NOTES/SLIDES:
To be from Galilee, for the common Israelite, is not a badge of honor.
While not mentioned in the books of Kings, there is archealogical record of King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10) paying a massive tribute to Shalmaneser III.
The Lord commands Jonah.
– he obstinately refuses.
The Lord commands the winds.
– the winds respond by stirring up a storm.
The Lord communicated through lots to the sailors.
– the sailors respond in worship to the Lord.
The Lord appoints/provides a fish to swallow Jonah.
– the fish responds in obedience to the Lord.
The Lord speaks with/commands the fish.
– the fish responds again (by giving up/releasing Jonah).
The Lord has been the primary character in this story.
What we can fairly estimate is that Jonah was not ralphed on the doorstep of Nineveh.
We know at this point that Jonah knows:
1) the Lord’s voice well enough to grasp that God has called him
2) to where (and whom) God is sending him
3) why his message is needed
But Jonah does not know precisely what he’s supposed to say.
"Overthworn" hapak (הָפַךְ, 2015), “to turn, overturn, change, transform, turn back.”
The Ninevites eagerly respond in contrast to Jonah’s reluctant obedience.
