Jonah Pt 1 It's Not About A Fish

Many people think the book of Jonah is just a children's story about a man and a giant fish, but the reality is much more provocative. In this teaching, we go beyond the Sunday School lessons to explore Jonah as a satirical masterpiece that challenges our ideas about grace and obedience. We look at Jonah’s background as a nationalist prophet and why he chose to flee toward Tarshish rather than go to Nineveh. By understanding the literary design and historical context of the book, we see that Jonah wasn't running out of fear, but out of a deep resentment toward God's plan to show mercy to his enemies.

This study of Jonah 1:1-3 reveals how we all have a personal "Tarshish" where we try to escape God's presence. We often think we are running for our lives to preserve our comfort and worldview, but we are actually running away from the abundant life God invites us into. Join us as we explore the character of a God whose mercy is far wider than we often want it to be and find out what it means to stop running and finally trust His vision for our lives over our own.