The Book of Jonah is probably the best-known book of the Minor Prophets (the last twelve books of the OT). This is mostly due to the big fish, which certainly is a compelling part of the story. However, the book of Jonah is much more than a fish story. The great fish actually plays a minor role in the story.
Jonah is a unique book among the prophets. The only prophetic message given by the prophet in the whole book is the one-sentence sermon to the people of Nineveh in chapter three, verse four. The book is really a story. It is a story about God’s reluctant prophet and how God deals with him. It’s also a story about God’s compassion and concern for people.
The book is unique in another sense. Jonah writes about one season of his prophetic ministry that was a great success and, at the same time, a great failure. Jonah preaches to a large city that is antagonistic to his message, and they all repent. It’s hard to imagine a greater ministry success story. Yet, at the same time, it is a great failure. Jonah is a failure in the most important way. He fails in the purity of his heart. He did the right thing for the wrong reason. In this, Jonah is a reflection of all people. Corruption invades the heart even when the right thing is done. Only under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can one be so honest about oneself.
Historical Context
The book itself gives no indication as to when the story takes place. There are no historical markers except that the story must occur before the fall of the city of Nineveh to the Babylonians. We do get a clue from 2 Kings 14:25, which mentions the prophet Jonah prophesying during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753 BC). At that time, the Assyrians (Nineveh was the capital city) were not as powerful as they later became, though they were still a powerful and cruel people. Jonah had deep-seated prejudices against the people of Nineveh.
Flow of the Book
The four chapters of the book basically represent the four movements of the story of the Lord’s call and Jonah’s ministry to Nineveh. The story deals with God’s call on Jonah to go preach against Nineveh, Jonah’s rejection of that call, the Lord dealing with his fleeing prophet, Jonah’s repentance and obedience to go and preach against Nineveh, the repentance of the people of Nineveh and Jonah’s displeasure and anger with the Lord’s compassion and mercy on the hated city of Nineveh. The story ends with a question, a question that probes the heart of Jonah (and us) about the heart of God. The book is a powerful story that causes one to ask important questions about themselves and their relationship with the Lord. If the prophet of the Lord struggled to be obedient and to serve the Lord with compassion, then what might be our attitude to the call of God in our lives?
The story of the Book of Jonah unfolds in the following way:
1. Jonah’s Call and Disobedience (ch. 1)
2. Jonah’s Prayer and the Lord’s Rescue (ch.2)
3. Jonah’s Second Call and Obedience (ch. 3)
4. Jonah’s Anger and The Lord’s Compassion (ch. 4)
Jonah’s Call and Disobedience (ch. 1)
The story begins with the word of the Lord coming to Jonah to go preach against the evil city of Nineveh. Instead of going in obedience to Nineveh, Jonah runs in the opposite direction boarding a pagan ship. A raging storm ensues, and Jonah is forced to confess his culpability. As a result, the sailors throw him into the sea. The first movement of the story shows how God deals with his disobedient prophet. As Jonah moves farther away from the will of God geographically, he moves farther away from God spiritually. God brings pain into Jonah’s life as a display of his grace to lead the runaway prophet back to obedience. We see God’s hand in all the circumstances of chapter one pursuing Jonah. The Lord is in control. Jonah runs from the presence of the Lord, but he cannot escape the relentless pursuit of the Lord. At the end of the chapter, we find Jonah in the sea, swallowed by a God-directed fish.
Jonah’s Prayer and The Lord’s Rescue (ch. 2)
Chapter two is a prayer in poetic form. Verses one and ten are a non-poetic introduction and conclusion, while verses 2-9 are the poetic prayer. In the prayer, Jonah praises the Lord for rescuing him from the sea by sending a great fish to swallow him and deposit him on dry land. We are especially joyful when in the grip of some calamity, the Lord comes to our rescue, however unlikely the means of the rescue might be.
When Jonah is thrown overboard by the sailors, he sinks to the bottom of the sea and is in danger of drowning. There, he prays to the Lord he is running from, and the Lord sends a great fish to rescue him. The fish is not the punishment but the rescue. God pursues Jonah to the depths of the sea to restore the relationship. Running from the Lord is no excuse to continue in that same direction, especially when things go from bad to worse. When we are in trouble we cannot extract ourselves from, we turn to the Lord in humble prayer.
Jonah’s Second Call and Obedience (ch. 3)
Rescued from the sea, the Lord has Jonah’s attention. The call comes a second time for Jonah to go preach against Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeys, walking through the city with a message of judgment. Miraculously, the people of Nineveh believe God. Why would these pagan people believe the Lord’s prophet? If there were some pending disaster or some looming problem that urgently pressed upon them, they would have naturally turned to their pages gods. Instead, they repented, calling for a fast and putting on sackcloth. Why did the people of Nineveh repent and turn to the Lord? There was nothing in their culture or the circumstances of their lives and times that had the power to move them to repentance. It was a miracle of God. The miracle of repentance in the pagan city of Nineveh is greater than the miracle of the great fish! Good is at work in his world for his glory and the salvation of souls.
