Joe? Nah! Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Joe? Nah! ----------------------- Date: 05/22/1999 Keywords: "escape" "Jonah" "obedience" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. The three-minute Bible studies for May 21-24, are all taken from the Old Testament prophecy of Jonah. You can find the book of Jonah in its entirety by going to eXXit’s home page and clicking on "Search Systems." Type in "Jonah" in the "Passage" window and hit ENTER. The book of Jonah will appear. Enjoy! Passage: Jonah 1:1-4, 15-17* 1. The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2. "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4. And the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up..... 15. So [the sailors] picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16. Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. 17. And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Questions 1. Jonah was a believer in the true God. What did God command him to do? What was God’s reasoning for this commission?   2. What did Jonah immediately do in response to God’s command?   3. What happened to Jonah on account of his response?   Practical help Legend has it that Jonah’s real name was Joe. God kept telling him what to do, but Joe kept saying, "Nah, I don’t want to." Pretty soon, his name became simply "Joe-nah." Not really, but by his actions Jonah did tell God "no" when God said "go!" Jonah was to travel from Israel eastward to the city of Nineveh. Instead, he got on a boat and went west across the Mediterranean Sea toward Tarshish! How similar is this to a man today who reads in the New Testament, "Flee sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18) and "abstain from fleshly lusts" (1 Peter 2:11) and turns to plunge headlong into the world of Internet pornography. We might look at Jonah and chide him for choosing to disobey God (as if he could hide from the Lord!). "You got what you deserved, Jonah, for failing to do what God commanded." But with the accusing finger poking Jonah in the face, several fingers may be left over to aim back at ourselves. Jonah was foolish for having tried to go to Tarshish and for going away from Nineveh. And God dealt with Jonah severely to convince him that He alone is sovereign and that it is always best to obey, even when obedience is painful. Just so, God is serious when He tells us in His Word to pursue sexual purity. At the very least, viewing pornography is a step toward the boat that leads to Tarshish. The man who takes very many steps in that direction will discover that God is more than willing to use various "great fishes" to convince him, today, of His sovereignty. Submit to God. Go to the Nineveh of purity. You’ll never regret it! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 1999 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."