Jonah
Purpose
Jonah is unique among the prophets: it is not a collection of oracles but the story of a reluctant prophet, told to expose the gap between God's merciful heart and the narrow tribalism of his own people. When the LORD commands Jonah to "arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it," Jonah runs the opposite way — not out of fear but because he knows the LORD is "a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" who may actually forgive Israel's enemies. A great storm, a great fish, and a psalm of deliverance from the deep bring Jonah back to his task, and his reluctant, eight-word sermon triggers the repentance of an entire pagan city, from king to beast. The book ends with a rebuke to Jonah's anger over a plant that shaded him one day, while the LORD gently teaches him that the Maker has every right to "have pity on Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left." It is a searing portrait of a missionary God whose mercy overflows the boundaries of Israel.
Author
Anonymous; traditionally attributed to Jonah son of Amittai
Time Period
Jonah son of Amittai ministered in the 8th c. BC (2 Kings 14:25); the date of composition is debated
Key Themes
- God's mercy to the nations
- Rebellion and repentance
- Compassion
- The sovereignty of the LORD
Outline
The flight and the storm (ch. 1): the call to go to Nineveh; Jonah boards a ship for Tarshish; the LORD hurls a great wind; the sailors' fear and Jonah's confession; he is thrown overboard and the sea grows calm. The great fish and the prayer (ch. 2): Jonah swallowed; his psalm from the belly of the deep, crying to the LORD from Sheol; and the fish vomits him onto dry land. Nineveh repents (ch. 3): a second call; Jonah walks through the city with his warning; the people and king believe God, fast, and turn from their violence; and God relents of the disaster. The plant and God's compassion (ch. 4): Jonah's anger and wish to die; the plant that grows and withers; and the LORD's question — "should not I pity Nineveh…?"