Jonah: More Than a Fish Story

Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

Do you ever get the sinking feeling that God wants you to do something you really don’t want to do? I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill reluctance to step out in faith: offering to pray for a stranger, confessing a sin to someone close, forgiving someone for an unconfessed sin. No, I’m talking about knowing what God wants you to do and deciding that God is just plain wrong and going in the other direction entirely. I know that I have had those moments. And this is what we see in the book of Jonah: a man who knows exactly what God called him to do, who just bald-faced disagreed with God. This is why Groundwork hosts Dave Bast and Scott Hoezee think the book of Jonah holds the key to understanding the whole of scripture: it shows what is in God’s heart and prompts us to take action in line with His heart.  

Groundwork is a half hour radio and podcast Bible-teaching program that plumbs the substantive questions of the Bible, seeking a practical understanding of God’s Word in today’s culture.

Jonah and the Whale. Jonah is not a story about a great fish but a story about a great God. In a sense, Jonah offers the key to understanding the whole Bible. It shows us what is in God's heart and it prompts us to get busy with the work he has entrusted to us.

Jonah and God’s Grace. Does it ever happen that we feel sad about something that is actually a good thing? Do we see someone receive forgiveness, and get angry because what we really wanted was for that person to get what he had coming to him? Jonah reflects back to us this sad truth, but also gives us hope in the greatness of our Creator's grace.

Be sure also to check out, Understanding Temptation, which kicks off a brand new seven-part series on the book of James. We will post the full digest next time. However, you don’t have to wait, jump on groundworkonline.com to listen right now.

Groundwork is produced by ReFrame Media in partnership with Words of Hope. Subscribe to Groundwork at listentogroundwork.com, and follow us on Facebook.