WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:09.779 The last four weeks, Pastor Mike Salvati has been looking at the various chapters in Jonah. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.960 This is in some ways like looking at a forest, one tree at a time. 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:25.500 But today I wanted to look at the whole forest rather than the individual parts of it. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:33.579 And after we look at Jonah as a whole, I wanted to look at even the background behind that. 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:39.820 So we're going to look in two stages at the larger and even larger picture. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:52.600 But before we do that, I wanted to summarize where we are now so that in case you missed one of the four sermons, you wouldn't feel left out. 00:00:52.879 --> 00:00:54.420 You would understand what's going on. 00:00:54.420 --> 00:01:05.799 Well, what is happening basically is that Jonah lived at a time when the Assyrian Empire was the world-dominant power in the ancient Near East. 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:12.099 On four different occasions, they wanted to conquer the world. 00:01:12.859 --> 00:01:21.400 And the first time was at a major battle, very important battle in ancient history called the Battle of Karkar. 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:31.500 One of the enemies that fought against Assyria was Israel, King Ahab to be specific. 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.400 Well, the Assyrians lost at Karkar in 853. 00:01:37.360 --> 00:01:41.860 They tried again and they conquered Damascus in 803. 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:47.600 They tried another time in 745 and one more time in 701. 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:53.399 So it was obvious to anybody that Assyria wanted to conquer the world. 00:01:54.179 --> 00:01:59.699 In the middle of this period, when everybody knows that Assyria wants to conquer the world, 00:02:00.299 --> 00:02:04.879 God sends Jonah to preach to Assyria. 00:02:05.919 --> 00:02:11.539 Well, Jonah now is thinking to himself, should I go or should I not go? 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.680 Should I obey God or should I not obey God? 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.159 What should I do? 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:20.120 He is clearly thinking like this. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.780 If I go, I will preach. 00:02:24.420 --> 00:02:27.520 If I preach, they will listen. 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.060 If they listen, they will repent. 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:35.280 If they repent, God will forgive them. 00:02:36.100 --> 00:02:44.140 And he knows that and he argues about that as early as chapter 1 before he gets on the boat. 00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:45.839 You can see that in chapter 4. 00:02:46.119 --> 00:02:47.679 Didn't I talk to you about this? 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:50.859 So if I preach, they will hear. 00:02:51.339 --> 00:02:53.459 If they hear, they will repent. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.459 If they repent, God will forgive them. 00:02:56.899 --> 00:03:00.039 If God forgives them, they will not be destroyed. 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:01.739 What will happen next? 00:03:02.799 --> 00:03:05.039 Invade us and destroy us. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:11.099 On the other hand, if I don't go, I don't preach. 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:14.259 If I don't preach, they won't hear. 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.500 If they don't hear, they won't repent. 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:21.139 If they don't repent, God will destroy them. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.459 And if God destroys them, what can they not do? 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:26.060 Invade us. 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:30.819 So for him, it's a political decision. 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:34.280 What is more patriotic thing to do? 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:40.379 You know, if we don't ask these questions on the 4th of July weekend, I don't know, you know, 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:42.060 when should we ask these questions? 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:45.020 What is the patriotic things to do? 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:49.140 Do I want to see them destroyed and resurvive? 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.759 Or do I want them to survive and re-destroy? 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.519 And he decided, forget about them surviving. 00:03:57.359 --> 00:04:00.560 I am going to sail and not preach. 00:04:00.859 --> 00:04:04.459 Well, he wasn't planning on the fish, spitting him. 00:04:05.519 --> 00:04:07.759 So, he's in the boat. 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:09.439 There's a huge storm. 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:14.620 And he says to the sailors, it's my fault. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:16.219 Throw me overboard. 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:20.019 You think to yourself, oh, what a kind, nice guy. 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:24.620 You know, he is concerned about the sailors and the ship. 00:04:24.719 --> 00:04:26.299 And he doesn't want them all to drown. 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:28.740 Well, you know, that's one way of looking at it. 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:34.539 Another way of looking at it is that if they threw him overboard in the sea, 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.139 in the middle of a fierce storm, what would happen? 00:04:37.919 --> 00:04:38.579 He would drown. 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.419 If he drowns, he dies. 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:43.939 If he dies, what will he not do? 00:04:45.099 --> 00:04:46.899 Go to Nineveh and preach. 00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:54.879 So, he is willing not to go, even if it costs him his life. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:05:00.759 Of course, what he wasn't counting on is the fish swallowing him, spitting him, 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.000 and being sent a second time. 00:05:04.039 --> 00:05:10.459 So, he does not want to go because he knows what's going to happen. 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:17.419 And he does go and he does preach. 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.719 And Assyria is spared. 00:05:21.299 --> 00:05:23.560 And God gives them another hundred years of history. 00:05:25.339 --> 00:05:35.139 Now, this summary is part of a larger theme in Jonah, namely about God, the creator. 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:41.159 I'm going to try to help you see that theme in a variety of ways. 00:05:42.039 --> 00:05:49.219 Let me begin by saying, in the 60s, when I was a groovy hippie in California, 00:05:50.419 --> 00:05:56.699 one of the songs that was famous was Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:03.620 Now, you could think that they were singing about their girlfriend, Lucy, but they weren't. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:10.980 If you look at the words carefully, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, you know that's LSD. 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.000 They weren't talking about any girlfriend. 00:06:14.840 --> 00:06:21.840 They were talking about hallucinatory drugs, a trip they had had. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:29.000 So, you could read it at one level, but you could read it at another level. 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.239 All languages have tricks like that in poetry. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:37.199 In Hebrew, one of the most common ones is chiasm. 00:06:38.239 --> 00:06:44.219 Chiasm is when you present an idea, and then you present it again in reverse order. 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:51.760 So, one, two, three, four, four, three, two, one. 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:54.980 You present it, and then you present it in reverse. 00:06:55.940 --> 00:07:01.960 A, B, C, D, D, C, B, A. 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:03.600 That's a chiasm. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.220 There are many chiasms in the Old Testament. 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:11.220 The whole book of Micah is a huge chiasm. 00:07:11.520 --> 00:07:15.960 The whole book is a huge chiasm. 00:07:16.940 --> 00:07:17.260 Okay. 00:07:17.900 --> 00:07:25.620 It turns out that there is a chiasm in Chapter 1, which we may or may not see. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:27.880 So, let's take a look at it. 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:30.160 I put the chiasm there so you don't get lost. 00:07:30.700 --> 00:07:33.960 So, please take a look at the chiasm in Chapter 1. 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.599 God sent in Verse 4. 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:39.799 God sent in Verse 17. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:42.279 The sailors are afraid. 00:07:43.419 --> 00:07:44.819 The sailors are afraid. 00:07:45.659 --> 00:07:47.159 They throw things overboard. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.359 They throw overboard. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.240 There's a prayer. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:53.679 There's a prayer. 00:07:54.799 --> 00:07:55.979 There are questions. 00:07:56.719 --> 00:07:57.639 There are questions. 00:07:58.419 --> 00:08:02.000 And in the middle of this chiasm is Verse 9. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:08.060 The purpose of chiasms is to help you focus on what is really important. 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:12.459 And what is really important is Verse 9. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.519 That is the point. 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:16.680 That is the foundation. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:21.839 That is the basis of everything that's going on in Jonah. 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:23.779 That will help you understand what's going on. 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:32.579 So, if the center of this chiasm is Verse 9, well, let's take a look at Verse 9 and see what Verse 9 says. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:41.679 So, in Jonah Chapter 1, Verse 9, Jonah says, he answered, 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:51.839 I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the land. 00:08:52.839 --> 00:08:56.000 That is the central message of Jonah. 00:08:57.459 --> 00:09:02.819 God is the Lord of heaven who made the sea and the land. 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.760 God is the creator. 00:09:06.800 --> 00:09:18.340 Everything else that happens is a byproduct, is a ramification of the fact that God created heaven and earth, the sea and the land. 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:21.760 He makes this point in another way. 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:25.680 What we have here is a prophet disobeying God. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:30.339 Well, this is hardly the first time that it's ever happened in Israel's history. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:38.539 You only need to read the book of Numbers to see how they annoyed God and disobeyed him and aggravated him for 40 years. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.120 You need to read 2 Chronicles to see that again. 00:09:44.120 --> 00:10:02.879 So, when somebody disobeys God, usually a Jewish person, God sends a prophet to confront that unbeliever and to force them to make up their mind and hopefully to repent. 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:10.440 So, David commits adultery and God sends him a prophet, Nathan. 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:17.440 Jeroboam commits disobedience to God and God sends him a prophet. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:24.620 Ahaz disobeys God, God sends him Isaiah. 00:10:26.300 --> 00:10:31.800 Jehoiakim disobeys God, God sends him Jeremiah. 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:37.960 Jezebel disobeys God, God sends her Elijah. 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:45.780 So, when people disobey God, God sends them a prophet to confront them and cause them to return. 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:54.200 In this case, we have a prophet disobeying God and God doesn't send another man to confront him. 00:10:55.060 --> 00:11:00.080 God wants to confront Jonah, but he is not going to use a prophet. 00:11:00.780 --> 00:11:01.900 What is he going to use? 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:04.840 The clue is the verb send. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:09.500 And God sends five things. 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:13.000 First, he sends the wind. 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:21.280 Then, he sends the great fish that swallowed Jonah. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:29.139 After he preaches in chapter 3 and he's sitting to see what God is going to do with the city. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.139 God sends a vine. 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:37.100 Then, God sends a worm. 00:11:38.699 --> 00:11:41.879 And then, God sends the scorching heat. 00:11:43.459 --> 00:11:44.860 Look at those five things. 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:52.399 Wind, fish, plant, worm, wind, scorching hot wind. 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:54.480 Is any of those people? 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:55.940 No. 00:11:56.700 --> 00:11:57.600 They're all what? 00:11:58.379 --> 00:11:59.680 Part of nature. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:09.559 God is making the point that he can use people, but he can use nature. 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:18.179 God is the one who made the sea and the land. 00:12:18.179 --> 00:12:33.079 And the third way Jonah makes this point is in the question and answer between Jonah and God about sparing the city or destroying it. 00:12:33.839 --> 00:12:36.439 So, let's take a look at chapter 4. 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.759 I want you to follow the reasoning closely. 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:47.700 So, in Jonah chapter 4, verse 10. 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:57.319 Please notice the contrast between what Jonah did or did not do and what God did and did not do. 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.019 In verse 10, the Lord said, 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:07.919 You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.339 It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 00:13:13.839 --> 00:13:20.959 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left. 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:22.899 And many cattle as well. 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:26.699 Should I not be concerned about the great city? 00:13:27.959 --> 00:13:30.659 What is the relationship between Jonah and the plant? 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:32.939 Absolutely nothing. 00:13:34.079 --> 00:13:35.379 He did not plant it. 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:36.899 He didn't water it. 00:13:36.899 --> 00:13:38.360 He didn't take care of it. 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:40.079 He didn't attend to it. 00:13:40.699 --> 00:13:44.840 It grew up all by itself and died because of the worm. 00:13:46.079 --> 00:13:49.279 Jonah did nothing to the plant. 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.639 Absolute zero. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:55.059 And yet, he cares about the plant that he didn't plant. 00:13:55.059 --> 00:14:04.399 By contrast, what has God done for the Assyrians? 00:14:05.239 --> 00:14:07.359 Among other things, he created them. 00:14:07.739 --> 00:14:12.679 Just as he created the sea and the land. 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:20.559 So the point is that while there may not be a covenant relationship between God and Assyria, 00:14:20.939 --> 00:14:23.419 it doesn't mean that there is no relationship at all. 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:24.259 There is. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:26.379 God cares about his creation. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:30.840 And that is the lesson that Jonah needs to learn. 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.419 That God cares about his creation. 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:40.159 Now, we're now on item B on the outline. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:47.759 We're on the second half to help you see the much larger but very, very important picture. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:57.039 If you look at the prophets who are writing at this time, there is clearly a debate that is going on. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:02.199 The issue, simply put, is whom does God love? 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:08.200 Now, Hosea would give you the traditional answer. 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:10.420 We are God's people. 00:15:11.160 --> 00:15:13.280 We are God's bride. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:24.940 And even if we sin, God will take us back because God loves us. 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:33.480 Hosea is saying, God loves us because we are his people. 00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:44.600 Jonah is saying, yes, maybe God loves us, but we aren't the only people that God loves. 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:48.460 We don't have monopoly on God's love. 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:55.660 God loves us, but also God cares about the Assyrians who happen to be our enemies. 00:15:57.680 --> 00:16:00.040 God loves the Hebrews, Hosea. 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:03.740 God cares about the Gentiles, Jonah. 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:06.660 There are two other prophets. 00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:09.780 And fasten your seatbelts. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.340 I'm going to drop the atomic bomb on you in just a second. 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:23.560 I'm going to show you one of the most controversial, one of the most incredible, fantastic verses you'll ever read in the Old Testament. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:30.580 I suspect that most of you have never read it, but it is extremely important. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.560 That passage is in Amos 9-7. 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:38.420 Let me help you find Amos. 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:44.039 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:50.399 Four major prophets almost in the middle, just after the middle of the Bible. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:54.719 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:56.740 Three prophets after that. 00:16:57.479 --> 00:17:00.059 Hosea, Joel, Amos. 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:02.519 What is the issue? 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:06.960 Let me help you understand the issue like this. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:08.319 Let me use a modern example. 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:12.360 Think about Russia at the time of Stalin. 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.740 And think about the United States. 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:24.600 Was the United States like Russia at the time of Stalin? 00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:26.300 Or were we different? 00:17:27.560 --> 00:17:30.080 Well, anybody would tell you we were different. 00:17:31.080 --> 00:17:33.039 We are a democracy. 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:35.000 They're not a democracy. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.519 We have several political parties. 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:39.940 They only have one political party. 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:42.200 We have freedom of the press. 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:44.119 They don't have freedom of the press. 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:45.880 We can criticize the government. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:48.380 They can't criticize the government. 00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:49.380 We have democracy. 00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:53.200 We have a democracy. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.420 They have despotism under Stalin. 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.360 We have free trade. 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:03.400 They have communist form of economics, Marxist economics. 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:08.080 So we are not like Russia at the time of Stalin. 00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:09.060 We're different. 00:18:09.620 --> 00:18:12.080 God now decides to drop the bomb. 00:18:12.800 --> 00:18:18.480 He says, Israel, I want you to think about you and the Kushites. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.120 Who are the Kushites? 00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:23.240 The land south of Egypt. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:33.400 At least what we would call Nubia or modern day Sudan or maybe Sudan and Ethiopia. 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:40.140 More than likely just Sudan but something, you know, perhaps Sudan and Ethiopia. 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:44.720 So God says, look at yourselves, look at Nubia, Sudan. 00:18:45.040 --> 00:18:47.160 Are you the same or are you not? 00:18:48.100 --> 00:18:51.080 And any good Jew would say, we're not the same. 00:18:51.780 --> 00:18:54.360 And why are you not the same? 00:18:54.780 --> 00:18:56.620 What makes you different from them? 00:18:57.520 --> 00:19:02.140 Well, what makes us different from them is that you performed the Exodus events. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:05.620 We were in bondage and you set us free. 00:19:06.040 --> 00:19:10.200 You brought us out of bondage and we are your people. 00:19:11.340 --> 00:19:15.560 Please turn to Amos 9.7. 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:26.900 God asks an ironic question, a rhetorical question. 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:33.140 Aren't you, Israelites, the same to me as the Ethiopians? 00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:36.380 Any good Jew would say, no, we're not. 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:37.660 We're different. 00:19:37.820 --> 00:19:38.580 We're your people. 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:39.740 They're not your people. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:47.360 So God says, aren't you, Israelites, the same to me as the Ethiopians, declares the Lord. 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.620 Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt? 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:54.820 And they would all say, of course you did. 00:19:54.819 --> 00:19:56.399 You brought us. 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:00.639 It's recorded in the Exodus, you know, second book in the Pentateuch. 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:05.879 Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt? 00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:14.379 The Philistines from Kaphtar and the Arameans from Kerr? 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:21.639 God is saying, so you think you're special because I brought you out of Egypt. 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:26.940 Are you aware that I brought other people as well? 00:20:28.520 --> 00:20:33.160 The Philistines and the Arameans. 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.420 Let's take this one bit at a time. 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:40.280 The Philistines were the Greek people. 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.780 Homer called them the people of the sea, the sea people. 00:20:45.779 --> 00:21:01.160 The Aramean, I'm sorry, not Aramean, Amarna letters mentions them at the time of an Egyptian pharaoh by the name of Mernapta around 1220 BC. 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:19.360 The Greeks, finding it very difficult to make a living, left Cyprus and Crete and the Aegean islands and migrated and they ended up on the coast of Israel. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:27.199 The largest city in Israel today, Tel Aviv, was a Philistine city. 00:21:28.439 --> 00:21:34.919 So the Philistines were Greeks and God said, you think that they just traveled? 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:37.779 I am the one who brought them. 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:59.559 And the Arameans have given us the Aramaic, not Arabic, but Aramaic language which Jesus spoke and which was earlier, became international language at the time of, just after King David. 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:13.240 They came from probably Elam, that is the point where southern Iraq meets Iran, what is called Elam. 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:19.059 And they migrated and ended up in what we call Damascus today. 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:23.639 So how did they end up there? 00:22:24.679 --> 00:22:28.879 It's not that they had a good tourist guide who led them to the right place. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:31.800 They were brought up by God. 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:41.940 As God brought up the Hebrew from Egypt, he brought up the Philistines and the Arameans. 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:46.280 I have to stop and wonder to myself. 00:22:47.560 --> 00:22:50.960 If I were there, I would ask God this question. 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.800 Lord, did you do it just to those two people or did you do it to others? 00:22:55.799 --> 00:23:00.779 Do you mention those two people because the Hebrews would recognize them? 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:06.759 But if he mentioned Brazil and Denmark, they'd have no idea what he's talking about. 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:15.799 So are Israel, the Philistines and the Arameans, the only three people or there are a lot more, 00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:20.799 but the Hebrews would only recognize the Philistines and the Arameans, 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.659 but wouldn't recognize Germany and Scotland. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:33.119 If he allows me on judgment day or after judgment day or once we settle down in our mansions in heaven, 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:38.359 I'm going to take the Lord out to a cup of coffee and say, 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.500 please, would you explain this to me? 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:45.019 I have to revise my notes that I use in my classes. 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:55.380 What Amos is saying, the fact that God brought us out of Egypt doesn't mean anything. 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:59.039 We don't have a monopoly on God's work in history. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.079 He has led other people. 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:10.899 I would tend to ask him, but why did you place them here, next to us, to fight against us? 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:15.419 Why didn't you put one in South America and one in South Africa? 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:17.960 Why next to us? 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:20.579 Probably to keep Israel honest. 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:25.439 So every time they disobeyed, he had a tool to use to spank them. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:36.620 So, Amos is saying, God's work in the lives of the nations is much bigger than you might think. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:42.500 Well, let me drop the next bomb. 00:24:43.620 --> 00:24:46.059 The next bomb is Isaiah 19. 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:49.620 Please go back to Isaiah 19. 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:54.519 Verse 20 and following. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.120 Isaiah 19 is an oracle against Egypt. 00:25:01.140 --> 00:25:07.039 And the Hebrews would remember very well the Exodus and the ten plagues and all of that. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:10.460 And so they remember what God did to the Egyptians. 00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:13.500 But now God is going to do something different. 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:19.799 So, starting with verse 20, we're in the middle of a thought. 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:21.440 I know that, but you can catch on. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:27.720 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.720 Egypt. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:33.200 When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors. 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:36.100 Egypt had oppressed Israel. 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.259 Now, Egypt herself is being oppressed. 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:42.940 So when they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:46.299 he will send them a savior and defender. 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:48.539 And he will rescue them. 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:54.379 God is going to send a savior to rescue Egypt from oppression. 00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:56.380 Verse 21. 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:56.620 Verse 21. 00:25:56.620 --> 00:25:59.940 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.980 And in that day, they will acknowledge the Lord. 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:08.840 They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:12.000 They will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:15.400 The Lord will strike Egypt like the ten plagues. 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:19.620 The Lord will strike Egypt to the plague. 00:26:20.060 --> 00:26:22.820 He will strike them, but heals them. 00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:26.000 He strikes them in order to heal them. 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:29.600 They will turn to the Lord. 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:35.759 And he will respond to their pleas and heals them. 00:26:40.040 --> 00:26:40.640 23. 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:42.000 Take a deep breath. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:48.500 In that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:53.940 The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:58.019 The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:04.039 In that day, Israel will be a trio, a party of three. 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:08.420 In that day, Israel will be the third, 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:11.880 along with Egypt and Assyria. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.660 A blessing on the earth. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:20.259 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:23.279 Blessed be Egypt, my people. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.220 Assyria, my handiwork. 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:29.000 Israel, my inheritance. 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:32.500 I read that the first time and said there's something wrong with that passage. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.720 It says, blessed be Egypt, my people. 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:38.960 Doesn't Isaiah know that Israel is my people? 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:44.900 And Isaiah says, no, in this case, blessed be Egypt, my people. 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:50.120 If I asked Isaiah, who are the people of God? 00:27:50.620 --> 00:27:54.840 At that point in history, he will say, Egypt is my people. 00:27:57.060 --> 00:27:58.960 Assyria, my handiwork. 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:01.140 Israel, my inheritance. 00:28:01.840 --> 00:28:08.180 These three nations that God is going to use to bring a blessing to the whole world. 00:28:08.180 --> 00:28:10.840 You think that's fantastic. 00:28:10.840 --> 00:28:12.400 I happen to be an Arab. 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:19.759 And I have cousins who live in Egypt and cousins who live in Iraq. 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:24.619 When I look at what's happening in Iraq and in Egypt today, 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:28.160 I find it impossible to believe that this will ever happen. 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.579 In Egypt, there is a serious political struggle 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:35.680 between the secular modern Egyptian army 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:40.519 and the backward-looking, 00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:42.799 the ones who want to return to the good old days, 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:47.940 Muslim fundamentalists called the Islamic Brotherhood. 00:28:50.560 --> 00:28:53.700 And there is a battle going on in Egypt 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:56.420 between those who want to go forwards 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.400 and those who want to go backwards. 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:00.980 We want the good old days. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:05.900 No, we want to modernize and go into the 21st century. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:13.160 In Iraq, we have the Sunnis and the Shias going at it. 00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:16.440 And then we have ISIS as well. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:24.860 To think that Egypt will turn to God in great numbers 00:29:24.860 --> 00:29:28.400 and that Iraq will turn to God in great numbers 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.280 and that Iraq, Egypt, and Israel will be a trio. 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:36.840 God's blessing to the world 00:29:36.840 --> 00:29:40.040 is just absolutely incredible to me. 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:42.860 What is the point? 00:29:43.600 --> 00:29:44.720 The point is this. 00:29:45.560 --> 00:29:46.820 Whom does God love? 00:29:47.840 --> 00:29:50.580 Hosea would say God loves us 00:29:50.580 --> 00:29:53.680 even when we have become a spiritual prostitute. 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:59.380 If we repent, he will forgive us and take us back. 00:30:00.539 --> 00:30:05.340 And Jonah is saying God cares about the Assyrians. 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:08.920 God does not want to see Nineveh destroyed. 00:30:10.840 --> 00:30:14.840 And Amos is saying God is working 00:30:14.840 --> 00:30:18.240 and has worked in the lives of other nations, 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.900 the Philistines, the Arameans. 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:28.080 And Isaiah is saying one day just as we are the people of God, 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:29.800 Egypt will be the people of God. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:32.840 What is the point? 00:30:33.600 --> 00:30:34.220 Two points. 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:39.340 So Jonah is part of this larger discussion 00:30:39.340 --> 00:30:41.160 about the love of God. 00:30:41.860 --> 00:30:45.940 How wide or how narrow is the love of God? 00:30:46.180 --> 00:30:48.519 Is it just us four and no more? 00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:51.139 Or is he seeing something really big? 00:30:51.879 --> 00:30:53.660 By the time we get to the New Testament, 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:54.680 we have the answer. 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:56.220 It's John 3.16. 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:58.440 God so loved the world. 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:01.700 Not just Assyria, you know, 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:04.720 the Arameans and the Philistines. 00:31:04.879 --> 00:31:06.299 God so loved the world. 00:31:06.299 --> 00:31:14.899 We need to stop thinking that we have a monopoly on God's love. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:17.720 And that it's only us. 