The Sign of the Prophet Jonah

But he said unto them, Have you not read what David did when he was in hunger and they that were with him? How he entered into the house of God and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?

Local Pharisees saw this and confronted him about the breaking of the Sabbath law. The Sabbath law concerning work begins with this in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20, verse 8, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

These Pharisees would have had this passage in mind when they saw Jesus eating the corn. Jesus rebuked them and recounted how David ate the showbread as described in the following passage. 1 Samuel chapter 21 verse 3. Now therefore, what is under thine hand? Give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread, if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of a truth, women have been kept from us for about three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. So the priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

Christ’s rebuke of the Pharisees included how while the showbread was for the priests only, the priests allowed David and his men to eat the bread if they were not defiled with women. Christ also reminded the Pharisees that the priests themselves profaned the temple on the Sabbath day with an offering. Numbers 28, verse nine. And on the Sabbath day, two lambs of the first year without spot and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering mingled with oil and the drink offering thereof. the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil and the drink offering thereof. This act of work on the Sabbath day is a breaking of the Sabbath law.

They’re working on the Sabbath day to do this. Christ then declares that he is greater than the temple itself. Matthew 12, 6. But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. For if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. Christ’s call for mercy and not sacrifice is the center of the gospel. that men and women must cry out to the Lord and turn to him, that in his mercy to men, God will save them. Romans chapter 11, verse 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. Several miracles are recorded in Matthew chapter 12, such as the man with the withered hand that Jesus healed, Matthew 12, 9. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue.

And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days that they might accuse him? And he said unto them, what man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep? And if it fall into the pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?

Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then he saith to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole like the other. This angered the Pharisees. And when their anger had grown to a dangerous level, Christ performed another miracle in escaping from those who wished to do him harm, and then healed people as he left. Matthew 12, 14, Then the Pharisees went out and held counsel against him, how they might destroy him.

But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. The fulfilled prophecies here in the next passage are important to my message. Matthew 12, 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet saying, this is a quotation from the book of Isaiah chapter 42 verses 1 through four. 1218, behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.

He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. The coming of our Lord was not just a fulfilled prophecy toward the Jewish nation, but to fulfill prophecy toward the Jewish nation, but to fulfill prophecy to the world. And a prophecy that is mentioned here contains how he’s not doing this just for the purpose of drawing attention to himself, but to prove that he is a holy and just and loving God and offering salvation to all who believe.

In here, in saying that in his name shall the Gentiles trust and that he is going to be the redeemer of the world. If you can do it really quick. Speed drills. Let’s go to Genesis chapter three.

I have tabs. 3.15, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed and it, the child of the woman, shall bruise thy head, the head of the serpent. And it shall bruise thy head, the child shall bruise the head of the serpent, and thou shall bruise his heel. This is the promise of the Redeemer given to the world. Genesis 315, the very first time it’s spoken of.

And when we go to verse 21, unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin and clothe them. Where did God get the coats of skin? These were animals he had just created. The example given here by taking animals that he had just created was showing that the Redeemer that was promised to come from the seed of the woman had to come from God.

Why? Because the woman is now a sinner. She disobeyed God. Her spirit died. Adam disobeyed God. His spirit died. The two of them together are only going to produce a child with a dead spirit. Therefore, the child that is promised from the woman must come from God. The animal that is killed and sacrificed here had to come from God in order to be the perfect symbolic sacrifice to pay the price for sin that God promised in Genesis 3.15.

This is how Jesus is referring to himself. You have to know the Bible to go back to that. But that’s what he was talking about in order to be that sacrifice. In the continuation of his divine nature being presented, Christ healed a demonically possessed man who had been made blind and dumb by the demon and was freed from that. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, and he healed him insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

The people responded that he must be the Son of God, but the Pharisees responded by committing a great blasphemy against our Lord by declaring, Matthew 12, 24. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. Christ rebuked them for such a thing and answered them directly. Matthew 12, 25. And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself.

How shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you.

