Jonah

Lecture Notes for Minor Prophets of the Old Testament

 

Introduction to Jonah

 

I. Who Was Jonah?

--Jonah is mentioned in the Book of Jonah & in 2 Kings 14:25. In 2 Kings, Jonah is said to have prophesied that Jeroboam II would restore the boundaries of Israel. That would place his prophecy in the 8th century, between 790-740.

 

--In the Book of Jonah, he is told to go to Nineveh & does not. Instead, he flees & is recalled by God, after which he finally goes to Nineveh.

 

II. What is the book’s message?

            --“Don’t be like Jonah?” As Stuart points out, God’s servant cannot expect:

                        1. To oppose God & get away with it; or

                        2. That God will somehow cease to be patient & merciful, i.e. God is consistent!

 

--Narrow nationalism is unacceptable to God. Not only the Jews were worthy of God’s forgiveness & mercy. God desires that everyone come to Him. The Book of Jonah is a word against believing that anyone, or group of people, is out of God’s reach or out of His love.

 

--“What right do you have to be angry?” God challenges Jonah’s right to expect judgment rather than mercy. God loves the Ninevites as well as the Jews. Jonah should have felt the same compassion, but he did not.

 

III. Nature of the book

            --The Book of Jonah is unique among prophetic books:

It is primarily about a prophet, rather than containing the words of a prophet. Much of the message is in the story & the prophet’s actions, not his word. His prophetic word, which is very brief is only a part of the story, rather than the message of the book.

 

            --“Didactic prophetic narrative”

1. Emotional—The book elicits emotional response from beginning to end. The reader may well vacillate between contempt and compassion.

2. Teaches—It has a message in the story, but it is not true parable or allegory, although it has some features of each.

--Parables are brief fictional stories with a moral; Jonah is based on history & teaches several things, not just a simple moral.

--Allegory typically contains messages throughout each portion of the story, which Jonah does not. Interpreters have indeed read the Book of Jonah as allegory, but the exact meaning of the story’s elements vary, depending on the interpreter’s preconceptions and purposes.

                        3. It contains words of prophecy, i.e. repent or be judged!

 

            --Is it fictional or historical?

                        --It certainly is connected in history, i.e. connection to a historical prophet.

--It could be a fictional story with a historical character, i.e. like historical fiction. This would make the Book of Jonah like an extended parable. Thus the reader could debate whether Jonah ever was called to Nineveh, ran from God, or was swallowed by a fish. In this case it is a “prophet’s tale,” with or without historicity, written about a real prophet from the past and having a theological instruction.

--Could a man be swallowed by a fish and survive? No, at least not without a miraculous intervention! However, God could certainly use a fish for this purpose.

 

IV. The Book of Jonah

            --1:1-3—Jonah rebels against God

            --1:4-16—Jonah at sea

            --2:1-11—Jonah rescued

            --3:1-3a—Jonah’s 2nd chance

            --3:3b-10—Jonah at Nineveh

            --4:1-11—God teaches Jonah

           

 

Jonah 1-4

 

1:1-3—Jonah rebels against God.

            --Why?

--The command to go to Nineveh was offensive to him. He did not want a part of offering God’s forgiveness to the Assyrians. They were his enemies.

            --Risking rebellion was preferable to going to Nineveh.

 

1:4-16—Jonah at sea

--God sent the storm! Note that the sailors recognized that a god must have sent the storm.

--The sailors were afraid:

            --They feared the storm.

            --They feared God. (v. 10)

            --They feared throwing Jonah into the sea, i.e. killing him.

--They feared Yahweh (v. 17) when He calmed the storm. Lit. “the men feared a great fear the Lord.”

--Note that Jonah also chose death over obedience. He never suggested repenting of his rebellious act and then going on to Nineveh. This is true rebellion!

--Note that Jonah’s trip did bring people to the Lord even when he was disobedient. Often God accomplishes His will despite our disobedience. This He did here!

 

2:1-11—Jonah rescued.

            --This is a Thanksgiving Hymn

                        --Jonah described his distress—being lost at sea & near death.

--“Sheol” is the place of death. It can mean death, the grave, a pit, or even the eternal abode of the dead. To equate “Sheol” with “hell,” as is often done, is not an adequate definition. The simple meaning of “Sheol” is the abode of the dead. All dead, righteous and evil, went to Sheol.

--At the point of death, Jonah finally turned to God. He waited to the last possible point. At last he decided that perhaps obedience to God was the best choice!

 

--Note that the fish is the means of rescue and deliverance, not judgment. He was saved from certain death by the great fish, which God sent to Jonah as an act of mercy.

 

3:1-3a—Jonah’s 2nd chance

            --Jonah is given the same command again to go to Nineveh.

            --This time he obeys.

 

3:3b-10—Jonah at Nineveh

            --The greatness of Nineveh—“Three days to visit” & 120,000 people.

--Jonah delivered the message—“Nineveh has 40 days!” This is a brief message of coming judgment. Of course, the reader should also recognize that this may well be a summary of a longer message. In fact, it almost had to be somewhat longer.

--The people & the king repent of their evil ways. Does this mean that Assyria became a nation of Yahweh worshippers? NO, probably not! Even Israel & Judah did not do too well at exclusive Yahweh worship. The people of Nineveh did, however, acknowledge Yahweh & His ability to punish.

--Yahweh saw that they turned from their “evil ways,”

            --Thus “God had compassion concerning the evil he had spoken to do to them.”

            --And He “did not do it.”

 

4:1-11—God teaches Jonah

--Jonah is angry about Yahweh’s compassion toward Nineveh. This is the basic point of the Book of Jonah.

            --God is a God of mercy & compassion.

            --Jonah did not want God to show compassion on Nineveh.

            --So he ran the opposite direction instead of preaching to Nineveh.

--Now, as on the ship, he would rather die than to experience the forgiveness of God toward Nineveh.

 

            --Nineveh & the Vine—an allegory

                        --Jonah was angry about the forgiveness of Nineveh.

                        --God sent a vine to protect Jonah from the heat.

                        --Jonah was thankful for the vine.

                        --When a worm killed the vine the next day, Jonah was angry at the vine.

                        --God speaks:

                                    --You did not make the vine, but you appreciated.

                                    --You did not make the vine, but you were angry when it went away.

--You care more about the vine than the 120,000 people in Nineveh. (Jonah was concerned about his well-being & comfort, but not the destruction of 120,000 people!)

                                    --I made the vine and Nineveh!

--Should I not be concerned for the people of Nineveh? (The obvious answer is “Yes!” God’s character was compassion & mercy toward people, even those who were not part of His people Israel. He created them as well.)

 

Conclusion—The Book of Jonah is a sort of missionary tract. We must have compassion on all people, even those who by worldly standards are our enemies. We must recognize that no one is beyond God’s love, & we must offer His love to all people! (Note the same kind of concerns people have toward murderers, esp. of friends or family members, i.e. Nazis & Jews. Corrie ten Boom tells of this struggle at a speaking engagement.)