2 Kings 14:23-27 – A Successful Previous Ministry
So, who is this man Jonah? Well, his name means dove in Hebrew, and as we read in the first verse, he is the son of a man called Amittai. We also know from 2 Kings 14:25 that he was from Gath-hepher, which literally means “wine-press of the digging”, and is mentioned twice in the Bible, here and in Joshua 19:13. A small village in Galilee, Israel, it was five kilometres north of Nazareth, where Jesus would grow up, and one kilometre from Cana, where Jesus would do his first public miracle at a wedding (John 2:1-12).
In terms of his early development, while we cannot say for certain that Jonah was one of them, he was probably of the same generation as the young men referred to in 2 Kings 2:3,5,7,15 and 2 Kings 4:1,38, 5:22 and 6:1 as the ‘sons of the prophets’. These were young men whom God brought into contact with Elijah and Elisha to be exposed to his Word through their prophetic ministries. If Jonah were one of these young men, he would have experienced many blessings.
Whatever the circumstances of his teenage years, with God’s hand upon his life, Jonah developed into a gifted prophet himself. We know from 2 Kings 14:23-27 that he was set apart and used by God during a dark period in the history of Israel. One of the Old Testament words from a prophet is a ‘seer’, a man to whom God had given insight into His purposes. Such men had both a divine calling and a commission from God to bring what they had received from Him to His people. From what we read in 2 Kings 14, a prophetic ministry that probably took place before his call to go to Nineveh, Jonah was both a servant-hearted and successful prophet. How can we tell? Well, he was remembered by the people because what he prophesied took place as he said it would. This was a clear sign that he was a true prophet sent from God (see Deuteronomy 13:1 ff).
Understanding this is more than just a point of general interest. It’s significant in terms of what is going to happen. Coming out of this successful period of prophecy, Jonah would have been filled with a sense of real purpose, even destiny. It will be interesting to consider the factors that contribute to the response he makes when God calls him to go to Nineveh.
Questions
- Where did Jonah live?
- What was the school of the prophets?
Prayer Points
- Pray for our ministers and elders/
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.