The book of Matthew chapter 12 includes such acts of mercy and kindness that God showed the people of Israel that did not include the necessity of demonstrations of following the law by the exact letter or by the need to sacrifice, nor using the calling down of fire upon those who insulted the Lord. sacrifice, nor using the calling down of fire upon those who insulted the Lord. Matthew chapter 12, verse 31 through 32, explain the depths of God’s mercy and add in something that the followers of Jewish law would not have emphasized from Torah, that God is a God of mercy before he is a God of the insistence of works and sacrifice.

Matthew 12, 31. Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven of him. But whosoever speak speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven of him. But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

This passage is a passage that I use in my super secret ministry in the jail, and also with homeless people downtown, when I want to describe to them the mercy of God and how he’s willing to forgive you of any sin that you’re guilty of except one, there’s actually two, but for this purpose, one, and that is unbelief. The other one is the mark of the beast, your right hand or your forehead, and the only reason you get that is unbelief.

That’s unforgivable. Unbelief is unforgivable. If he’s willing to forgive everything except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Then what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? In John 16 we read, nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because they believe not on me, of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more, of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak of himself.

But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He, the Holy Spirit, shall glorify me personality and a personhood to the Holy Spirit, indicating that there are definitely three persons in the Godhead. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And anyone who tells you that the Holy Spirit is just an invisible force moving like water, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses have sometimes said, or it’s something that you can’t describe, you need to look at the pronouns used here. Jesus specifically calls the Holy Spirit a he, a person with will, with determination, will with determination, with a cause.

According to verse 13 and 14, the job of the Holy Spirit is to point you to Christ. The job of the Holy Spirit is not to stand there while somebody slaps you in the forehead. Five people catch you from falling down and they all fall down with you. That is not from the Holy Spirit. That’s somebody deluding themselves or from Satan himself.

The job of the Holy Spirit is to do this and say, look at Jesus. The job of the Holy Spirit is not to be pointing that you see me. The job is that you see Jesus, not me. You see Jesus. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. So what would be blaspheming the Holy Spirit? I believe it would be rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, convicting you of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and therefore blaspheming against the Holy Spirit would be refusing to believe what God said concerning sin in your heart and your need of salvation.

Believe it or not, all this is related. Now that’s the introduction to something that began with a question I asked myself once. Just how far did Jonah walk to get to Nineveh when he came out of the fish?

I heard a message once on a Wednesday crucifixion. And I asked the pastor for his notes. And he looked at me and he said, look it up yourself. That’s about how he said it. And I said, well, all right, I will. And so I looked it up myself. And then I started to think, well, wait a minute. If all this is related, well, then what was this?

And what was that? And it was just something curious. And when the pastor assigned us a night, I said, let me look this up. When we compare scripture with scripture and ask a simple question to fill in the blanks and apply that curiosity to Jonah, being a sign for the Jewish people in the world about Christ’s three days and nights in the tomb, I believe that it is more than just three days in the fish or three days in the tomb, and believe that it is more than just three days in the fish or three days in the tomb.

And much of that answer is found in what we just looked at in Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, verse 38. Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it but a sign of the prophet Jonas.

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas. And behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it. For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Jesus said this to a Jewish audience that he knew would be familiar with the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Jesus said this to a Jewish audience that he knew would be familiar with the story of Jonah and the mercy of God toward the Ninevites. Jonah was from a town in a land belonging to the tribe of Zebulun. Here’s where, if we were on the internet, I would call this a meme.

But we’re here and I’m going to call it, let’s find, a picture of the 12 tribes. So where’s Jonah from? Joshua 19.10. Jesus said this to a Jewish audience that he knew would be familiar with the story of Jonah and the mercy of God toward the Ninevites. Jonah was from a town in a land belonging to the tribe of Zebulun near a famous town known as Nazareth.

Now he’s not from Nazareth, but he’s from a town near Nazareth in Zebulun. Where’s Zebulun? Zebulun is right about there. This is the Sea of Galilee. Use this as your reference. Nazareth is right about there. And just above Nazareth, a day’s walk, is where you’re going to find the town that Jonah is from. Joshua 19.10. And the third lot came up to the children of Zebulun, according to their families.

