Chapter 1

1. The Book of Jonah Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Assyrian Theology

2. The Book of Jonah Chapter 3

3. Jonah 2:10And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 3:1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

4. Jonah • 6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: • “By the decree of the king and his nobles: • Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.9Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” • 10When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassionand did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

5. A brief look into The preparation of the Ninevites for the message. Assyrian Theology

6. Assur Anu(Enlil) Nergal Ea Sin Adad Istar Samas Ninurta (siblings) Marduk Assyrian Theology Many gods who could be viewed separately or as manifestations of the one. link to description of god by clicking on name

7. Assur Anu(Enlil) Nergal Ea Sin Ea/Marduk Adad Istar Samas Ninurta (siblings) Marduk Assyrian Theology Many gods who could be viewed separately or as manifestations of the one. link to description of god by clicking on name

8. Assur Anu(Enlil) Nergal Ea Sin Ea/Marduk Adad Istar Samas Ninurta (siblings) Marduk Assyrian Theology Many gods who could be viewed separately or as manifestations of the one. link to description of god by clicking on name

9. Assur Anu(Enlil) Nergal Ea Sin Adad Istar Samas Ninurta (siblings) Marduk Assyrian Theology Many gods who could be viewed separately or as manifestations of the one. link to description of god by clicking on name

10. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • During the time that God sent Jonah to Nineveh, the culture was leaning toward monotheism under the current king, Adad-nirari III.

11. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • Naaman (II Kings 5:1-3) • 2KiNow Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. • Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet h who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

12. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • Naaman (II Kings 5:1-3) • Nathaniel (John 1:43-49) • The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” • Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote —Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” • “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. • “Come and see,” said Philip. • When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” • “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. • Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” • Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

13. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • Naaman (II Kings 5:1-3) • Nathaniel (John 1:43-49) • Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39; I Kings 10) • 26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” • 30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. • 31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

14. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • Naaman (II Kings 5:1-3) • Nathaniel (John 1:43-49) • Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39; I Kings 10) • All of the history of Israel / Scripture

15. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • The Assyrian theological system • Naaman (II Kings 5:1-3) • Nathaniel (John 1:43-49) • Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39; I Kings 10) • All of the history of Israel / Scripture • Pray and watch for prepared folks. • Allow time for the preparation . . . • Anything that causes life reflection can be preparation. • Bill Renwick • Don’t be a tragedy chaser ~ be sensitive to open souls.

16. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • Jonah preaching to hard cases. • This would also be a rebuke to the Israelites who had rejected the same message.

17. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • Jonah preaching to hard cases • John the dunker ~ prepared before conception • Paul (Galatians 1:15) • Disciples (up to 3 years of life on experience/observation) • Jesus ~ prepared from the beginning • Your general life journey • God has been working to shape you for your entire life • Malleability and active willingness are critical here • Sometimes, it has to be you.

18. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The history of his involvement with humanity • Not giving up on Israel (nor you and me) • Even to the point of sending Jesus.

19. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance 6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.

20. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance • 7Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: • “By the decree of the king and his nobles: • Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.9Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

21. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance • This is one serious repenting! • 7Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: • “By the decree of the king and his nobles: • Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.

22. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance • 7Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: • “By the decree of the king and his nobles: • Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.9Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

23. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance 10When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassionand did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

24. God’s preparation of people’s hearts. • God’s preparation of his envoys. • God’s active/stubborn love for the lost. • The required response to that love: serious repentance • Know folks, watch for preparation, pray • Be malleable and obedient. (promptings?) • Share the love of God for the lost. • Be a repenter yourself.

25. Jonah

26. The Book of Jonah

27. Assur Anu(Enlil) Nergal Ea Sin Adad Istar Samas Ninurta (siblings) Marduk Assyrian Theology Many gods who could be viewed separately or as manifestations of the one. link to description of god by clicking on name

28. Assyrian gods (or God) • Nine “great gods” figure in Assyrian texts as seemingly independent entities generally not identified with one another. Most of them, especially Anu, Sîn, Ištar, Marduk and Ninurta/Nabû, are, however, occasionally represented as including all the others or fusing with other gods. On the basis of their attributes and descriptions found in sundry religious texts (myths, prayers, esoteric commentaries, etc.), their “personal profiles” can be briefly sketched as follows: Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

