God's Glory in an Earthen Vessel

By Christy Voelkel

If ever there was an earthen vessel—brittle, crushable, and full of character flaws—it was Jonah.  And yet, through this earthen vessel of a man, God chose to display one of the most complete and sweeping pictures of Jesus Christ within the Bible’s prophetic literature.

In this two-part study, we look first at the li

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christy Voelkel
• Release date: Sep 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780998038230

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Christy Voelkel

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture cited in this study is from the NKJV.

Scriptures passages have been copied from the online Bible reference source, Blue Letter Bible (www.blueletterbible.org) using its copy feature.

Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon definitions from Blue Letter Bible. Web. 7 May, 2018.

ISBN: 978-0-9980382-3-0 (e-book)

Table of Contents

Introduction: God’s Glory and the Earthen Vessel

Overview: The Book of Jonah

Part 1: The Earthen Vessel

Jonah 1: Jonah and God (Jonah 1:1-2)

Jonah 1: Jonah and the Sailors (Jonah 1:3-16)

From the Sailors’ Perspective

Jonah 1: Jonah and the Sailors (Jonah 1:3-16)

From Jonah’s Perspective

Jonah 2: Jonah and God, Again

Jonah 3: Jonah and the Ninevites

From the Ninevites’ Perspective

Jonah 4: Jonah and God, Again

Jewish Application of Jonah

Summary of the Earthen Vessel

Part 2: The Glory of God in the Earthen Vessel

Introduction: Seeing the Picture within the Picture

Deconstructing Jonah

Pictures of Christ in Jonah

Scenario 1: A Prophet with a Ministry of Baptism

Scenario 2: Christ’s Baptism

Scenario 3: Christ’s Temptations

Scenario 4: A Man Asleep in a Boat in a Storm

Scenario 5: Christ’s Death and Resurrection

Scenario 6: A Kingdom Lost

Scenario 7: The Grand Picture

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

God's Glory and the Earthen Vessel

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

—2 Corinthians 4:6-7

The glory of God and an earthen vessel—what a magnificent contrast! Placed side by side, the immeasurable, indescribable glory of an almighty, majestic God becomes even more glorious while the clay vessel appears even more humble and fragile.

How appropriate that Paul uses the Greek word ostrakinos, meaning earthenware, when describing the clay of this vessel. Even among the grades of clay, this one is the least. It has none of the beauty, purity, or strength of porcelain. It doesn’t even have the versatility or resilience of stoneware. Earthenware, also known as terracotta, is the most common clay used for making tiles, bricks, and flowerpots. It is brittle and chips easily under pressure. Its composition is so filled with impurities that only the least amount of firing can be used to mature it without melting it completely; and even after firing, the vessel remains porous, leaky, prone to staining, and ever so easily broken.

We are that earthen vessel—an earthen body full of impurities that even a refiner’s fire cannot completely drive out of us. Without constant cleansing and a seal to protect us, we are easily stained, dirtied through and through, and unfit for service. We appear strong, but in truth we are fragile, quick to crumble under pressure, and so brittle that one sharp blow shatters us.

Before the fierce fire of God's holiness, we would melt. We are only able to stand before that fire and endure the melting away of our impurities because Christ first endured the fullness of that fire for us. The refining fire we now endure, and are able to endure, does not destroy us but strengthens us so that we might be of use in service to a holy God.

In the light of His purity, our impurities would disqualify us for His service if not for the continual cleansing we receive through Christ.

Under the weight of His majesty, we would be crushed, and yet He chooses not to crush us nor allow any other to crush us. He strengthens us with His own strength, so that we are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Any strength, any purity, and any beauty manifested in the common clay of our humanity is solely because of the work of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives, to the glory of God the Father. Such earthenware would never grace a king’s table, but it is that very vessel God chooses to fill with His glory.

If ever there was a study of contrasts between a glorious God and a man of clay, it is found in the book of Jonah. Jonah is the quintessential earthenware vessel. His character so full of flaws that not even a three-day stint in the belly of a fish can drive them from him. He typifies the worst of humanity in his selfishness, mercilessness, anger, and unfaithfulness. And yet, into the life of this hopelessly flawed man—into each act of obedience and even Jonah’s moments of disobedience—the Lord draws the picture of a future Savior in all His glory. The full picture of Jesus’ earthly ministry, from His baptism to His death and resurrection and beyond, plays out in the narrative picture in glorious detail.

