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Minor prophets · Old Testament · 4 chapters

The book of Jonah

The God who shows grace even to Nineveh

Author
Jonah, son of Amittai (according to tradition)
Written
Events around 780-760 BC, under Jeroboam II
Time covered
A mission of a few weeks, from the flight to Tarshish to Nineveh’s repentance, in the time of Jeroboam II, king of Israel
Key word
Compassion

God orders Jonah to go and cry out against Nineveh. The prophet flees in the opposite direction, toward Tarshish. A storm threatens the ship; the lot falls on Jonah, whom the sailors throw into the sea. A great fish swallows him: three days and three nights later, after a prayer of thanksgiving, he is returned to dry land. Sent a second time, Jonah announces: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” From the king to the cattle, the whole city fasts and repents; God spares it. Jonah is angered. With a gourd, a worm and a scorching wind, God puts one last question to him about his compassion.

Main theme

God is sovereign over the sea, the winds and human hearts, and his compassion extends even to the worst enemies of his people; he wants his prophet to share that heart.

Outline

  1. Jonah 1 — Flight and storm

    Jonah flees to Tarshish; thrown into the sea, he leaves behind pagan sailors who fear the LORD.

  2. Jonah 2 — The prayer in the fish

    Swallowed for three days and three nights, Jonah prays and confesses that salvation is of the LORD.

  3. Jonah 3 — Nineveh’s repentance

    A brief message provokes a general repentance, and God relents from punishment.

  4. Jonah 4 — The lesson of the gourd

    God confronts Jonah’s anger with his own compassion for Nineveh.

Key points

  • Jonah flees to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh, “from the presence of the LORD” (1:3).
  • God commands all his creation: the wind, the great fish, the gourd, the worm and the east wind obey him (1:4; 2:1; 4:6-8).
  • The pagan sailors, more upright than the prophet, end up fearing the LORD and offering him a sacrifice (1:14-16).
  • Three days and three nights in the fish, Jonah prays and confesses: “Salvation is of the LORD” (1:17; 2:9).
  • God gives his prophet a second chance: the word comes to him “the second time” (3:1).
  • A preaching of a few words brings all Nineveh to repentance, from the king to the beasts (3:4-8).
  • God relents from punishment when he sees the Ninevites turn from their evil way (3:10).
  • The book ends with a question that reveals God’s heart for more than a hundred and twenty thousand people (4:10-11).
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:3 — The drama of disobedience: fleeing “from the presence of the LORD,” which is impossible.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
Jonah 2:9 — The cry of faith in the depths: “Salvation is of the LORD.”
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Jonah 3:10 — God answers true repentance by relenting from punishment.

Jesus in Jonah

Jesus himself makes Jonah a sign: “as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40). He adds: “a greater than Jonas is here” (Matt 12:41). Where Jonah fled and slept during the storm, Jesus sleeps in peace and then calms the sea with a word (Mark 4:38-39); and where Jonah refused grace to the pagans, Jesus gives his life so that salvation may reach all nations.

Did you know?

  • In Hebrew, Jonah’s entire preaching at Nineveh fits in five words: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (3:4).
  • Jonah came from Gath-hepher, in Galilee (2 Kgs 14:25), even though the Pharisees claimed: “out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:52).
  • It was at Joppa that Jonah boarded ship to flee his mission to the pagans; it was also at Joppa that Peter, “Simon Bar-jona” (son of Jonah), received the vision that sent him to the Gentile Cornelius (1:3; Matt 16:17; Acts 10:5-16).

Quiz on Jonah

Where does God send Jonah to preach?

To what destination does Jonah flee by ship?

How long does Jonah stay in the belly of the fish?

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.