Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-4 NASB

Podcast Introduction

It’s Prophecy Friday, and we’ll read the book of Jonah. I’m calling this episode “The Folly of Jonah’s Flight.“

Summary

Jonah, a prophet, carried God’s message to Nineveh. He was swallowed by a fish and eventually obeyed God’s command. Jonah became angry when Nineveh repented, but the story teaches about God’s love for all nations. Grateful for redemption offered to everyone.

Listen to the episode for more!

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The Team

Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting 2.0 Chapters
Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
Why would anybody think they could get away from God?

Steve Webb 0:04
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible, coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. It’s Prophecy Friday and our reading today is the book of Jonah. The website is lifespringmedia.com and I’ll have contact information at the end of the show. Before we read, let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for our time around your Word today. Show us what we can take with us as we read. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. All right, Beloved, are you ready? Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:42
Jonah, chapter 1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Steve Webb 3:07
Jonah, chapter 2. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.” Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

Steve Webb 4:15
Jonah, chapter 3. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Steve Webb 5:40
Jonah, chapter 4. But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” The Lord said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.” Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.” Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

Steve Webb 7:24
Well, Beloved, as you know, this book called Jonah is grouped in with what are commonly called the books of the Minor Prophets. Did you notice any of what we commonly think of as prophecy in today’s reading? Not really, not much, just one sentence, and it wasn’t until chapter 3, verse 4, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” But let’s remember that a prophet is not only one who tells what will happen in the future. A prophet is one who carries a message from God. And this Jonah did, eventually. Jonah was a prophet as much as any of the other biblical prophets. Now, as for whether or not a man could actually be swallowed whole by a fish. First, in the original language, the word translated as “fish” is “deg” or “dag”, D-A-G. Actually, in the Hebrew, it’s just D-G. And that actually is the Hebrew word for “fish”. So in my mind, that settles it. Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. Is it not entirely conceivable that God would be able to create a fish large enough to swallow a man? Of course, it is. Now some people say that it must have been a whale. I don’t really know why it’s easier to believe that a whale swallowed him than a fish, but okay. According to gotquestions.org, quote, “There are at least two species of Mediterranean marine life that are able to swallow a man whole. These are the cachalot, also known as the sperm whale, and the white shark. Both creatures are known to prowl the Mediterranean and have been known to sailors since antiquity,” unquote. Actually, that entire article there at gotquestions.org is worth a read. I’ve created a redirect at lifespringmedia.com/jonah. That’ll take you over there to that article if you want to look at it. Lifespringmedia.com/jonah. We first heard of the man Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25, where we were told that he was from Gath-Hepher in Galilee. He brought a message of mercy to Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II who practiced the worship of the golden calf. Well, in this book that bears his name, we read how God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and rebuke them and call them to repent. But Jonah’s response was “No, not them.” The Ninevites were considered the worst of the worst. He didn’t want them to receive God’s mercy. And so he ran away in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Why would anybody think they could get away from God? But he did. But through his experience with the fish, Jonah learned that following God is the better choice. So when God called him to go a second time, he went. But then Jonah became angry when Nineveh did repent, and he became angry at God’s mercy and forgiving Nineveh. Listen to this from the introductory notes at bible.com. Quote, “Jonah’s role in the book is to represent the attitude of many in Israel toward other nations. Instead of accepting their own calling to help these nations come to know the true God, they considered them enemies and expected God to destroy them. The book teaches that God’s love extends beyond Israel to other nations, indeed, to the whole creation. God’s final question to Jonah is intended for all the book’s readers,” unquote. So to review, what was that final question? Here it is. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right hand and left hand, as well as many animals? Well, Beloved, I’m so glad that God has offered redemption to all nations because that offer was extended to me and to you. Well, what do you think of our brother Jonah? What are your thoughts? You have comments or questions? Contact information is at the end of the show. And if you’ve got a modern podcast app, you can comment via boostagram. Tomorrow will be Gospel Saturday, and our reading will be Acts 3 and 4.

