Monday, September 26, 2011
Jonah
Possible prompts:
1. What does the behavior of Jonah while he's on the ship tell us about his relationship with God?
2. Are the other men on the ship good men, or not? Why?
3. God has the whale vomit Jonah up onto the shore of Ninevah. Explain God's behavior.
4. The people of Ninevah repent and behave better. How does Jonah react? What does his reaction say about his character?
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1) Jonah's actions while on the ship say a lot about his relationship with God. The fact that he hid while on the ship says that he fears God and is fearful of him. Also, Jonah volunteers to be thrown off the ship to stop the storm. This is an example of how well Jonah can interpret God's emotions through his actions, which tells readers that Jonah is very close with God and is extremely religious.
ReplyDeleteGod does indeed have the whale vomit up Jonah. Why does god do this? I think that god does this because he may be merciful and could easily relent from punishment. These traits match exactly what Jonah himself said; "for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing." This could explain that all it takes to please god is do what is expected. For example, Nineveh was behaving badly and then once they find out that god is angry they shape themselves up therefore pleasing god. Also, Jonah said a prayer in the belly of the fish witch could possibly have also won over gods heart, pleasing him. In my belief, these statements describe God's behavior.
ReplyDeleteO and by the way, i answered question number three.
ReplyDelete2. Are the other men on the ship good men, or not? Why?
ReplyDeleteI think they can be considered good men. When Jonah said that they should just throw him off board, they didn't do it right away. First, they tried to get out of the storm, and then they prayed to god about how they're sorry for what they're doing. ‘Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’ (Bible, Jonah 1, 14) This quote shows that they prayed to god that they don't want to kill Jonah, but they had no choice.
God has the whale vomit Jonah up onto the shore of Ninevah. Explain God's behavior
ReplyDeleteI think that God had the wale vomit Jonah because he felt pity for him because he left him in the sea after what Jonah had done to serve Him. I think God wanted to Jonah to know that He will still accept his prayers and still help him out, dispite the fact he had sent a fish to swallow him and left him for 3 days and 3 nights.
2) i think that the men on the boat are good men. People would usually say that the sailors are bad people for the simple reason that they threw an innocent man overboard. I know that sounds terrible but it was the cost of one man's life vs the life of around 20. These men probably had family's other lives. That is the reason i think these are good men.
ReplyDelete4. The people of Ninevah repent and behave better [so God decides to spare their lives]. How does Jonah react? What does his reaction say about his character?
ReplyDeleteJonah is disappointed and angry at this, and he tells God to kill him. This is a great over reaction, as well as a bit ironic; he wants God to kill him because God will not kill (or at least punish) the people of Ninevah.
This shows that Jonah is impatient, and almost lazy. He doesn't want to have to wait to see if the people truly shape up, especially after coming all the way to tell them to. He would rather that God just punish them rather than give them a chance to prove that they can do better. He seeks justice, but will not look at what will actually do good (as in killing thousands of good people, who have now shaped up and are acting better, is not a very good idea).
2.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the people on the ship are good people, for even though Jonah says that he needs to be thrown into the sea, the people on board say that they will not do this, and they try their best to get to land. Even though this doesn't end up happening, they did indeed try their best, and they were willing to help Jonah in his time of need, even when he brought the rath of God upon the ship. This makes the sailors great people, for they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of Joseph.
By: Rachel Friedman!
1. What does the behavior of Jonah while he's on the ship tell us about his relationship with God?
ReplyDeleteI think that Jonah and God's relationship is not a very pleasant one, because Jonah flees and does not want to do what God tells him to do. After he flees, God sends a huge storm to tell Jonah that he should not have run away and that he should do as he is told. God sending the storm in response to Jonah fleeing reflects that their relationship is not as it should be. God wants Jonah to do something, while Jonah is afraid and runs. But, when Jonah confesses that he caused the storm by upsetting God and agrees to jump into the sea, God sends a large fish so Jonah won't die. Though their relationship is not what they want it to be like, God still wants Jonah to live because he knows he is a good person.
2. I think the people on the ship are good people. They tried to stop the storm as hard as they can and tried not to blame Jonah first. They prayed and worshiped the God to stop but they could not stop the storm. So later they decided to throw the Jonah into the sea. So I think the people on the ship are good people because they did what I they could do and did decide after it because they had nothing actually to do.
ReplyDelete1. I agree with Emily! It shows that he has so much trust in the Lord that he is willing to jump off the ship and risk death to stop the powerful storm. All and All Jonah is a God fearing man
ReplyDelete