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:21.220 That since I'm a professor, God only loves professors. 00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:25.519 And if you're a musician, then God only loves musicians. 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:30.859 And if you're a lawyer, God only loves lawyers. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.619 Maybe God loves all three of them and more. 00:31:34.619 --> 00:31:44.039 So we need to start to realize that God loves the world. 00:31:45.199 --> 00:31:48.639 And not have a narrow view of the love of God. 00:31:49.659 --> 00:31:53.779 The second thing is that if I wanted God to love somebody, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:58.399 I certainly wouldn't expect him to love my worst enemies. 00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:09.160 I have very confused feelings about ISIS. 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:13.300 On one hand, there is this impulse. 00:32:13.660 --> 00:32:14.259 Nuke them. 00:32:16.560 --> 00:32:18.720 Erase them off the face of this earth. 00:32:19.860 --> 00:32:23.120 The other hand is God loves them. 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:26.900 What were the Assyrians famous for? 00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:28.540 Their cruelty. 00:32:29.800 --> 00:32:32.160 Different civilizations were known for different things. 00:32:32.660 --> 00:32:33.680 The Greeks for philosophy. 00:32:33.800 --> 00:32:35.300 The Romans for law and roads. 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:37.960 The Babylonians for astronomy. 00:32:38.820 --> 00:32:41.000 The Assyrians for cruelty. 00:32:44.300 --> 00:32:46.759 I'd like God to love nice people. 00:32:48.040 --> 00:32:49.660 Not cruel people. 00:32:49.660 --> 00:33:06.080 These passages are inviting us to realize that God reaches to people and to places we would never guess. 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:09.920 Please don't say to yourself, 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.340 I'm an alcoholic. 00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:15.560 God can't love me. 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.180 God can. 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:20.259 Don't say to yourself, 00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:25.700 I stole money from my business. 00:33:26.860 --> 00:33:28.080 God doesn't love me. 00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:29.480 God does. 00:33:31.080 --> 00:33:34.920 God doesn't just love the well-adjusted, 00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:37.580 the psychologically balanced, 00:33:38.580 --> 00:33:39.860 the well-educated, 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:43.619 my students who studied under me. 00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:43.639 God loves as he loves. 00:33:43.639 --> 00:33:43.679 God loves. 00:33:43.679 --> 00:33:43.819 God loves. 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.759 God loves. 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:46.559 God loves as he loves. 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:50.559 God loves as he loves. 00:33:52.679 --> 00:33:57.740 And maybe it's much broader than we have ever thought. 00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:01.440 So, does God love. 00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:02.039 God loves Kenosha? 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:03.299 Yes. 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:10.059 Does God love Christ the King's Church? 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:11.500 Yes. 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:17.159 Does God want to use us? 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:19.659 Yes. 00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:27.460 So, this Sunday, as we think about Jonah, 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:37.139 and God extending a hundred years to an empire famous for cruelty, 00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:39.220 let's ask ourselves, 00:34:39.980 --> 00:34:41.780 what can God do in Kenosha? 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:45.740 What can he do in southeast Wisconsin? 00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:50.619 And at least, let's start from there. 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:52.979 Amen. 00:34:53.899 --> 00:34:54.839 Let me pray for you. 00:34:58.319 --> 00:35:00.899 Lord, Father, thank you for these incredible passages. 00:35:01.919 --> 00:35:04.639 Thank you for reminding us 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:09.019 that your power and your love 00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:12.719 can penetrate the greatest obstacles, 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:13.919 the highest walls, 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:16.720 the thickest fortresses, 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:22.380 that you can do whatever you want to do 00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:25.680 in the life of whomever you want to do it to, 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:28.740 and that you can reach, 00:35:29.240 --> 00:35:31.200 and there is no escape from you, 00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:33.260 not even in the deepest darkness, 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:34.900 not even in the highest heavens, 00:35:35.579 --> 00:35:36.920 you are there as well. 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:39.380 So, give us the confidence 00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:40.680 to carry the gospel 00:35:40.680 --> 00:35:42.500 and to be faithful to you, Lord. 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:45.059 I ask it in Jesus' name. 00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:45.900 Amen. 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:46.360 Amen. 00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:47.519 Amen. 00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:47.860 Amen. 00:35:47.860 --> 00:35:48.180 Amen. 00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:52.139 Amen. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:52.420 Amen. 00:36:10.360 --> 00:36:10.700 Amen.