So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.H6419H3068H559H577H3068H1697H127H1272H6923H8659H3045H2587H410H7349H750H639H7227H2617H5162H7451 3Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”H3068H3947H5315H2896H4194H2416 4The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”H559H3068H3190H2734 5Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.H3124H3318H5892H3427H6924H5892H6213H5521H3427H6738H7200H5892 6And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.H3068H430H4487H7021H5927H3124H6738H7218H5337H7451H3124H1419H8057H8055H7021 7But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away.H430H4487H8438H7837H5927H4283H5221H7021H3001 8And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.H8121H2224H430H4487H2759H6921H7307H8121H5221H7218H3124H5968H7592H5315H4191H559H2896H4194H2416 9Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”H430H559H3124H3190H2734H7021H559H3190H2734H4194 10Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly.H559H3068H2347H7021H5998H1431H1121H3915H6H1121H3915 11But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”H2347H5210H1419H5892H3426H7235H8147H6240H7239H120H3045H3225H8040H7227H929