Steve Webb 11:35
Lester came in today with $25. Thank you so much, Brother. God bless you. And Lifespring Berean Brother Sean of San Pedro sent in a 10,000 sat boost. Hey, Brother Sean, thanks so much. I’ll be praying for you as you and your beautiful family are driving to Phoenix. Give a big hug to Howie and Ann for me when you get there, okay? And those of us in Southern California are gonna miss you three. And @curlsandscissors84 sent in a 1000 sat boostagram. And she said, “I’ve been listening for about three months now, which is around the same time I started going to church with my family. Your daily readings have greatly helped me follow the Bible and understand Scripture. So thank you for all you do and helping people with their walk with the Lord.” You’re welcome @curlsandscissors84. Thank you for the boostagram. I’m so happy to have you in the Lifespring family. And it’s great that you and yours are going to church together. That’s wonderful to hear. God bless you. Beloved, if you receive any value from the Lifespring! One Year Bible, if it’s helped you in some way, maybe giving you a better understanding of a chapter or book of the Bible, maybe in providing a way to read through the Bible for the first time or the twentieth time, whatever, I’m just asking you to please consider supporting the show so I can keep bringing it to you seven days a week. Pray about it. See what the Lord would have you do and then go to

Jingle 12:59
Lifespringmedia.com/support

Steve Webb 12:59
I’ll thank you, and I believe God will bless you.

Jingle 13:06
The Lifespring 714 Club.

Steve Webb 13:08
If you agree that the culture around us is going in the wrong direction, this is your invitation to join the 7:14 Club. In 2 Chronicles 7:14. God said, “If my people who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Well, I’d like to see a move of God in our world to bring healing. How about you? Join us as we pray every day at 7:14 to pray and seek God’s forgiveness and his will and pray for your country, wherever you are. Pray that his will would be done. Set an alarm on your device for 7:14 am or pm or both, to remind yourself to pray, and then go to 714club.org, and add your name to the list of Lifespring family members who are praying, scroll to the bottom of the page there at 714club.org – that’s numeral 7-1-4 club.org and put your name in the comment form that you see at the bottom there. And as soon as I see your comment, I’ll add your name to the list. You can also email me with “7:14 Club” in the subject line, or you can send a 714 sat boostagram.

Announcer 14:23
Please leave a message.

Steve Webb 14:24
Sunday will be here soon. That’s our next time of prayer requests and praises. Call in your prayer request or praise report so I can pray for you in my quiet time and share with the rest of the Lifespring family on the show. Here’s how to reach me if you have a comment, a question a prayer request, or a praise report… There’s my 7:14 alarm right now. I’ll do that in… when I’m done recording here… Where was I? If you have a comment, or question, a prayer request, or a praise report, here’s how to reach me. First, send me a boostagram using a modern podcast app. You can find several to choose from at podcastapps.com. Or to leave a message, call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. Or for prayer requests and praise reports, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Or with comments or questions go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. And finally, my email address is st***@*************ia.com. Now how many people do you know that are that easy to get a hold of?

Steve Webb 15:36
Jason Paschall did today’s show art. Sister Denise corrects the transcripts. Michael Haner creates the chapters which you can see on most modern podcast apps. And Scott Snider and Jason Paschall share the show art creation. Sister Brittaney publishes the newsletter. Thanks, guys. And thanks to Lester for his donation of treasure today. And those of you that send boosts and streaming sats, I’m so thankful for each and every one of you. And thanks to you, Beloved, for allowing me into your day. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Until then, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Announcer 16:13
Chapters, transcripts, images, links. Stream micropayments to the podcast, and send satoshis in real time over the Lightning Network using a compatible Podcasting 2.0 app. Just go to newpodcastapps.com. That’s newpodcastapps.com. And for more info go to podcastindex.org. Boost!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai