Lessons Learned from Jonah

      Meditations on God’s Restoring Grace

      Copyright © 2017 Robert Snitko. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Resource Publications

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-3347-8

      hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-3349-2

      ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-3348-5

      Manufactured in the U.S.A. January 15, 2018

      Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      Italics in Scripture quotations have been added by the author for emphasis.

      For Mags.

      Thank you for your persistent,

      Christ-like love towards me.

      Foreword

      The devotional you hold in your hands is rather unique. For starters, it has a unique author. The first time I met Rob was when he walked into my office as a summer intern after his first year in college. It didn’t take long for me to be impressed by two things—his love of Jesus and his impressive work ethic. Rob’s story and life have been marked by a radical love for Jesus in ways that can only be attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit in him. All the more, in an age where acceptable study methods consist of typing questions into Google, Rob has committed himself to hard work of deep, thoughtful, and labor intensive study of Scripture without shortcuts. That you will find yourself in these lessons is proof of Rob’s ability to understand and communicate well.

      I also appreciate this devotional for its unique perspective. Studies in the Minor Prophets have a tendency toward moralism and allegorization. You won’t find that here. With a Spurgeon-esque approach of taking the text straight to the cross, the points of the text are allowed to become pointers to Christ. Why more devotions don’t take this approach is a mystery. After all, this is the approach Jesus himself takes in Matthew’s gospel, as he reinterprets the Jonah prophecy to be ultimately understood through the lens of his own life, death, and resurrection (Matthew 12:38–42). This approach makes these lessons invaluable to the new Christian as well as the seasoned saint.

      The combination of a unique author with a unique perspective ultimately yields a work with a unique goal: transformation. These lessons are not designed to leave us where we started. In wrestling with the immediate story of Jonah and the wider story of Redemption, we are forced to consider those areas of our lives that need refinement and progress.

      As you read these lessons, I’m sure you will, like me, admire Rob’s pastoral heart, helpful guidance, and ability to demystify the story in a way that speaks to our real lives today.

      Dan Jacobsen

      Campus Pastor

      Bethel Church

      Acknowledgments

      I would like to thank my incredible wife, Mags, for constantly encouraging me to write, while challenging me in my thinking as I write. Thank you for noticing the irresistible grace of God that is found in the Jonah narrative. This work would not have transpired without your insight and diligence for God and His love towards people. I would also like to thank my brother-in-law, Ben, for being a second pair of eyes during this writing process. Your push for excellence in writing is very admirable. Finally, thank you to all who continue to support me in this journey called life. You know who you are. May the Lord bless you as the gospel of Christ dwells within you.

      Introduction

      The narrative of Jonah is most commonly known as the book about the man inside of a whale. But it is much more than that. In fact, Jonah is one of the most profound stories that we find throughout the entire Bible. It illustrates who we are as fallen human beings, along with our sinful tendencies to run away from God in the moments that He calls us to obedience. The book of Jonah is loaded with God’s grace which continues to pursue us, even in the midst of our rebellion and selfishness. Despite Jonah’s self-seeking and self-serving heart, God, faithfully sought him out. This is because our God is one of grace, love, and forgiveness. In Him, we find comfort, peace, and encouragement, as He never gives up on us, even when we are focused on ourselves.

      The reality is that we all chase self-preservation. However, through Jonah’s story, God shows that He is merciful to us in the midst of our selfish pursuits, providing grace upon grace so that we may experience His love towards us. Even though we constantly fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), there is hope for us in fulfilling the will of God. That hope is found in the faithfulness of God who offers to us His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we may experience the riches of His love.

      I was inspired to write this devotional because of my passion for the book of Jonah, and because there is much to be learned from studying the ways that we are similar—and dissimilar—to Jonah. Each devotion will conclude with Christological implications for us today. In other words, each one will wrap up with thoughts on how the gospel meets us in the midst of our situations. The gospel is the good news that nourishes us and sustains us. These Christological implications will allow us to see how God covers us in His grace through and through, even when we fall short time and time again.

      The grace of God brings restoration and healing for all who are suffering and broken. The grace of God is never-ending as it displays in the Jonah narrative. God pursues Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninevites regardless of their sinful acts of rebellion towards Him. The narrative displays how the grace of God brings restoration to those who rebel against God. So, let’s dive into the story and experience the wondrous love that offered from our gracious God.

      Part 1

      Stop Running, Listen

      The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

      Jonah 1:1–3

      We live in a world that is constantly on the go. We run from one place to the next and are so used to doing so that life often becomes a blur. When we finally have a moment to catch our breath, we tend to look for another way to keep running. This is a normative Western posture in the twenty-first century, and we all participate in this lifestyle because we think it is gratifying.

      So as we run from God, are we really just trying to cover up the true state of our hearts? The reality is that if we slow down, we are going to hear from God. And in hearing from God, we fear that God is going to ask us to do something that may require our utmost obedience. Are we afraid that if we slow down, God is finally going to be able to speak to us? Is this mask of busyness something that we cling to so that we don’t have to deal with our hearts before God? Because if we stopped running all over the place and slowed down, God would get our attention, convict us of our sin, and perhaps even