29. Assyrian gods (or God) • Anu: the god of heaven, “the first one, the heavenly father, the greatest one in heaven and earth, the one who contains the entire universe, the king of the gods, the father/progenitor of the (great) gods, creator of everything.” He was the “reflection” of his father Anšar (= Aššur), with whom he was identified. A personification of the immutable heaven, his word in the “assembly of gods” was final. The symbol of his authority was the crown, which he had conferred upon the Assyrian king, just as he had ceded the divine kingship to his grandson, Marduk, the establisher and maintainer of the present world order. Through his mystic number 1 (= 60), he was associated not only with the crescent but also with the full moon: “15 times 4 is 60 (= 1); 1 is Anu; he called the ‘fruit’ [i.e., the full moon].” Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

30. Assyrian gods (or God) • Ea: “the lord of wisdom/secrets, the sage/king of wisdom, the sage of the gods/of the universe, surpassingly/exceedingly wise, omniscient, knower of ingenious things; the father of the (great) gods, the creator of everything/all mankind/created things; the lord/king of the subterranean waters, the king/prince of Apsû (= the ocean of gnosis), the great light of Apsû, the lord of the waters of life.” Ea had two numbers, 40 and 60, derived from the 2 : 3 ratio between the length of day and night at the winter solstice. The latter made him the “mirror image” of his father Anu and the personification of the night sky, the former merged him with his grandson Ninurta (see below). Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

31. Assyrian gods (or God) • Sîn: the moon god, “fruit (enbu) giving birth to itself, birth-giving father, father of the great gods, procreator of all; maker of decision(s), jugde of the universe; judicious, thoughtful, circumspect, prudent; Anu of the sky whose counsel nobody perceives, whose profound heart no god can fathom, whose mind no god knows; wise, knower of secrets, sage of the gods; the pure god, light of the gods, light of the upper and lower worlds.” Sîn was, like Ea, the son of Anu; by virtue of Anu’s identification with Enlil as the supreme authority, he was also called the son of Enlil. Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

32. Assyrian gods (or God) • Šamaš: the sun god, the divine judge par excellence, the “lord of judgment, king/lord of justice/righteousness, the lord of justice and right, the great judge of the great gods, the judge of the heaven and earth/upper and lower worlds.” Conceived of as “destroyer/slayer of the wicked and the enemy,” his standard epithets were “strong man” (e?lu) and “hero” (qur?du). He was the son of Sîn and the brother of Ištar; his number was 20, which in the first millennium also served as a logogram for the king as the “sun of the people.” Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

33. Assyrian gods (or God) • Marduk: the son of Ea, exalted to the kingship of gods as the of slayer of the forces of chaos and the establisher of cosmic order: “the lord of lords; the exalted lord of gods, lord of the gods of heaven and earth, king of the gods; the organizer of the regions, the organizer of all the gods, the organizer/founder of the assembly of the gods; the leader of the gods/mankind.” Marduk was the brother of Ištar, but the polar opposite of her other brother, Šamaš: “merciful and forgiving, the merciful god/father/lord, the merciful one with forgiving heart, merciful to mankind, he who forgave the gods.” His standard epithet was “the great lord”; his number was 50, inherited from Enlil, the head of the Sumerian pantheon. Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

34. Assyrian gods (or God) • Ištar: “the lady/goddess of beauty and love; the lady of love, the loving one, the one who loves all mankind.” She was the daughter of Anu, Ea, and Sîn (moon), and the sister of Šamaš and Marduk, “beautiful to a superlative degree.” Her standing epithets were “pure/holy” and “virgin.” In Assyrian iconography, her most common symbolic representation was the eight-pointed star; she is often depicted as a female figure surrounded by intense radiance. • Ištar embodied in herself all Mesopotamian goddesses and had an extremely complex mythological figure, which has been characterized as a “paradox and a coincidence of opposites.” On the one hand, she was “the queen/mistress of heaven (and earth/and the stars), the queen of queens, the lady of ladies, the goddess of the gods, who holds all the powers; the creatress of the gods/all mankind, the mother of men, mother of those who give birth, midwife; the merciful goddess/mother; the veiled bride, wise, knowledgeable.” On the other hand, she also was “the prostitute, the whore, the raging deluge, the lady/goddess of battle/strife and war.” Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

