Sermon Tone Analysis

Grasping God’s Word, by Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays

Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays.

Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible.

Third Edition.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.

Step 1: Grasping the text in their town.

Assumption:

If all Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, then all Scripture was included in the Bible for a reason.

God intends every single verse to be instructive and beneficial to the reader.

There are no filler verses.

If you don’t understand why the passage is included in the Bible, you don’t understand the passage.

If you move straight from your initial reading of a passage to the application of that passage, you will remain tied to your previous understanding of that text.

You will rarely see anything new and exciting in the text, and the Bible will become boring for you.

Likewise, it is unlikely that you will hear anything new from God, and your relationship with him is likely to be stagnant.

God wants to have deeper and more mature conversations with you, but if you are tied to superficial and surface readings of the Bible or if you always assume that you have already seen and understood all there is, then your relationship with God will tend to stay at the same level.

Likewise, any teaching or preaching you do will tend to be flat and boring or a reflection of something other than Scripture.

The Bible, however, is the Word of God, and it is not boring.

We simply need to learn how to read it with more insight and understanding.

Interpreting Jonah 1:1-3

Interrogate the text.

Who?

If Dialogue/Epistle/Prophecy: Who is speaking?

Who are they speaking to/for?

God (“Yahweh”) speaks to Jonah the prophet, the son of Amittai

If Narrative/Poetic: Who is the author?

Who are they writing to/for?

Probably Jonah, but unnamed.

Written for the benefit of pre-exilic Israel and Judah

Who are the characters in the story?

Jonah the prophet, the son of Amittai

God

Nineveh

“Assyria was a militaristic society with a reputation for violence and cruelty in warfare.

Their religion was polytheistic.

Ashur, Adad, Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar were the chief deities of the Assyrian pantheon, Ashur being regarded as the most powerful.

The Assyrian gods were patron gods, worshiped for their blessing and protection of specific cities.

The patron deity of Nineveh was Ishtar, goddess of love and war.”

John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Jon 1:2.

Assyria would later be one of God’s instruments of judgment upon Israel.

Sennacherib was one of the Kings of Assyria who lived at Nineveh (2 Kgs 19:36)

Crew of the ship (minor characters)

What?

What is the author saying?

What is going on in the passage?

The author describes Jonah’s calling to go preach to Nineveh and Jonah’s subsequent refusal and attempt to flee from God.

Instead of going where God told him, Jonah flees.

What happened before this passage?

Probably a long, sordid past of offenses and prejudices between the two peoples

What happens after this passage?

Jonah is swallowed by the whale, he repents, etc.

When?

When does this passage take place?

Probably during the reign of Jeroboam II, King of Israel ca.

786-746 BC (See 2 Kgs 14:25)

When was this written?

Sometime after Jonah preaches and Nineveh repents

Where?

Where is this passage unfolding?

Gath Hepher—Jonah’s birthplace, a town in Galilee near Nazareth (See 2 Kgs 14:25)

Nineveh, Assyria—one of four great Assyrian cities

Tarshish—“Probably Tartessus in southern Spain, perhaps the most distant city known to Israel.

Tartessus was a Phoenician colony.

At this time, Phoenicia was a close ally of Israel, an alliance solidified with the marriage between King Ahab of Israel and Jezebel, a Phoenician princess.”

John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Jon 1:3.

Joppa—the closest port city to Jerusalem, about 30 miles NW of Jerusalem on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Where was it written?

Probably in his hometown, Gath Hepher

This can be more significant in some cases (i.e., Paul’s final instructions to Timothy are written while sitting in jail awaiting execution, Jeremiah’s Laments are probably written in exile in Egypt.)

Where was the original audience?

Israel

Judah

Why?

Why does the author say what he says?

Why is this in the Bible?

(For now, answer from the perspective of the original audience.)

To help Israelites understand that God cares for even their enemies

To help Israelites understand that they can’t escape God’s presence or evade his commands

How?

How is the author communicating?

What genre or style is he using?

Some think Jonah is allegorical

Most likely it is historical; most objections to its historicity seem to come from an anti-supernatural bias.

How should we understand or interpret the passage?

Is it symbolic, allegory/parable, narrative, exhortatory, prophetic, wisdom, etc.?

It’s a historical narrative with a theological lesson

Now, summarize the passage in third person in your own words (i.e., “Paul tells the Corinthians to…” or “Samuel describes a time when David...”)

Reading Carefully

As we’re reading Scripture, we will gain a better understanding of the text if we read it carefully and pay attention to key details, including the following:

Repetition of words—Look for words and phrases that repeat.

This can give us an idea of what the predominant theme(s) of a passage is/are.

John 15:1-10 Key words: abide/remain branch vine fruit

Contrasts—Look for ideas, individuals, and/or items that are contrasted with each other.

Look for differences.

Rom.

6:23

wages contrasted with gift

death contrasted with life

sin contrasted with God

Comparisons—Look for ideas, individuals, and/or items that are compared with each other.

Look also for similarities.

Jas.