When the Lord saw them repent and turn from evil, he relented from sending judgment on them. God responds in mercy at the repentance of sinners. Repentance turns judgment into mercy.
Jonah’s Anger and The Lord’s Compassion (ch.4)
God’s mercy on the people of Nineveh greatly angered Jonah. Jonah prays a second time to the Lord. This prayer is a selfish, angry prayer that resents God showing mercy to the people he hates. Jonah is so angry that he asks the Lord to take his life. Prejudice is an ugly beast that pollutes the heart. Selfish hate only brings sourness to the soul.
Jonah goes outside the city to watch, hoping the Lord will, in fact, bring judgment on them. While he waits, the Lord provides Jonah with a plant to give him shade and relieve his discomfort in the sun. At this, Jonah was very happy. Then, the Lord provides a worm to eat the plant. After that, the Lord provides a scorching east wind to intensify the heat on Jonah. With this turn of events, Jonah is unhappy again and asks the Lord to take his life. At that perfect moment the Lord asks Jonah a question, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” Jonah has no appreciation for the Lord’s provision or the lesson he is teaching him. He is focused on himself.
The book ends with the Lord asking Jonah, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” The question is really about the heart of Jonah and the heart of the Lord. Those who know the Lord must align their hearts with his. It is a hard thing to change a heart set on hate. The book ends without knowing Jonah’s response. Maybe the question is for Jonah and us. How do we answer our own struggles? Does the Lord have the right to show mercy and judgment according to his eternal plan?
Major Themes in Jonah:
1) The Mercy of God: The mercy of God in the book of Jonah is big, powerful, and robust. Mercy is often seen as a weakness but is shown to be a great strength in the Book of Jonah. God’s mercy flows out of his love and compassion for the plight of people. People are broken, fallen, and sinful. They tend to move away from God. They rebel against him at every turn. Even his own prophet is rebellious. Yet, in the face of all that, God loves people and pursues them. In the book of Jonah, God shows mercy to the people of Nineveh, to the pagan sailors, and to the prophet of the Lord, Jonah.
The relationship between mercy and justice is complex and difficult to trace fully. God is just, and people deserve the judgment that comes from his justice. He is fair to give it. But then mercy shows up. An offer of forgiveness is extended. If it is received, mercy flows; if not, just judgment falls. But even for those who have received forgiveness, like Jonah, mercy still pursues. Undeserved favor is given. In this way, God’s plan of redemption moves forward. The world is changed.
2) The Sovereign Providence of God: The short book of Jonah is brimming over with the sovereign providence of God. Though the world seems random, the Lord is in control of every movement and mind in it. The Lord sends wind and fish to do his will. And when Jonah was waiting and wishing to see the Lord cast some form of judgment upon the great pagan city of Nineveh, the Lord appointed a plant to comfort him, then sent a worm and a scorching east wind to discomfort him. All from the wise hand of the Lord, though often unwanted by Jonah, the perfect need of the moment. God’s invisible hand shapes his plan in the lives of his people. Often unnoticed and unappreciated, the providence of God guards and guides his people toward his purposes and their destiny.
3) Repentance: Repentance is the impulse that connects the heart of God to the heart of his humble servant. In the book of Jonah, we see the repentance of the prophet Jonah, pagan sailors, and the people of Nineveh. The fleeing prophet of God repents, and fearful pagans far from God repent. Repentance is turning from a wayward direction to the path of the Lord. It is the realization of spurning the goodness of God, and then the resolute decision, with God’s help, to change. In repentance, we own our transgression and seek God’s forgiving heart.
4) The Mission of God: The story of Jonah is much more than a fish story. It is the story of God pursuing those who run from him, prophet or pagan. God is on a mission in the world. The whole Bible and the work of God in the world is a rescue mission. God is on a mission to save people, and he calls his people to be on a mission with him. The mission may be near or far, Nineveh or Samaria. Also, Jesus was on a mission. His entering the world was an act of mission. The ultimate mission was the agony of the cross and the glory of the resurrection.
Conclusion
The book of Jonah is a short book packed full of encouraging truth. The book is like a fresh breeze of God’s love and grace, but it is also like a mirror. Mirrors reveal reality. They show us who we really are. In Jonah, we can see ourselves as we are. Lovers of the Lord, but fearful and often angry. We can find ourselves repentant and selfish at the same time. But in all this, the Lord knows our hearts. He has a plan for our lives, and he pursues us for his glory and our good. The book of Jonah shows us what we are and what we can be.