So the Jonah story, what's it really about?

Jonah's decision - God's instruction
This bible study will be given in 3 parts because there is so much going on that one bible study would be too long.
Part I.

Everyone knows the story about the story of Jonah and the whale.  Actually the story is about Jonah and the Ninevites, or Jonah tries to run from God.  There are several lessons to learn from this story.  I'm not going to cover all of them on this one page.  Here is some background.  Nineveh is a town in Assyria which is modern day Iraq.  The Assyrians were known for being ruthless violent warriors who conquered and captured people in neighboring countries.  They were among the first ancient people to use terror as a weapon.  It was said that they decimated the northern kingdom of Israel.  Some historical records tell us that Jonah had relatives in the northern kingdom who were killed.  Jonah would have been one of many people who greatly disliked and were afraid of the people of Nineveh.  Now God doesn't like to lose any people.  He is our creator and He really does love every person and will restore any person who will repent from their sins and return to Him. He spoke to Jonah, who was a prophet, and told him to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent.  This was no small job because Nineveh was the largest city of the time.  It is said that there may have been as many as 600,000 people living there.  Jonah would have been literally walking into the enemy's camp, and it was a large one.  What if the people of Nineveh weren't receptive to the message and  told him no?  What would he do?  How would he get away?  Anyway, he didn't want God to forgive them, he wanted God to 'take them down'.  Jonah didn't want to do what God asked him to do, so he took a ship headed toward Spain which was as far in the opposite direction of Nineveh as he could get in that day.  God, who sees everything caused a terrible storm to come up and it frightened the sailors because of it's veracity.  Sailors are accustomed to storms, so this one had to be unusually bad, perhaps like super storm Sandy in our day. Anyway, the sailors all began to pray to their pagan gods and they woke Jonah up because he was sleeping and wasn't praying.  They asked Jonah some questions and he told them that he was Hebrew and that he served the God of heaven.  He told them this to let them know that his was the true God and he was of the chosen people of his God.  He told them that he was running from the Lord God Jehovah and the men became afraid.  They tried to row to shore rather than to throw Jonah overboard, but the storm was too rough.  Finally, following Jonah's instructions, they threw him overboard and the sea instantly became calm.  

This is the end of Part I of my Jonah series.  What have we seen?  Well, let's start with this.
1.  God loves sinners.  He even loves those who are cruelly barbaric and who have killed many people.  Our God is a forgiving God who is more interested in our repentance and return to him than he is in punishment and death.  If you have committed a sin before God, you have the opportunity to repent (say you're sorry and ask forgiveness).  He's always waiting for us to repent so that He can restore us to our place and communion with him.    He was waiting for the Assyrians to change their ways.  He loved them so much that he sent a Hebrew prophet to go and call them to repentance.  God was calling the gentiles to repent even then.
2.  God knows us well, and is ready to help us learn and grow.  He knew Jonah, and He knew how Jonah would feel about calling the Assyrians to repentance.  God was ready for Jonah's response.  God called Jonah to do something.  It's similar, but not really, to a parent telling one child to go get a sibling and tell them to come inside to talk to that parent.  Anyway, Jonah disobeyed.  Not only did Jonah disobey, but then he tried to run away.  (have you ever heard of a child running from a parent to avoid doing a requested task and also to avoid the punishment for not doing the task?) In his attempt to disobey and run away, he used other people and therefore got them involved in his trouble.  The interesting thing is the response of the heathen (pagan god worshippers).  When the sailors began asking him questions, Jonah became a name dropper.  He used the words that he knew would bring recognition and respect with the sailors.  He told them that he was a Hebrew.  many tribes and people had heard of the Hebrew people and of their God.  They had heard of the miracles that the God of the Hebrew people had wrought for them.    Jonah then dropped the name and title of his god.  (Jonah 1:9) "I am a Hebrew and I fear the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."  It was interesting that the sailors tried to save everyone including Jonah by attempting to row the boat to shore and safety after he told them both who he was, and who his God was.
3.  God addresses our disobedience and then moves to get our attention.
God wouldn't allow the boat to reach the shore.  It remained in the sea and was tossed about in the water.  Finally Jonah told them to throw him overboard into the water.  He must have been terrified, but he knew he was going to have to face the consequences for his behavior and he would have to face his God, so he decided to allow himself to be sacrificed for the many men on the ship.  The sailors threw him overboard.
4.  God reveals his power to the gentile pagan worshippers.
The name of the Lord of heaven must have brought such fear that the sailors didn't want to throw a child of the Hebrew God into the sea.  They didn't want to be responsible for his death.  They actually prayed to the Lord God Jehovah and asked to be spared.  They asked God not to kill them, and not to have Jonah's blood rest on their heads.  Here we see them turning from darkness and recognizing the light.  once the men threw Jonah overboard, the sea became calm and the storm dissipated.  The instant cessation of the storm caused the men on the ship to believe.  They made a sacrifice to the God of the Hebrew people and prayed and worshipped Him.  (Jonah 1:16) "Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they gave a sacrifice to Him and made vows."
The actions of the Lord caused;
** the men to fear(respect, honor, recognize ) the Lord our God
** they repented and gave a sacrifice to the Lord our God.
** they began to pray to Him
** They worshipped the God of the Hebrew people

When God shows himself people can't help but to acknowledge and worship him as Holy.  He is the Holy One.  The Lord God almighty.

If you have been running from God and you would like to repent and walk with him, you can say this prayer with me.

Heavenly Father, I confess that I am a sinner.  I ask that you wash my sins away.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died on the cross for the removal of my sins.  I believe that he rose again on the third day and that he is in heaven with you.  Lord, please lead me and guide me.  Teach me so that I may know you better.  Help me to walk with you in a manner that is pleasing to you.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen.

That is all you have to do to be born again.  If you said this prayer you are new and all old things are passed away.  If anyone tells you that you have to do anything else, they are wrong.  See Romans 10:9-10.     HAPPY RE-BIRTH DAY!!  Jesus said, "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". John 3:3