Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-04-19
JONAH SENT TO NINEVEH
LESSON III, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, APRIL 10.

Stearns.
Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per
mission Of II. S. Hoffman, publisher, Phiiadel-
pha.
Having learned from previous lessons
how both the ten tribes and the two, with
but few exceptions, wander from GOD ana
worship idols, we are now for few weeks
to consider Gods efforts to win them baek
to Himself by His servants the prophets.
And we begin with the first Hebrew |
prophet or missionary ever sent to the zen |
tiles.
"Now the Word Of the Lord came
unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying"
He prophesied about 800 years before
, Christ, and is one of the earliest, perhaps
4 the very first, of the so called prophets
whose writings exist
2. "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and cry against it; for their wickedness is
come up before me-"
Nineveh was on the Tigris, nearly 400
miles from Canaan. It's walls were about
60 miles in length and 100 feet high, with
1,50O towers, each 200 feet high. According
tochapter iv, IL, there were 10, 900 little chill
dren in the city at that time, which would
give a population of not less than 6OO,GOO
g. but Jonah rose up to flee unto Tar
shish from the presence of the Lord and
went down to Joppa."
Jonah could not in one sense get away
from the presence of the Lord anywhere in
the wide world ops. cxxxiX, no. but he
could 90 away from the Lords land and
city and temple, just as Cain went away
from that part Of Eden where God dwelt.
4. 'But the Lord sent out great wind
into the sea-"
Sometimes when people are doing wrong
events seem TO favor them; SO Jonah may
have thought it favorable omen to find
J ship at JOppa about to sail to Tarshtsh.
But however we may seem to succeed In
our disobediencc, God is watching and con-
trolling, and we may be sure that sooner
or later our sin will find US out
5. "rhen the mariners were afraid, and
cried every man unto his god"
Here is a servant of God disobedient to
his Master, and bringing trouble on those
who knew not God, as when Peter, a
disciple OF Christ, caused Maichus to suf-
fer IT, as Christians, we do wrong, we
are not the only ones who will suffer by
the chastisement lovingly sent upon US.
"And he lay and WIS fast asleep"
While these heather sailors are doing all
in their power for the safety of the ship
and all on board and calling on their gods,
which were no gods, tho only one on board
who knew the only living and true God
Is last asleep. Is IL fot q ptCbuIS VI Slo
majority Of Christians nowI
G. "What meanest thou, o sleeper"
This was well merited rebuke. It
would do good if the people of the world
would rebuke protesting Christians moro
, often.
Z. "They cast lots, and the lot fell upon
Jonah"
la the same way it would seem that
Joshua discovered Achan Josh. vii, ~
and Saul found out Jonathan Il Sam. xiv
al, 42), and an apostle was chosen instead
of Judas (Acts j. 2E2G).
s. Tell US, we pray thee, for whose caus,
this evil is upon US"
Jonah is now awake, andi in the hands o
those upon whom he has brought trouble
They have found him out, and now ques
ton him as to his occupation and peopl
and country. It is humiliating To SEQ thi
servant OF God compelled to give an &C
count of himself to this heather shipmas
ter and his sailors, but it is good for him.
o. 81 am an Hebrew; and fear Jehoval
the God of heaven, which hath made tn
sea and the dry land"
He does better than Peter when he ra
away from his Master and warmed hin
self at the servants fire, but perhaps Pete
might have done better, too, if he ha
found himself in the midst OF a ragn
bbOrin NJ Sci WIN uCtbtt SbtAluk nun III va
face.
10. "Why hast thou done thisS'
A searching question, to which his Al
swer is not given. And if in any measul
Christian is turning away from duty IL
question ought to come to them wit
power.
IL. What shall we do unto thee TIN
the sea may be calm unto usi"
Sin must be punished. All nations re
ognize that the tr,lnsgressor must suite
and yet there are those in this enligh
ened % Nineteenth century, dwelling
our cities, in the very centers of light al
intelligence, who say and teach that sin
phantom, a nonenJity, and that punis
ment for sin is not TO be thought Of
10. Take me up and cast me forth in
the sea- so shall the sea be calm unto 20
for l know that for my sake this gre
tempest is upon you"
He is convinced of his sin and ready
accept the consequences.
-. Nevertheless the men rOwed hard
bring it TO the land, bat they could not. u
This labor was well meant. They we
sorry for Jonah; they did not wish TO
the means of his death, but their w
meant efforts wero all in vain, for Jon
must suffer for his sin.
IA Wherefore they cried unto t
Lord"
1t is not now every man unto his goo
as in verse 8, but unitedly they cry TO ,
- hovah, the God of heaven, earth and 81
the Lord God of the Hebrews.
ave beseeeh thee, o Lord, we besee
thee, let us not perish for this mans Ii
and Jay not upon us innocent blood"
This is heartfelt cry to Him who is e'
ready to hear the cry of the needy, and u
doubtedly it was heard.
"For thou, o Lord, hath done as
pleased thee"
Submissively they acknowledge the o
Impotence of Jehovah, and that His ha
Is in this.
Is $50 they took up Jonah ard cast h
forth into the sea, and the sea ceased fr'
Der raging"
10 Then the men feared the Lord {
ceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto
Lord, and made vows"
1t looks as if they had really become
levers in the true God. Thus God ov
rtiled the sin Of His servant for the good