Study Desk

The sailors became afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the things that were in the ship into the sea so that it would not be so heavy. But Jonah had gone below in the ship and had lain down and fallen asleep.

So the captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god. It may be that your god will care about us, and we will not die."

Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord God of heaven Who made the sea and the dry land."

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God while in the stomach of the fish,

I went down to the roots of the mountains. The walls of the earth were around me forever. But You have brought me up from the grave, O Lord my God.

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God. They called for a time when no food was to be eaten. And all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on clothes made from hair.

Both man and animal must be covered with cloth made from hair. Everyone must pray to God with all his heart, so each person may turn from his sinful way and from the bad things he has done.

Who knows? God may change His mind and stop being angry so that we will not die."

When God saw what they did, and that they turned from their sinful way, He changed His mind about the trouble He said He would bring upon them, and He did not destroy Nineveh.

He prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord, is this not what I said You would do while still in my own country? That is why I ran away to Tarshish. For I knew that You are a kind and loving God Who shows pity. I knew that You are slow to anger and are filled with loving-kindness, always ready to change Your mind and not punish.

Then the Lord God made a plant grow up over Jonah to cover him from the hot sun and to stop his suffering. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

But at the beginning of the next day, God sent a worm to destroy the plant and it dried up.

When the sun came up, God sent a hot east wind. And the sun's heat came upon Jonah's head so that he became weak and begged with all his heart to die. He said, "Death is better to me than life."

Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?" And Jonah said, "I have a good reason to be angry, angry enough to die."

Hear, O people, all of you. Listen, O earth and all who are in it. The Lord God will speak against you from His holy house.

Those who tell what is going to happen in the future will be ashamed. Those who learn about the future using their secret ways will be ashamed. They will all cover their mouths because there is no answer from God.

Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about His ways, so that we may walk in His paths." For the Law will go out from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

All the nations may walk in the name of their god. But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

And He will come and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the great power of the name of the Lord His God. His people will live there and be safe, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.

What should I bring to the Lord when I bow down before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt gifts, with calves a year old?