And the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid. And from thence passeth along the east to Githahepher, to Itah Kazin, and goeth out to Remen, Methior, to Neah. Githahepher is the city we’re looking for.

And right here, in the city of Galilee, near Nazareth, is the town Githah Hefer. I always wanted people to do this when we talked about cities in the Bible so that I could follow along. And that’s why I’m doing this. I think this helps so you know where these people are coming from. But this is the town that Jonah was from.

The dwelling place of Jonah is listed as Gath-hefer, a different spelling, in 2 Kings. 2 Kings 14.23. In the 15th year of Amaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria and reign forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam is still doing the same things that the first Jeroboam did.

He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain. from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain. There is a rebuilding of the land up to where Solomon had ruled, like this. The land had gotten this much conquered, and so this is where Solomon had gone, and this was the land that Jeroboam II had brought the land of Israel back to.

According to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, Jonah did not just speak in his book, he prophesied earlier, the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gath-Hepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter. For there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.

That’s the second Jeroboam. The prophet Elisha had predicted this time of prosperity for the northern kingdom in 2 Kings 13. That would be the same area that I showed you. He predicted that it would grow to this. 2 Kings 13, verse 14. Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness wherever he died. And Joash, the king of Israel, came down to him and wept over his face and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.

And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it. And Elisha put his hand upon the king’s hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. And Elisha said, Shoot. And the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria.

For thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, take the arrows. And he took them, and he said unto the king of Israel, smite upon the ground. And he smote three times, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, thou should have smitten five or six times. Then hast thou smitten Syria, till thou hast consumed.

Whereas now thou shalt smitten Syria till thou hast consumed, whereas now thou shall smite Syria but thrice. They could have had more, but they didn’t. I’m going to ask you all to squint, because I’ve got a timeline here that I didn’t print out. Can you see that?

Can you all see that? We’re going to get into dates. The exact time that Jonah served is not mentioned. It’s not in the Bible, but we do have a particular king mentioned, Jeroboam, the son of Joash. So we do have a time span from scholars, from someone like Thomas Ice, claiming that 780 to 775 B.C., on page 81 in his book, charting the Bible chronologically.

This is something I printed out. Gives you the time of different prophets. This was believed to be the full time, 783 to 753, from Gath Heffer. And where he’s from is listed here. And where his specific ministry was listed to have come from. But he did more. We’ve seen that already. ministry was listed to have come from, but he did more. We’ve seen that already. And John Walvrood’s estimate of Jonah’s mission being 150 years before the fall of Nineveh of 612 BC, placing Jonah in Nineveh in 762 BC, page 287 in his book, Every Prophecy of the Bible.

According to Thomas Ice, first author I mentioned, the northern ten tribes fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, which would mean Jonah would have preached his message of repentance a full generation before the judgment of the northern ten tribes, which gives proof to what we like to say God does not have grandchildren. We know that Nineveh repented, but if they had to be destroyed later, it means that the repentance of the previous generation didn’t stay.

It is believed by some that Jonah served as a prophet during the reign of Shalmaneser IV of Assyria through Asher Neri. I have seen some things in the British Museum where they have Jehu and Hezekiah on a large stela, but that would be a different Shalmaneser or Tiglath-Pileser, I forgot. But they don’t have anything for Jonah coming in. And here you have a timeline. Can you squint and see that?

A different timeline where you can look up and you can see what’s going on in Assyria from the Assyrian timeline of when the prophets were there. There is, let me find this one now.

This one’s gonna come in handy right now. Jonah was told by God to go to Nineveh in judgment to tell them where they were to be destroyed by God for their wickedness. Now the word of the Lord came up to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. Well, where did Jonah go?

Jonah didn’t go to Nineveh. Jonah got in a boat. Now, nobody knows where the real location of Tarshish is, but some people believe it’s over here. A Spanish city by the name of Cadiz is there now, and I think it’s Tesoros, something like that. And I’ve looked up the distance from right around here where Tel Aviv is, is where the city of Jaffa is now, which used to be called Joppa.

