Why Edom Will Be Destroyed 10 "Because of the violence you did to Jacob, your relative, you will be covered with shame.

You will be destroyed forever.

11 While you stood there doing nothing, strangers carried off Jacob's wealth.

Foreigners entered his gates and threw dice for Jerusalem.

You acted like one of them.

12 Don't gloat over your relative's misfortune or be happy when the people of Judah are destroyed.

Don't brag so much when they're in distress.

13 Don't march through the gates of my people when disaster strikes or gloat over their misery when disaster strikes.

Don't take their wealth when disaster strikes.

14 Don't stand at the crossroads to kill their refugees.

Don't hand over their survivors when they're in distress.

The Day of the LORD 15 "The day of Yahweh is near for all nations.

Edom, you will be treated as you have treated others.

You will get back what you have given.

16 As you, Israel, drank on my holy mountain, so all nations will drink in turn.

They will drink and guzzle down everything in it.

They will be like those who have never existed.

17 "But refugees will live on Mount Zion.

It will be holy.

The descendants of Jacob will get back their possessions.

18 The descendants of Jacob will be like a fire.

The descendants of Joseph will be like a flame.

But the descendants of Esau will be like straw.

They will be burned and destroyed.

There will be no one left among the descendants of Esau."

Yahweh has spoken.

19 "People from the Negev will take possession of Esau's mountain.

People from the foothills will take possession of Philistia.

They will take possession of the lands of Ephraim and Samaria, and the descendants of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.

20 Exiles from Israel will take possession of Canaan.

They will possess land as far as Zarephath.

Exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the cities in the Negev.

21 Those who are victorious will come from Mount Zion to rule Esau's mountain.

The kingdom will belong to Yahweh ."

a 6 Esau was the son of Isaac and the ancestor of the people of Edom.

Introduction to JONAH.

The book of Jonah is more than an amusing children's story about a runaway prophet who is swallowed by a whale. It is a story about God that adults as well as children enjoy reading-but find hard to understand.

Jonah lived in Israel in the eighth century BC (see 2 Kings 14:25). At that time Assyria-whose capital city was Nineveh-was on the road to becoming a superpower. Soon after Jonah's time, Assyria would attack Israel repeatedly and ferociously, completely destroying the northern kingdom in 722 BC. It would also threaten Judah. Nahum, a seventh-century prophet from Judah, devoted a whole book to the downfall of Nineveh.

When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and prophesy its doom, Jonah panicked and ran. He wasn't being unreasonable: how would you feel if God told you to go to a terrorist stronghold and denounce its leaders? Even drowning sounded more attractive than facing the Assyrians, though Jonah never expected to be saved by a fish. The second time God asked him to go to Nineveh, he decided he'd better do it. But an amazing thing happened. The cruel Assyrians repented, God changed his mind about destroying them, and Jonah felt like a fool. "I knew this would happen," he grumbled to God. "I shouldn't have believed you. You're too merciful to do what you said you'd do. Kill me now."

Most of the Bible's prophets say a lot about judgment. The book of Jonah is a startling exception: it never condemns anybody. Jonah disobeys God and God rescues him. The sailors toss the prophet overboard, and God saves them from the storm. The Ninevites turn from their wicked ways, and God forgives them. Jonah grumbles, and God teases him. Jonah sums up his view of God: "You are a merciful and compassionate El, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction" (Jonah 4:2). And this makes Jonah suicidally angry.

Jonah's first readers undoubtedly agreed with his assessment of Assyria as bloodthirsty and brutal. They may have personally suffered at Assyria's hands. If God wanted to destroy Assyria, it would be fine with them. But what could they make of Jonah's puzzling story about Nineveh's pardon? For that matter, what can we make of it? Are we more comfortable with God's judgment or his mercy-especially when he is dealing with our enemies?

Key Names of God in Jonah Yahweh LORD El, Elohim God JONAH.

1 2 3 4.

Jonah Tries to Run Away from the LORD 1 1 Yahweh spoke his word to Jonah, son of Amittai. He said, 2 "Leave at once for the important city, Nineveh. Announce to the people that I can no longer overlook the wicked things they have done."