35. Assyrian gods (or God) • Ninurta/Nabû, “the mighty son” of Enlil/Marduk, the heavenly crown prince and exalted savior: “the killer of Anzû (the personification of sin), the warrior who achieved victory for Enlil, the victor who threshes the foe but makes the righteous stand, whose strength is exalted.” In a Neo-Assyrian prayer, both Nabû and Ninurta are presented as powers of Marduk, the former as his “victory”, the latter as his “prowess.” The standard epithet of Ninurta is “lord,” a title which he shares with his father; he is also called “the arrow” and “the weapon.” • After his triumph over Anzû, he becomes “the lord of the stylus, the keeper of the (life-giving) writing-board, the holder of the stylus of fates,” who presents the “tablet of sins” to Marduk “on the day of the settling of accounts;” his looks are changed; his eyes flame like fire, his [garments] glow like snow; casting numinous splendor and silence over god and man, he returns in his triumphal chariot to his father, who rejoices in him, blesses him, and magnifies his kingship. He now merges with his father: in a Neo-Assyrian hymn glorifying Ninurta, his body is described as encompassing the whole universe, with different gods, including his fathers Marduk and Enlil, presented as his limbs, his face being the sun, etc.25 His number was 40, but in line with his magnification, his name could occasionally be spelled with the vertical wedge, “One and Sixty”, the number of Anu. Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

36. Assyrian gods (or God) • Adad, the god of thunder: “glorious, splendid, proud, mighty; the lord/king of oracles/decisions, august judge.” As “the voice of [Aššur’s] majesty,” he was the oracle god, divine herald and punisher in the same person, announcing, by his roar, divine judgments and decisions to mankind and hitting by his lightning the obstinate and the wicked. His number was 10, which he shared with Girru “Fire,” Madanu “Verdict,” and Nusku, the god of awakening and vigilance. Through his equation with Girru and the association of heaven with fire, he was the son of Anu. Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

37. Assyrian gods (or God) • Nergal, “the lord/king of the earth,” to whom “Enlil [his] father entrusted the mankind, all living creatures, the cattle of Šakkan, and the herds of wild animals,” a personification of sexual potency and man’s animal insticts: “the power of the earth, the strongest/most potent/powerful of gods, the lord of power and strength”; a beautiful, “good-looking” tempter, “fox, king of tricks, cunning in tricks”. He was the son of the mother goddess Belet-ili and Anu. His number was 14, symbolizing the ascent and descent through the seven gates of the netherworld. Return http://www.assyriatimesforum.com/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/1942

38. The Book of Jonah Chapter 4 Chapter 4

39. The Book of Jonah Chapter 4

40. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. This was the entire point of sending Jonah to condemn Nineveh (the Assyrians) in the first place. This is a great victory, one would think. (A repentant Assyria would no longer be a threat to Judah/Israel)

41. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. What would have made Jonah really happy? What would make God really happy?

42. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. • Titus 2:1-4 • I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 or kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

43. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. • Ezekiel 33:10-11 • “Son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” ’ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’

44. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. • Jeremiah 12:14-17 • This is what the LORD says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uprootthem from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. 16And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’ —even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal —then they will be established among my people. 17But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD. • Jeremiah 12:14-17 • This is what the LORD says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uprootthem from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. 16And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’ —even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal —then they will be established among my people. 17But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD.

45. Jonah • 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. • 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. • “God, you are too nice to the bad people. • Why can’t you be more like me.”

46. Jonah • 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. • 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. • Isaiah 53:4-5 • Surely he took up our infirmities • and carried our sorrows, • yet we considered him stricken by God, • smitten by him, and afflicted. • But he was pierced for our transgressions, • he was crushed for our iniquities; • the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, • and by his wounds we are healed. • We all, like sheep, have gone astray, • each of us has turned to his own way; • and the LORD has laid on him • the iniquity of us all.

47. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. The kind of God that each of us needs!

48. Jonah 3:10When God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 4:1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.3Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to diethan to live.” His anger is directed at God who has chosen to offer mercy and forgiveness to undeserving folks like you and me.

49. Jonah 3Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to diethan to live.” 4But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

50. Jonah 3Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to diethan to live.” 4But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” 5Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Would God still wipe them out?