And it’s about 2,300 miles if you went like a straight line. The harshness of the Assyrians would have been known to all of Israel and Judah, and the very thought of God being merciful to such a people would have been considered absurd. Yet Jonah knew that God is a God of mercy, and knowing how the Assyrians are harsh taskmasters, Jonah 1. Jonah is thrown into the sea.

The next passage appears to show a short discourse that in reality would have been a little more detailed for the shipmates understood that the calamity upon them was because of Jonah himself and his disobedience to God. Jonah 1.7, and they said, everyone to his fellow, come, let us cast lots that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah 1, 7, Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said unto them, Why hast thou done this?

For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto them, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the sea wrought and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up and cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea be calm unto you. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

Nevertheless the men rode hard to bring it to the land. But they could not, for the sea wrought and was tempestuous around them. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee.

Let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood, for thou, O Lord, has done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from a raging. And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows. From this passage it appears that the men of the ship became believers in Jehovah and rightly sacrificed for their thanks and to honor the holiness of the Lord who just saved them.

Knowing also, since we come from a Christian nation, we’re familiar with all the stories of the Bible since we’re small children, even before we got saved, those of us that went to church heard this story. We know of the prophecies concerning Christ in the New Testament, in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, John the Baptist declares, John 129, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Before I go any further, I’m not saying Jonah is that lamb. I’m not saying that. We also know that Jesus was killed in time for the Passover. I am saying that Jesus is that lamb. And if Jesus is the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world, it should be interesting to connect various passages to practices concerning the first Passover in Exodus 12.

Exodus 12 verse 3, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. This day became known as the day of presentation, the tenth day of the first month, with the Passover being on the 14th. It is possible from the Gospel of Big Jim, it’s not in scripture, but I’m seeing this as a possibility, that the time period from when Jonah stepped in the boat in Joppa, and by the time where the men would have thrown him overboard, could have been that four days.

Mariners know the sky. They know the routes to travel. They know the currents to go. They know how they’re going to get there. They know the wind. They know what’s going to happen each time of the year. They’re not going to leave if a storm is coming. So there would have been a time period. It’s possible. These mariners would know the seas, would have read the skies, known the currents in the areas they sailed, and therefore they would not set sail if they thought a major storm was ahead of them.

It is possible then the length of time in the boat was four days before the storm was so bad that they implored Jonah to admit his disobedience and then be thrown overboard. This would fit in a way with the Passover practice that the lamb was to be killed and eaten would be presented on the 10th day and then killed on the evening of the 14th day. And that Jonah being three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish would be a prophetic example of Christ’s three days and three nights in the tomb.

Keep in mind, Palm Sunday, the day of presentation is four days before Passover. That four days of presentation would fit him with Bible prophecy. Christ said that the sign of the prophet Jonas was what he was going to give them. I think it’s possible. I think it can be used as an example. I’m not saying that it’s pure, but I think it can be used as an example.

The great fish swallows Jonah. Jonah 1.17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. The King James Bible uses a Hebrew word, Strong’s number H1709, pronounced dog or dog, and the word H1419, pronounced gadol, together meaning great fish. In the Greek, when Jesus calls it a whale, he uses the word katos, meaning sea creature, great fish, whale, or sea monster.

The previous verses show a guilty man fleeing from doing God’s will, the guilty man confessing his sin, and explained how his death would bring safety to the mariners. His death was considered murder by the shipmates because the sin of Jonah was not directly against them, but God himself. After confessing their fault to God and imploring for their blood guilt to not be held against them for throwing him overboard, Jonah was sent to what they believed was his sure death.

Several interesting parallels occur when we consider a few things. Isaiah 53, 6, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. While these men are all sinners as all men, they were guiltless in what they did and what was happening to them. But Jonah was known to God as the guilty one, and his death brought life to the men in the boat. Because of his presentation of he being a prophet before God, those men made sacrifices to Jehovah God, indicating they became believers because of Jonah’s apparent death and God’s obvious provision of life to them, which kept them safe.