3 Jonah immediately tried to run away from Yahweh by going to Tarshish. He went to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for the trip and went on board. He wanted to go to Tarshish to get away from Yahweh.

4 Yahweh sent a violent wind over the sea. The storm was so powerful that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were afraid, and they cried to their gods for help. They began to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship's load.

Now, Jonah had gone below deck and was lying there sound asleep. 6 The captain of the ship went to him and asked, "How can you sleep? Get up, and pray to your El. Maybe he will notice us, and we won't die."

7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Let's throw dice to find out who is responsible for bringing this disaster on us." So they threw dice, and the dice indicated that Jonah was responsible.

8 They asked him, "Tell us, why has this disaster happened to us? What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What country are you from? What nationality are you?"

9 Jonah answered them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven. He is the Elohim who made the sea and the land."

10 Then the men were terrified. They knew that he was running away from Yahweh, because he had told them. They asked Jonah, "Why have you done this?"

11 The storm was getting worse. So they asked Jonah, "What should we do with you to calm the sea?"

12 He told them, "Throw me overboard. Then the sea will become calm. I know that I'm responsible for this violent storm."

13 Instead, the men tried to row harder to get the ship back to shore, but they couldn't do it. The storm was getting worse.

14 So they cried to Yahweh for help: "Please, Yahweh, don't let us die for taking this man's life. Don't hold us responsible for the death of an innocent man, because you, Yahweh, do whatever you want." 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the sea became calm. 16 The men were terrified of Yahweh. They offered sacrifices and made vows to Yahweh.a 17 Yahweh sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah Even though Jonah initially rejected the task God set before him, he never rejected God, whom he called Yahweh (Jon. 1:9) Elohim (Jon. 1:9)

Jonah's Prayer inside the Fish 2 b1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to Yahweh his Elohim.

2 Jonah prayed: "I called to Yahweh in my distress, and he answered me.

From the depths of my watery grave I cried for help, and you heard my cry.

3 You threw me into the deep, into the depths of the sea, and water surrounded me.

All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.

4 "Then I thought, 'I have been banished from your sight.

Will I ever see your holy temple again?'

5 "Water surrounded me, threatening my life.

The deep sea covered me completely.

Seaweed was wrapped around my head.

6 I sank to the foot of the mountains.

I sank to the bottom, where bars held me forever.

But you brought me back from the pit, O Yahweh, my Elohim .

7 "As my life was slipping away, I remembered Yahweh.

My prayer came to you in your holy temple.

8 Those who hold on to worthless idols abandon their loyalty to you.

9 But I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving.

I will keep my vow.

Victory belongs to Yahweh!"

10 Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it spit Jonah out onto the shore.

Nineveh Turns from Its Wicked Ways 3 1 Then Yahweh spoke his word to Jonah a second time. He said, 2 "Leave at once for the important city, Nineveh. Announce to the people the message I have given you."

3 Jonah immediately went to Nineveh as Yahweh told him. Nineveh was a very large city. It took three days to walk throughc it. 4 Jonah entered the city and walked for about a day. Then he said, "In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed."

5 The people of Nineveh believed Elohim. They decided to fast, and everyone, from the most important to the least important, dressed in sackcloth.

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he made this announcement and sent it throughout the city: "This is an order from the king and his nobles: No one is to eat or drink anything. This includes all people, animals, cattle, and sheep. 8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth. Cry loudly to Elohim for help. Turn from your wicked ways and your acts of violence. 9 Who knows? Elohim may reconsider his plans and turn from his burning anger so that we won't die."

10 Elohim saw what they did. He saw that they turned from their wicked ways. So Elohim reconsidered his threat to destroy them, and he didn't do it.

The LORD Has to Remind Jonah about His Mercy 4 1 Jonah was very upset about this, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to Yahweh, "Yahweh, isn't this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That's why I tried to run to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate El, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction. 3 So now, Yahweh, take my life. I'd rather be dead than alive."