Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Into the Sea

Bryan Schneider · May 25, 2024

Jonah 1:1-16

sharonrpc.org/sermons/into-the-sea

Summary

Jonah 1 is fundamentally a story about the covenant Lord, whose name and actions dominate the chapter and whose sovereign purpose cannot be frustrated by a failing prophet.
God calls Jonah to confront Nineveh's wickedness, displaying both holiness toward sin and grace that reaches people outside Israel, including feared enemies.
Jonah's flight exposes prejudice, fear, and resistance to God's mission, yet no distance, ship, or sea can remove him from God's presence or plan.
The Lord sends the storm, directs the lot, rules the sea, and brings pagan sailors from fear of death to calling on his name, confessing his sovereignty, sacrificing, and making vows.
God works through Jonah's weakness without excusing it, showing that the success of his saving purpose does not depend on a flawless messenger.
Jonah's descent into the sea foreshadows Jesus, but Christ is far greater: he willingly lays down his innocent life to save others and rises after three days.

Do I recognize the Lord as the main actor in his mission, or behave as though everything depends on my competence?
Which person or group do I treat as too hostile, immoral, different, or undeserving to hear God's call to repent?
Where am I fleeing a duty God has made clear because obedience feels frightening or costly?
How does God's rule over the storm and sea challenge my illusion that I can escape his presence or purposes?
Can I see ways God has worked graciously despite my weakness without using his sovereignty to excuse disobedience?
What do the sailors' fear, prayer, sacrifice, and vows teach about responding when the living God reveals himself?
How does Jesus' willing sacrifice surpass Jonah's reluctant descent into the sea?

Yahweh: The covenant name of the Lord, repeatedly used in Jonah 1 to identify God as the narrative's sovereign central actor.
Sovereignty: God's supreme authority and effective rule over nations, messengers, weather, sea, human decisions, and the accomplishment of his purposes.
Nineveh: A major Assyrian city whose wickedness God confronted and whose inhabitants he intended to summon to repentance through Jonah.
Providence: God's purposeful ordering of events, seen in the wind, storm, lot, sailors, and calm sea.
Fear of the Lord: Reverent recognition of the living God's power and authority that leads to calling upon him and worshiping him.
Mission to the nations: God's purpose to bring his warning and mercy beyond Israel to peoples Jonah regarded as outsiders or enemies.