While Jonah’s death was not an atoning death as like a sinless animal, because as a sinner, he would not be worthy of dying for sin. There’s a similarity between Jonah and the scapegoat of Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16, 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat into the wilderness. Jonah was selected to be sacrificed. The men of the ship all prayed for forgiveness for their sins. They believed on the Lord through Jonah’s preaching and as they were the men to do the work executed the judgment of throwing Jonah into the wilderness of the sea, they could be seen as the fit men leading the goat to the wilderness.

Our Savior was killed in a similar way. He was carried to the outside of the town, killed for the people, bore all the iniquities in his death. Jonah’s preaching to the shipmates and being thrown overboard brought salvation to the mariners and forgiveness of their sins because they believed in Jehovah God. There is a discussion about whether Jonah died inside the great fish or was kept alive. I’m double-minded on this because about three months ago, I would have told you something different than what I’m going to say now.

I listened to a couple other sermons, some men who are dead now, who I really respected, I’ve heard them several times, and they said he stayed alive. And I’ve had other people tell me he stayed alive. So I’m going to tell you he stayed alive. And I’ve had other people tell me he stayed alive. So I’m going to tell you he stayed alive. There’s a discussion about whether Jonah died inside the great fish or whether he was kept alive.

Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord God out of the fish’s belly. If Jonah was dead, how could he pray? 2-2, and he said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord. And he heard me out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice. Do dead men cry out to the Lord? Lazarus heard the rich man in Luke 16, 19 through 31, cry out to God, but was God lending a helpful ear?

Jonah 2, 3, for thou has cast me into the deep in the midst of the seas and the floods compassed me about all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul. The depth closed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head.

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about me forever. That’s the one that always told me he died. But I’ve been told I was wrong. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. If Jonah was alive, what corruption would he be facing?

Does this verse mean he died? Jonah 2.7. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. If the soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. If the soul fainting is what brought Jonah to his senses, was he still alive? It is my belief that Jonah was kept alive by a miracle of God.

If not, his testimony of what is experienced during his death would be the only one recorded in Scripture. It is my opinion that the following verses show that Jonah lived and fulfilled his obligation to obey the Lord as one of his prophets. Jonah 2.8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

And the Lord spake unto the fish and had vomited out Jonah on dry land. Brings us to the last question. How far is it from Joppa to Nineveh? Nineveh’s not on the map. I couldn’t find a good map. But Nineveh’s like over here. Something like, or down here. Something like that.

We would have to assume, because it’s not told, that Jonah was spat out at the place of origin, for the Bible is silent. The distance from Joppa, today known as Jaffa, is 1,355 kilometers, or 842 miles, and that depends on how you get there. There’s a modern highway that goes directly east and then directly north, and that was quite a ways. It goes east through Israel, through Jordan, and then up Syria.

If the sign of the prophet Jonas represents more than three days and three nights in the belly of the whale and three days and three nights in the tomb, does it include the time to Pentecost also? We’ve already considered the four days of the presentation of the Passover lamb as being possible in our timeline to the throwing of Jonah in the water and the crucifixion of Christ. If the journey from Joppa to Nineveh represented the 50 days until Pentecost, the journey would require about 17 miles a day walking. Not many of us can walk 10 miles in a day. The distance above from Joppa to Mosul, the city that borders Nineveh, is by two roads and represents major highways. In ancient times, improved roads were rare and would be limited to areas that had access to water for animals and humans for drinking, maybe farmers who sold food who would need water too. The distance from Tel Aviv area near Jaffa to Aleppo, Syria is about 500 kilometers or 314 miles. From Aleppo to Mosul is 534 kilometers or 332 miles. That is over 600 miles combined walking on trails and ancient trade routes in need of food and water.

