Bible Buk Namba 32​—Jonah

Man wea Raetem: Jonah

Taem Hem Finis Raetem: c. 844 B.C.E.

JONAH—missionary long nara kantri long mek-naen century B.C.E.! Hao nao hem ting long assignment bilong hem from Jehovah? Hem kasem chance for olketa wanem niu experience? Waswe, pipol long assignment bilong hem hapi long message bilong hem? Waswe, preaching bilong hem win? Datfala barava interesting record long buk bilong Jonah hem ansarem olketa kwestin hia. Jonah raetem datfala profesi record long taem wea nation wea Jehovah chusim brekem promis witim hem and worshipim olketa heathen idol. Datwan showimaot hao mercy bilong God hem for evri nation, no Israel nomoa. And tu, hem mekhae long bigfala mercy and loving kaeness bilong Jehovah and showim hao hem difren evribit from olketa man wea no perfect wea planti taem short long mercy, patient fasin and faith.

² Datfala nem Jonah (Hebrew, Yoh·nahʹ) hem minim “Kurukuru.” Hem son bilong profet Amittai bilong Gath-hepher long Galilee, long area bilong Zebulun. Long 2 Kings 14:23-25 iumi readim hao Jeroboam, king bilong Israel, hem mekem moa big spialaen bilong datfala nation followim samting wea Jehovah talem thru long Jonah. Diswan minim Jonah talem profesi bilong hem long samting olsem 844 B.C.E., year wea Jeroboam II bilong Israel hem kamap king and planti year bifor Assyria, wea kapitol bilong hem Nineveh, hem start for bossim Israel.

³ No eni daot stap hao full story bilong Jonah hem tru. “Man wea Mekem Perfect faith bilong iumi, Jesus,” hem story abaotem Jonah olsem wanfala really man and talem mining bilong tufala profesi bilong Jonah, wea pruvim olketa profesi bilong datfala buk hem tru. (Heb. 12:2; Matt. 12:39-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32) Olketa Jew evritaem putim buk bilong Jonah witim olketa nara Bible buk and olketa tingim hem olsem wanfala history buk. Wei wea Jonah seleva talemaot olketa mistek and wik point bilong hemseleva, and no trae for haedem, showimaot tu hao disfala record hem tru wan.

⁴ Waswe long datfala “bigfala fish” wea swallowim Jonah? Planti difren idea kamap abaotem wanem kaen fish nao datwan. Sperm whale hem fit for swallowim full man. Great white shark fit for duim olsem tu. Bat, Bible talem nomoa hao: “Jehovah markem wanfala bigfala fish for swallowim Jonah.” (Jonah 1:17) Hem no talem wanem kaen fish. Iumi no savve sure for talem sapos hem wanfala sperm whale, wanfala great white shark, or narakaen animal long sea.a Bible record wea sei hem “wanfala bigfala fish” hem inaf information for iumi.

WEI WEA HEM HELPEM IUMI

⁹ Samting wea Jonah duim and samting wea kamaot from datwan hem olsem warning for iumi. Hem ranawe from waka wea God givim for hem; hem shud duim datfala waka and trust long God for saportim hem. (Jonah 1:3; Luke 9:62; Prov. 14:26; Isa. 6:8) Taem hem go difren from wei wea Jehovah markem for hem, hem showimaot nogud tingting long wei wea hem fail for talemaot klia long olketa man wea waka long ship hao hem worshipim “Jehovah wea hem God bilong heven.” Hem lusim fasin bilong hem for no fraet. (Jonah 1:7-9; Eph. 6:19, 20) Selfish fasin bilong Jonah mekem hem feel nogud taem Jehovah showimaot mercy long Nineveh; hem trae for defendim hemseleva long wei for talem Jehovah hao hem savve finis long samting wea bae happen—so why nao hem sendem hem olsem profet? Jehovah repruvim hem for disfala tingting for komplen wea no showimaot respect, so iumi shud lanem gud samting from experience bilong hem and stap klia long wei for tok againstim mercy bilong Jehovah or wei bilong hem for duim samting.—Jonah 4:1-4, 7-9; Phil. 2:13, 14; 1 Cor. 10:10.

¹⁰ Winim evri nara samting long buk bilong Jonah hem wei wea hem storyim olketa nambawan fasin olsem loving kaeness and mercy bilong Jehovah. Jehovah showimaot loving kaeness long Nineveh long wei wea hem sendem profet bilong hem for givim warning hao klosap hem bae finisim hem evribit, and hem stap redy for showimaot mercy taem datfala taon hem repent—mercy wea letem Nineveh stap for winim 200 year moa go kasem taem olketa bilong Media and Babylon finisim hem long 632 B.C.E. Hem showim mercy long Jonah taem hem sevem hem from datfala raf sea and taem hem provaedem datfala gourd plant for “sevem hem from nogud samting wea kasem hem.” Wei wea Jehovah provaedem and then tekemawe datfala gourd plant hem mekem Jonah savve hao Hem bae showimaot mercy and loving kaeness followim wanem nao Hem laekem.—Jonah 1:2; 3:2-4, 10; 2:10; 4:6, 10, 11.

¹¹ Long Matthew 12:38-41, Jesus talem olketa leader bilong religion hao only saen wea hem bae givim for olketa hem “saen bilong Jonah.” Bihaen thrifala day and thrifala naet long “bele bilong Sheol,” Jonah go and preach long Nineveh, and long wei olsem hem kamap wanfala “saen” for olketa bilong Nineveh. (Jonah 1:17; 2:2; 3:1-4) Long sem wei, Jesus stap insaed grev for samfala part bilong thrifala day and then hem resurrect. Taem olketa disaepol bilong hem talemaot pruv bilong datwan, Jesus hem kamap wanfala saen for datfala genereson. Followim wei wea olketa Jew measurem taem and olketa samting wea really happen witim Jesus, disfala taem bilong “thrifala day and thrifala naet” minim hem no need for barava thrifala full day.b

¹² Long disfala sem story, Jesus markem wei wea olketa bilong Nineveh repent witim wei wea olketa Jew wea garem hardfala heart and barava rejectim hem taem hem duim ministry bilong hem, taem hem sei: “Olketa man bilong Nineveh bae resurrect long taem bilong judgment witim disfala genereson and olketa bae tokdaonem olketa; bikos olketa repent taem Jonah preach; bat, lukim! samting wea winim Jonah hem long hia.” (Lukim tu Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:30, 32.) “Samting wea winim Jonah”—wanem nao Jesus minim taem hem talem disfala toktok? Hem storyim hemseleva olsem nambawan profet wea winim evri narawan, Datwan wea Jehovah sendem for preach: “Repent, iufala pipol, from kingdom bilong heven hem klosap kam nao.” (Matt. 4:17) Nomata olsem, big haf long olketa Jew bilong datfala genereson rejectim datfala “saen bilong Jonah.” Waswe distaem? Nomata planti no lisin long warning message bilong Jehovah, planti thousand raonem world kasem datfala nambawan chance for herem gud nius bilong Kingdom bilong God wea Jesus, datfala “Son bilong man,” hem first wan for preach abaotem. Olsem olketa bilong Nineveh wea repent, wea kasem blessing thru long preaching waka bilong Jonah, olketa hia tu savve share long datfala laef olowe wea Jehovah provaedem wea showimaot bigfala blessing and mercy bilong hem, bikos tru nao “salvation hem bilong Jehovah.”—Jonah 2:9.

[Olketa Footnote]