The following is a study of the book of Jonah broken into two parts. Part 1 is an examination of the earthen vessel, the man of clay. We make a first pass through the book in an expository way, examining Jonah. The narrative of the book is broken up into very distinct sections, almost like acts in a theatrical play. As we walk through the text, we are looking at the events from Jonah’s perspective; but we also step into the shoes of different characters—the sailors and Ninevites—to see the events through their eyes. The narrative yields additional applications when assessed from different perspectives.

I also include a brief chapter on how the book of Jonah is incorporated into Jewish understanding and practices. Seeing how Jesus’ disciples applied the book of Jonah in their lives helps bring the book into a New Testament context.

In Part 2, we make a second pass through the book, focusing on the glorious picture of the Messiah that emerges through the narrative story. To do this, we deconstruct the narrative picture, study the individual pieces of imagery that become the building blocks for the larger picture, and then, using those building blocks, reassemble the picture to reveal the big picture of Israel and the Messiah in all its detail.

It is my hope that through this study of the Old Testament illustration of Jonah, you gain an appreciation for the marvelous truth Paul is teaching in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7. We, as believers, are earthen vessels in which God chooses to manifest His glory, so that the world will look at us and understand that the power in us is of God and not ourselves. If God’s glory can shine through the life of such a flawed character as Jonah, none of us are without hope.

OVERVIEW

The Book of Jonah

It is always good to begin with some introductory discussion of a book—its author, its purpose, where it fits in context with other books of the Bible, and such. So here is a quick overview.

The Author and Historicity of Jonah

The book of Jonah is written in the objective, third person point of view, which has caused some scholarly debate over who is the author of the book. Jewish sources class this as a postexilic text written long after the events were past.¹ Other scholars think that Jonah narrates this himself because the story recounts emotions and events that only Jonah would have known. A few prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah write parts of their accounts in the third person, but the authorship is clear in those cases. Not so with Jonah. For this reason, some scholars consider Jonah to be an allegory.

An allegory is a story where a narrator creates an imaginary set of characters and events to teach a particular lesson. While the book of Jonah definitely has a moral point to make, its characters and events are not imaginary. This is what we know about Jonah from biblical, archeological, and other historical records:

• He is a prophet from Gath-hepher, a city in Zebulun, who lives during the reign of Jeroboam II and prophesies that Jeroboam II would retake the northern border of Israel on which the Assyrian provinces had been encroaching (2 Kings 14:25)—a prophecy that comes true. If this were an allegory, it wouldn’t be tied to historical figures or events on a historical timeline.

• Nineveh is also a very real place and the Ninevites, very real people. There are differing opinions as to when Jonah’s mission to Nineveh takes place, but historical and archeological records suggest he is sent to Nineveh during the reign of Ashur-dan III, which we talk about in some detail. A gravesite attributed to Jonah (called Nebi Yunus) has been found in the archeological site of Nineveh. Who makes a gravesite for an allegorical person?

• Jesus speaks of Jonah and the Ninevites as real people. When Jesus rebukes the Jewish leaders of His day, He points to Jonah’s prophecy as a sign that He will rise from the dead after three days, and He uses the Ninevites as examples of true repentance, saying that they will rise at the judgment and condemn that wicked generation (Matthew 12:39-41).

The people in this book are real, the places are real, and the events connect to a real historical timeline. Therefore, we know that the book of Jonah is not an allegory. We are dealing with a real person and one to whom we can relate. It is, however, difficult to pin this period of his life to a place on the historical timeline. Apart from the reference to Jeroboam II, we are left to figure out when these events take place based on suppositions drawn from events recorded in Assyrian historical records.

The narrative describes events on several levels. There are actual events that unfold in the lives of the characters in their time. There is a prophetic picture of events on a near horizon for the northern kingdom of Israel in the illustration of the vine and the worm, which I explain, and there is the sign of Jonah that identifies a future Messiah.