My point here is at the sign of the prophet Jonah, how much of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection was it to be similar to? A 600-mile walk over 50 days on unimproved roads is quite a feat of over 10 miles a day walking, looking for food and water. I believe that this time period is possible to be included in the calling of the sign of prophet Jonah being compared to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Jonah’s arrival in Nineveh has often brought comments from commentators that he would be bleached white, clothes torn or ragged, smelling like a fish’s belly. This is also not in the Bible. You’ll hear commentators say this. They try and make you smile. But due to the response of the men in the ship, they knew who he was. They talked to him. We can safely assume that anybody who walked with him to Nineveh asked him where he was going and why.

Why are you going here? Certainly someone would be faster. They may have spoken with him, and he told them of the impending doom of Nineveh. They would have repeated this message to any who would hear, either in faith or scorn. Jonah’s testimony of him serving the only God, the God of Israel, would precede him. Then the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

So Jonah arose, went into Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them, even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth and satin ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and the noble saying, let neither man beast, herd nor flock taste anything. Let them not feed nor drink water, but let every man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God. Yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not. And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way. And God repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto them, and he did it not. True to his nature, God repented of his righteous judgment and showed righteous mercy to a people who did not deserve it. A passage comes to mind. Jeremiah 18 verse 7. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it.

If that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it. If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. The promises of the coming Redeemer to Israel were also to the world.

The God of creation is the God of the whole earth, and the promised Redeemer was for all men. In these following verses, God explains to Isaiah and Malachi, a part of the plan of God to unite Jew and Gentile in God’s perfect plan. Isaiah 11.10, And in that day there will be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign for the people, and to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. Isaiah 42.1, behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my soul upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Isaiah 42, 6.

I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and I will hold thine hand and will keep thee and will give thee for a covenant of the people for a light to the Gentiles. Isaiah 66, 19. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, they that draw the bow, to Tubal, and to Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my name, neither have seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

For from the, Malachi 1.11, for from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. And in every place, incense shall be offered unto my Our God we follow is the same God Jonah follows and is the same God that the people of Nineveh should follow. Isaiah 54, 5. For thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts is thy name, and the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

The God of the whole earth shall he be called. This same God has the authority to judge and forgive. And when he forgave Nineveh, he did so because he’s a just and loving God. The people responded to a message of righteousness, most surely from a man who said more than a few words, but as clear to the city of Nineveh as to the mariners on Jonah’s most expensive boat ride.

Jonah chapter 4, verse 1. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was this not my saying when I was in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou were a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness and repentance of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better for me to die than live. Then said the Lord, doest thou well to be angry? Can you imagine that Jonah was not angry at himself for not trusting God, but that he was angry that God forgave wicked people?

The attributes of God being gracious, slow to anger, of great kindness, these are the things that make Jonah mad? The longer a Bible-believing Christian worships the Lord, we see these things as attributes of God that we count on for ourselves. The message of Jonah being called a sign to the Jewish people can possibly be summed up like this. While Jonah was disobedient to the Lord and therefore in sin, he can never be used to fully explain a connection to the Passover Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. But his time of travel before his death, or his time of life in the fish, and his witness to the mariners on the voyage became a presentation of the God of Israel who they placed their trust in, and his death by being thrown in the water, the wilderness, he became their sacrifice for sin, which once Jonah was outside the boat and in the water, their storm stopped, and their open praise of the only God of heaven.

Jonah’s time of travel, therefore, being thrown overboard, could therefore be compared to the four days of presentation of the lamb to be sacrificed. 2. Jonah being immediately swallowed by the great fish and kept for three days, praying to the Lord while he was there, recognizing his state, and then ending up repenting and vowing to serve the Lord, is the first comparison everyone makes when they think of Christ’s words comparing Jonah to being the sign given to Israel. Number three, Jonah’s time of travel to Nineveh on foot could have been 50 days until the feast of Pentecost in which God’s Holy Spirit poured out mercy and grace to all who believed. In this, a Jewish prophet ended up doing what God said, which led our God to show what a merciful God he really is.

And not only that he is the God of the Jews, but a God of the Gentiles. Romans chapter 3, verse 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles only. Seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith.