Jonah and the Whale - Bible Story Summary
Obedience is the Theme of Jonah and the Whale

The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.

Jonah found this order unbearable. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies. Jonah, a stubborn fellow, did just the opposite of what he was told. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah "ran away from the Lord."

In response, God sent a violent storm, which threatened to break the ship to pieces. The terrified crew cast lots, determining that Jonah was responsible for the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. First they tried rowing to shore, but the waves got even higher. Afraid of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm. The crew made a sacrifice to God, swearing vows to him.

Instead of drowning, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, which God provided. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and cried out to God in prayer. He praised God, ending with the eerily prophetic statement, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9, NIV)

Jonah was in the giant fish three days. God commanded the whale, and it vomited the reluctant prophet onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed God. He walked through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believed Jonah's message and repented, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God had compassion on them and did not destroy them.

Again Jonah questioned God, because Jonah was angry that Israel's enemies had been spared. When Jonah stopped outside the city to rest, God provided a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah was happy with the vine, but the next day God provided a worm that ate the vine, making it wither. Growing faint in the sun, Jonah complained again.

God scolded Jonah for being concerned about a vine, but not about Nineveh, which had 120,000 lost people. The story ends with God expressing concern even about the wicked.

Points of Interest from Jonah and the Whale:

• God commands everything in his Creation, from the weather to a whale, to carry out his plan. God is in control.

• Jonah spent the same amount of time—three days—inside the whale as Jesus Christ did in the tomb. Christ also preached salvation to the lost.

• It's not important whether it was a great fish or a whale that swallowed Jonah. The point of the story is that God can provide a supernatural means of rescue when his people are in trouble.

• Some scholars believe the Ninevites paid attention to Jonah because of his bizarre appearance. They speculate that the whale's stomach acid bleached Jonah's hair, skin, and clothing a ghostly white.

• Jesus did not consider the book of Jonah to be a fable or myth. While modern skeptics may find it impossible that a man could survive inside a great fish for three days, Jesus compared himself to Jonah, showing that this prophet existed and that the story was historically accurate.

Question for Reflection from Jonah and the Whale:

Jonah thought he knew better than God. But in the end he learned a valuable lesson about the Lord's mercy and forgiveness, which extends beyond Jonah and Israel to all people who repent and believe. Is there some area of your life in which you are defying God, and rationalizing it? Remember that God wants you to be open and honest with him. It's always wise to obey the One who loves you most.HOW BIG IS GOD[size=8pt][/size][font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font][color=#550000][/color]

Jonah and the Whale - Bible Story Summary
Obedience is the Theme of Jonah and the Whale

The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.

Jonah found this order unbearable. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies. Jonah, a stubborn fellow, did just the opposite of what he was told. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah "ran away from the Lord."

In response, God sent a violent storm, which threatened to break the ship to pieces. The terrified crew cast lots, determining that Jonah was responsible for the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. First they tried rowing to shore, but the waves got even higher. Afraid of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm. The crew made a sacrifice to God, swearing vows to him.

Instead of drowning, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, which God provided. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and cried out to God in prayer. He praised God, ending with the eerily prophetic statement, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9, NIV)

Jonah was in the giant fish three days. God commanded the whale, and it vomited the reluctant prophet onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed God. He walked through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believed Jonah's message and repented, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God had compassion on them and did not destroy them.

Again Jonah questioned God, because Jonah was angry that Israel's enemies had been spared. When Jonah stopped outside the city to rest, God provided a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah was happy with the vine, but the next day God provided a worm that ate the vine, making it wither. Growing faint in the sun, Jonah complained again.

God scolded Jonah for being concerned about a vine, but not about Nineveh, which had 120,000 lost people. The story ends with God expressing concern even about the wicked.

Points of Interest from Jonah and the Whale:

• God commands everything in his Creation, from the weather to a whale, to carry out his plan. God is in control.

• Jonah spent the same amount of time—three days—inside the whale as Jesus Christ did in the tomb. Christ also preached salvation to the lost.

• It's not important whether it was a great fish or a whale that swallowed Jonah. The point of the story is that God can provide a supernatural means of rescue when his people are in trouble.

• Some scholars believe the Ninevites paid attention to Jonah because of his bizarre appearance. They speculate that the whale's stomach acid bleached Jonah's hair, skin, and clothing a ghostly white.

• Jesus did not consider the book of Jonah to be a fable or myth. While modern skeptics may find it impossible that a man could survive inside a great fish for three days, Jesus compared himself to Jonah, showing that this prophet existed and that the story was historically accurate.

Question for Reflection from Jonah and the Whale:

Jonah thought he knew better than God. But in the end he learned a valuable lesson about the Lord's mercy and forgiveness, which extends beyond Jonah and Israel to all people who repent and believe. Is there some area of your life in which you are defying God, and rationalizing it? Remember that God wants you to be open and honest with him. It's always wise to obey the One who loves you most.HOW BIG IS GOD[color=#550000][/color]

Jonah and the Whale - Bible Story Summary
Obedience is the Theme of Jonah and the Whale

The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.

Jonah found this order unbearable. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies. Jonah, a stubborn fellow, did just the opposite of what he was told. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah "ran away from the Lord."

In response, God sent a violent storm, which threatened to break the ship to pieces. The terrified crew cast lots, determining that Jonah was responsible for the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. First they tried rowing to shore, but the waves got even higher. Afraid of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm. The crew made a sacrifice to God, swearing vows to him.

Instead of drowning, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, which God provided. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and cried out to God in prayer. He praised God, ending with the eerily prophetic statement, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9, NIV)

Jonah was in the giant fish three days. God commanded the whale, and it vomited the reluctant prophet onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed God. He walked through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believed Jonah's message and repented, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God had compassion on them and did not destroy them.

Again Jonah questioned God, because Jonah was angry that Israel's enemies had been spared. When Jonah stopped outside the city to rest, God provided a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah was happy with the vine, but the next day God provided a worm that ate the vine, making it wither. Growing faint in the sun, Jonah complained again.

God scolded Jonah for being concerned about a vine, but not about Nineveh, which had 120,000 lost people. The story ends with God expressing concern even about the wicked.

Points of Interest from Jonah and the Whale:

• God commands everything in his Creation, from the weather to a whale, to carry out his plan. God is in control.

• Jonah spent the same amount of time—three days—inside the whale as Jesus Christ did in the tomb. Christ also preached salvation to the lost.

• It's not important whether it was a great fish or a whale that swallowed Jonah. The point of the story is that God can provide a supernatural means of rescue when his people are in trouble.

• Some scholars believe the Ninevites paid attention to Jonah because of his bizarre appearance. They speculate that the whale's stomach acid bleached Jonah's hair, skin, and clothing a ghostly white.

• Jesus did not consider the book of Jonah to be a fable or myth. While modern skeptics may find it impossible that a man could survive inside a great fish for three days, Jesus compared himself to Jonah, showing that this prophet existed and that the story was historically accurate.

Question for Reflection from Jonah and the Whale:

Jonah thought he knew better than God. But in the end he learned a valuable lesson about the Lord's mercy and forgiveness, which extends beyond Jonah and Israel to all people who repent and believe. Is there some area of your life in which you are defying God, and rationalizing it? Remember that God wants you to be open and honest with him. It's always wise to obey the One who loves you most.HOW BIG IS GOD

@alexeo

Here u r promoting your own church while you are fond of running down other peoples churches

chukwudi44: @alexeo

Here u r promoting your own church while you are fond of running down other peoples churches

Its not about my church. Its about what is being preached and done. If u know anything about this church that is not biblical or that u r confused about pls write it here. If you go through this thread you ll see some people who raised issues about the church and i cleared them. You can still raise your own issue if you have any and if i find it convincing enough i ll raise it in my church for a change. All that am saying is that the message of holiness and eternity is lost in most churches these days. You people are busy protecting your church. Am not here for that.

Interestingly, this was the church from which Deeper Life actually came from. W.F.Kumuyi was once a pianist at the Apostolic Faith Church back in the 70s.

PapaBrowne: Interestingly, this was the church from which Deeper Life actually came from. W.F.Kumuyi was once a pianist at the Apostolic Faith Church back in the 70s.

Yes you are right though am not sure of the one of him being a pianist.

Follow Jesus not Church !!!

alexleo:
Its not about my church. Its about what is being preached and done. If u know anything about this church that is not biblical or that u r confused about pls write it here. If you go through this thread you ll see some people who raised issues about the church and i cleared them. You can still raise your own issue if you have any and if i find it convincing enough i ll raise it in my church for a change. All that am saying is that the message of holiness and eternity is lost in most churches these days. You people are busy protecting your church. Am not here for that.

Is the Apostolic Faith Church infallible or can it possibly be wrong when it teaches on anything concerning faith and morals?

When Jesus said "I will build my Church," is it The Apostolic Faith Church he was talking about?

If it is, why did it then wait until 1906 to be "founded?"

If it is not, then which one is, and why are you not there?

These are MY issues for now. Though I have many others but these ones are quite fundamental. Thank you.

PapaBrowne: Interestingly, this was the church from which Deeper Life actually came from. W.F.Kumuyi was once a pianist at the Apostolic Faith Church back in the 70s.

Where then did Kumuyi get his rigid tithing doctrine form since Apostolic faith does not preach or emphasis tithes?

italo:

Is the Apostolic Faith Church infallible or can it possibly be wrong when it teaches on anything concerning faith and morals?

When Jesus said "I will build my Church," is it The Apostolic Faith Church he was talking about?

If it is, why did it then wait until 1906 to be "founded?"

If it is not, then which one is, and why are you not there?

These are MY issues for now. Though I have many others but these ones are quite fundamental. Thank you.

The only infallible person is God. Humans can make mistakes based on knowledge level and understanding. But God will judge us by the things we have been exposed to.
When Jesus talks of building His church, it doesn't mean denomination. The church is the mystical body of Christ, the aggregate of all believers of all ages whose names are written in the book of life. As Jesus said, the time is coming when men will not be required to go to Jerusalem or any church to worship in order for their worship to be acceptable with God. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
You want to belong to the true church? Then you must be born again, forsake your past sins, repent of them and ask Jesus to change your life. You will know when He has forgiven you and you can ask Him which denomination to fellowship with in order to make heaven your eternal home

Pastor Kun:

Where then did Kumuyi get his rigid tithing doctrine form since Apostolic faith does not preach or emphasis tithes?

Tithing is in the Bible and should be joyfully paid by the true child of God.
As for Kumuyi being rigid with it? This thread is about Apostolic Faith and not DLCF. You can raise the question on their own thread.

salt 1:

Tithing is in the Bible and should be joyfully paid by the true child of God.
As for Kumuyi being rigid with it? This thread is about Apostolic Faith and not DLCF. You can raise the question on their own thread.

I won't start a new thread about tithes as there are enough threads on the subject in his forum already. Yes tithing is in the bible but it was never directed at christians and the type of tithing instructted in the bible is totally different from the false man made version being preach by Kumuyi and others today.

salt 1:
The only infallible person is God. Humans can make mistakes based on knowledge level and understanding.

Your statement above means that the one below could possibly be WRONG, since you are human. Why are you then saying these things authoritatively as if you are sure that you are right. What if you are telling me and others things that will actually lead us to hell...

salt 1:
But God will judge us by the things we have been exposed to.
When Jesus talks of building His church, it doesn't mean denomination. The church is the mystical body of Christ, the aggregate of all believers of all ages whose names are written in the book of life. As Jesus said, the time is coming when men will not be required to go to Jerusalem or any church to worship in order for their worship to be acceptable with God. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
You want to belong to the true church? Then you must be born again, forsake your past sins, repent of them and ask Jesus to change your life. You will know when He has forgiven you and you can ask Him which denomination to fellowship with in order to make heaven your eternal home

Pastor Kun:

Where then did Kumuyi get his rigid tithing doctrine form since Apostolic faith does not preach or emphasis tithes?

I don't think its wrong to pay tithes or offering, but i think the concern should be how the tithes and offering are used and what they are being used for. If the tithes were used as the ancient roman catholic (not current one)when they control the government and the church in the form of using the money for the welfare of the church and the states(people) i think majority of the people that goes against tithes and offering wouldn't have much to say.

However, i know Nigeria case is different as no Nigerian would voluntarily pay tax not to talk of tithes and it appears these days that people would rather pay tithes instead of tax, the reason behind is that, the bible enjoined and they want to do what the bible says because it will make them prosper; while others excuses are, its our country, we shouldn't be paying Tax, while some will say, politicians will used the money to enrich themselves and live opulently.

I think we should look at tithes as a Tax paid in a civilized society, the problem is that many men of God use the tithes paid to live like king and forget the people that paid those tithes. Just like the practice in the Government.

However, neither Tithe or Tax is wrong but the handling should be prudent to edify the things of God and the other to edify the people and Nigeria state

alexleo: The Apostolic Faith church started in far away United States of America in the year 1906. Since then it has spread to Nigeria and Africa. In Nigeria it has been here for over sixty years.
A church where preaching of holiness and preparation for heaven takes the centre stage.
Prosperity preaching takes the very back stage.
There is nothing like offering time during any of their services.
Nobody monitors or pressures u to pay your tithe. They ll always tell you that its between you and God. They have tithe corner where u can go and put your tithe or offering anytime you want to do it.
No big man is given special attention or special treatment whatsoever in the church. All attention goes to Jesus.
Money is never an issue in the church.
They have so many rich and educated people yet you wont identify them when u come because humility reigns there.
They have the best choir and orchestra in Africa.
Inspite of all these, the membership of the church keeps growing rather than reducing. Na wa o.
Glad to know that there are Nigerians that still hunger and thirst after righteousness rather than all this money money thing that most churches are preaching this last days.
The message of seek ye FIRST the KINGDOM OF GOD and HiS RIGHTEOUSNESS is lost most churches.
Na wa o.

If the above is all true, then I must say I am impressed with Apostolic faith as it sounds like a church that is genuinely striving for the truth. However the OP was silent on charitable works the church engages in. It is a biblical position that all genuine followers of christ or churches must give priority to helping the less privilege around us.

alexleo:

Yes you are right though am not sure of the one of him being a pianist.

yep,he was a pianist in d church.He himself has said dis severally...even something about being chided n sent away by his pastor cos he didnt have d holy ghost baptism.do u guys still do dat at AFC?

salt 1:

The only infallible person is God. Humans can make mistakes based on knowledge level and understanding. But God will judge us by the things we have been exposed to.
When Jesus talks of building His church, it doesn't mean denomination. The church is the mystical body of Christ, the aggregate of all believers of all ages whose names are written in the book of life. As Jesus said, the time is coming when men will not be required to go to Jerusalem or any church to worship in order for their worship to be acceptable with God. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
You want to belong to the true church? Then you must be born again, forsake your past sins, repent of them and ask Jesus to change your life. You will know when He has forgiven you and you can ask Him which denomination to fellowship with in order to make heaven your eternal home

Truth and exactly my answer. God bless you.

salt 1:

Tithing is in the Bible and should be joyfully paid by the true child of God.
As for Kumuyi being rigid with it? This thread is about Apostolic Faith and not DLCF. You can raise the question on their own thread.

but this apostolic faith also ask/collect tith or dont they?

Pastor Kun:

I won't start a new thread about tithes as there are enough threads on the subject in his forum already. Yes tithing is in the bible but it was never directed at christians and the type of tithing instructted in the bible is totally different from the false man made version being preach by Kumuyi and others today.

As I had said, I don't know what others are preaching, but I do know what I practice. There is a tithes/offering box placed at the entrance of all Apostolic Faith churches and I go there to drop whatever tithes/offerings I have to support the ministry. Everybody is working for the Lord and He is the Judge of all our actions and intentions

truthislight:
but this apostolic faith also ask/collect tith or dont they?

If by "collect" you mean whether members pay tithes/offerings, I will say yes.
There is a tithes/offerings boxes at the entrances of our churches where people go, at their own time, and in privacy, to drop whatever they wish to drop.
There is no announcement of offering/tithes times and nobody knows who gives what and when

Beretta92: yep,he was a pianist in d church.He himself has said dis severally...even something about being chided n sent away by his pastor cos he didnt have d holy ghost baptism.do u guys still do dat at AFC?

Chided and sent away? Don't know which Apostolic Faith pastor will do that.
But everybody is encouraged and urged to be saved, sanctified and baptised with the Holy Ghost so that one can be a consistent Christian who is grounded in the knowledge of God.

I am yet to see what is wrong with that, especially seeing that those who underwent the rigour of Apostolic Faith discipleship remain genuine christians who have also started successful ministries. i mean, Kumuyi cannot be accused of immorality or ostentatious living.
The Church remains a signpost of godliness and true righteousness

Pastor Kun:

If the above is all true, then I must say I am impressed with Apostolic faith as it sounds like a church that is genuinely striving for the truth. However the OP was silent on charitable works the church engages in. It is a biblical position that all genuine followers of christ or churches must give priority to helping the less privilege around us.

Alms are given in secret so we cannot blow our trumpet.
Widows are catered for. We organise evangelism and outreaches to the blind centres, hospitals, schools and prisons. In addition to giving the word, there is a reaching out to the less privileged.
Recently, the Lagos congregation was stirred to reach out to the flood victims in Rivers and Bayelsa.
The Church also observes charity days where people bring out what they have (both new and fairly-used-but-still-good) and the less privileged, who may not be members, come to pick what they need. This is at the organisational level.
At the individual level, members send anonymous gifts to others. My family has received envelopes containing money, handsets etc and till today, we don't know who sent them.

italo:

Your statement above means that the one below could possibly be WRONG, since you are human. Why are you then saying these things authoritatively as if you are sure that you are right. What if you are telling me and others things that will actually lead us to hell...

No, Italo. I am not saying those things authoritatively based on my human knowledge. I am basing every response from the Bible.
Would you rather I modified my post showing you the cross references?

salt 1:
No, Italo. I am not saying those things authoritatively based on my human knowledge. I am basing every response from the Bible.
Would you rather I modified my post showing you the cross references?

You are not just basing every response on the Bible, you are basing them on YOUR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

Same goes for your "church." All their teachings are based on THEIR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

@ Salt 1: I love the way you respond to people.U respond gently and in a godly manner...You are a good example.Please keep it up.I pray d Lord help me too...Stay blessed.

italo:

Is the Apostolic Faith Church infallible or can it possibly be wrong when it teaches on anything concerning faith and morals?

When Jesus said "I will build my Church," is it The Apostolic Faith Church he was talking about?

If it is, why did it then wait until 1906 to be "founded?"

If it is not, then which one is, and why are you not there?

These are MY issues for now. Though I have many others but these ones are quite fundamental. Thank you.

Salt 1 gave u an answer to this which is exactly my position.

italo:

You are not just basing every response on the Bible, you are basing them on YOUR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

Same goes for your "church." All their teachings are based on THEIR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

Kindly point out any of our teaching that you think is wrong lets take it from there pls.

salt 1:

As I had said, I don't know what others are preaching, but I do know what I practice. There is a tithes/offering box placed at the entrance of all Apostolic Faith churches and I go there to drop whatever tithes/offerings I have to support the ministry. Everybody is working for the Lord and He is the Judge of all our actions and intentions

but i thought tithing is not for christians?

Why are they collecting tith?

wait ooh are you people advertising a church here or what . come on the shepherd knows his sheep nah

alexleo:

Kindly point out any of our teaching that you think is wrong lets take it from there pls.

My question is very simple.

Everything you and/or your "church" teach/say on faith and morals is based on YOUR/THEIR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

Or are you and/or your "church" claiming infallibility?

That would be contrary to salt_1's position.

italo:

My question is very simple.

Everything you and/or your "church" teach/say on faith and morals is based on YOUR/THEIR FALLIBLE INTERPRETATION of the Bible, which could be wrong, YES or NO?

Or are you and/or your "church" claiming infallibility?

That would be contrary to salt_1's position.

Cross check what we are teaching and point out the one that runs contrary to the bible. If you convince me i ll raise it in the church. We are all human and no one is infallible thats why we rely on the Holy Spirit to interprete the bible. God's word is perfect and beyond what the human mind can perfectly inteprete without the Holy Spirit. If you go through our practices as i outlined them you will see that it is void of personal interest, greed or personal glory of any pastor or overseer as we see in some churches today. And it is only when a church base their teachings on the Holy Spirit guidance that self does not take the centre stage.


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