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Jonah 1

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1 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2 Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of Jehovah.

4 But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest upon the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

5 And the mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah had gone down into the lower part of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

6 And the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, sleeper? arise, call upon thy God; perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7 And they said each one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8 And they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

9 And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of the heavens, who hath made the sea and the dry [land].

10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this thou hast done? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Jehovah: for he had told them.

11 And they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you.

13 But the men rowed hard to regain the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.

14 And they cried unto Jehovah and said, Ah, Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee.

15 And they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.

16 And the men feared Jehovah exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows.

17 And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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Exploring the Meaning of Jonah 1

Napsal(a) Helen Kennedy

Billy Graham once said that the whole of Jesus' ministry could be summed up in two words; Come and Go.

COME to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

GO and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)

In the beginning of the Book of Jonah, chapter 1, we have a story about what happens when you do the first step, but not the second. Jonah was supposed to go preach the gospel -- the monotheistic worship of Jehovah -- to the people of Ninevah. Swedenborg tells us that the verses in Jonah 1:1-2 are about the people of Israel, who had received the Word - but wouldn't go out and share it amongst the nations.

In Jonah 1:4-6, peoples' spiritual knowledge declines, and begins to perish. It happens both in the land of Israel, and in the wider world.

Here are some key symbolic elements in this account:

- A ship represents the knowledge of good and truth useful for life (a church). (Apocalypse Revealed 406)

- A sea, storm and wind represents Hell and its influence. (Apocalypse Revealed 343[4])

- To be asleep means to be deluded by our own glory. (Arcana Coelestia 147)

In Jonah 1:7-9, the people who lived outside the land of Israel had some perception that their own spiritual knowledge was lacking, and they it had led to a collapse of their spiritual state. As Swedenborg puts it, "the state of the church was perverted among themselves".

When they perceived this, they also came to understand that they needed to reject falsified truths that they were getting from the Jewish church at that time, and pray to the Lord for salvation, to try to restore real worship, real spiritual love and wisdom.

Drawing lots, or playing a game of chance, represents pulling truths apart. (Arcana Coelestia 9942.13)

In Jonah 1:10-13, throwing Jonah into the sea represents the rejection of that hollowed-out church, to make way for a new church. Then, in Jonah 1:14-16, when the people in the boat pray unto the Lord for salvation -- it works! They are saved from foundering and drowning.

What's the takeaway for us? If we're getting false ideas from our neighbors, we need to perceive it, and stop. We need to identify our false beliefs, and reject them -- throw them into the sea. Then, we need to pray for salvation -- and then a new "church" can start in us, too, personally, with renewed spiritual life. And, when we come to the Lord, and experience spiritual "rest", then we can also go share our new true ideas and good loves with our neighbors -- coming, and going.

Here's a link to an interesting (audio) sermon on this chapter, by Rev. Todd Beiswenger.

Finally, here's a link to Rev. McCurdy's Study Guide for the Book of Jonah, which is available for free as a .pdf, for your use.

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Jonah 1:14-16

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14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.