Jonah as a Prophet

In the pantheon of prophets, Jonah takes his place early. The prophets Elijah and Elisha precede him. Amos and Hosea are his contemporaries. Isaiah and rest of the prophets of the exile and postexilic era follow him.

Jonah is a prophet from the northern kingdom of Israel. Jonah, Amos, and Hosea are the prophets who arise at the time when Israel and Assyria’s timelines are preparing to merge as the Lord sends the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity. Jonah is sent to the Ninevites to prepare them as God’s agents of discipline while Amos and Hosea are sent to Israel with fair warning of the coming exile.

Jonah is a tested prophet. His prophecy concerning Jeroboam II comes true, and so we know he is the real deal as far as prophets go. He has the distinction of being the only Hebrew prophet sent to a Gentile nation. Other prophets like Daniel find themselves captive in Gentile nations, and they prophesy to those kings and peoples. Jonah, on the other hand, is asked to voluntarily leave Israel and go to a Gentile nation. Perhaps the only other prophet sent to a foreign nation like this is Elijah, who is sent to Damascus to anoint Hazael as King of Syria (1 Kings 19:15).

There are two ways prophets get God’s message across. One way is by speaking prophecies that God gives them to speak. The other is by acting in a way that God tells them to act, so that people look at them and ask, What are you doing? Why are you doing that? In both cases, God usually gives the prophet an interpretation of the action with which to answer the people.

This book is not about Jonah’s spoken prophecies. Jonah makes only two prophetic statements in the entire narrative: 1) in Jonah 1:12, he tells the sailors the sea will become calm if they throw him over, which it does, and 2) in Jonah 3:4, he tells the Ninevites, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! God’s message is delivered not so much through Jonah’s spoken prophecy as through the actions of the prophet himself as he lives out a lesson. Unlike other prophets, God doesn’t give Jonah instructions on what to do or the interpretation of it. God does something unique in that He allows Jonah’s own inclination and choices to dictate the flow of events without Jonah realizing that God is making a lesson out of him.

The lesson isn’t really for the people of Jonah’s time, though. The sailors don’t know what happens after they threw Jonah in the sea. They give him up for dead. The Ninevites don’t witness what happened on the ship. None of them know of the dialogue that goes on between Jonah and God at the end. All of these events takes place away from Israel, and it doesn’t appear that Jonah ever returns to Israel, as his grave is in Nineveh. So, for whom is this lesson really?

The real picture that plays out in the life of Jonah is a portrayal of a coming Messiah. His message was a sign for the Jews of Jesus’ day, and his life is a lesson for us even today.

Yet Jonah isn’t a character with whom we may wish to identify. As we read through his account, we come to the understanding pretty quickly that Jonah is going be one of those bad examples we find in Scripture. What does he think he is doing? Why does he do that? (You can’t help but ask those kinds of questions.) Then we say to ourselves, I wouldn’t have acted that way. In this we deceive ourselves, because we do act that way. We are all earthen vessels with intrinsically flawed characters. As we work through the lessons and examine why Jonah does what he does, I hope that you have some moments of self-assessment and conviction, even as I had when I taught this book. I think this is why Jonah’s narrative was so pointedly written in the voice of the third-person observer, to give us that raw objective view of what our own humanity looks like.

The Narrative Structure

The Book of Jonah has a very distinctive narrative structure. Jonah interacts with two sets of Gentiles (the sailors and the Ninevites), and each interaction follows a parallel structure.

Jonah & God . . . Jonah & the sailors . . . The sailors & God (Jonah 1:1-16) Jonah & God . . . Jonah & the Ninevites . . .The Ninevites & God (Jonah 1:17-3:10) Jonah & God (Jonah 4) (end of narrative)

The book begins and ends with a dialogue between Jonah and God, which creates a sort of inclusio for the narrative sandwiched in between. While the sailors and Ninevites are a significant part of the lesson, they are cast more in the role of God’s tools for dealing with Jonah. The overall thrust of the narrative is Jonah’s relationship with God.

The interplay between God and Jonah throughout