Jonah is one of the minor prophets and his story is mostly told in the book that bears his name, the 5th in canonical order of the minor prophets. He was also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 and referred to by Jesus during his earthly ministry as recorded in the Gospels (Matthew 12:39; Luke 11:30). His prophetic ministry began in 793 and extends until 753 B.C. We don’t know definitively who wrote the Book of Jonah since the book itself does not state the author. It is written in the third person but that is not unprecedented in the prophetic writings recorded in the Bible. It reveals things only Jonah would know like his state of mind and what he prayed while he was in the belly of the fish so most conservative scholars would not argue that Jonah was the author though it is not something to be dogmatic about. Either way, all conservative scholars agree to the inspiration and veracity of its content. The date it was written is also hard to pin down precisely, though a commonly accepted range is 785 to 760 B.C. which coincides with the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-35). Jonah, son of Amittai was from Gath-hepher which is in northern Israel. He was sent by the Lord to Nineveh, which came to be known as the capital city of Assyria. Assyria was a powerful nation that was evil at their core and ruthless to their enemies. Note that Assyria was used by God as the invading force who drove the northern tribes of Israel into exile beginning in 722 B.C., many years after the incidents recorded in Jonah. Then later, in 612 B.C., the mighty city of Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes. This was in fulfillment of the prophet Nahum’s prediction that God would completely destroy the city because they reverted to their sinful ways (Nahum 1:14).
The Book of Jonah is unique because though it is included with the rest of the minor prophets, this story is more about the personal actions and attitudes of the prophet rather than a collection of the messages he conveyed. In fact, his public message was no more than one sentence long, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthown” (Jonah 3:4). The lesson to be learned from Jonah is one of God’s Sovereignty. God has had things planned out in our world since before time began. He will bring about his desired end whether we willingly participate or not. Now Jonah was indeed a prophet of the Lord and was familiar with God and his ways. In fact, his knowledge of God’s compassion is what prompted him to rebel as he would have rather died than to preach to his enemy so they could be saved. Ironically his patriotism towards Israel led to his rebellion towards the Lord. That serves as a reminder for us to carefully evaluate our allegiances in life. But we must remember what Jonah clearly stated in his prayer- Salvation comes from the Lord! Right after he acknowledged that divine truth, God had the fish vomit out Jonah from his belly onto dry land (Jonah 2:9-10). It was then that Jonah responded in obedience and set off for Nineveh to preach to his most despised enemy that they may be saved.
The Historic Account
The narrative begins by the Word of the Lord coming to Jonah and instructing him to travel to Nineveh, located in modern day Iraq, though at the time it was an important city in the mighty kingdom of Assyria. The city proper had a walled perimeter of about 8 miles in circumference and the wall was approximately 100 feet high and 50 feet thick. A less significant outer wall surrounded the nearby countryside and included several other smaller cities that were under the administrative control of Nineveh (Genesis 10:11-12) and it would take 3 days to travel through the area collectively referred to as Nineveh (Jonah 3:3). Nineveh was an important city in Assyria and grew to become known as the capital city of this great empire. Assyrians were feared by all other nations of Jonah’s time as they were especially cruel in their military conquests.
Jonah was a prophet of the Lord and he was so in tune with God’s ways that he was immediately afraid that if he preached to evil Ninevites, God may have compassion on them if they actually repented (Exodus 34:6-7). Jonah didn’t want to see that happen. Instead he, probably like all Israelites, wanted to see God annihilate their enemies so God’s blessings would be exclusively on themselves instead of sharing it with others, especially their cruel enemies. So Jonah, the rebellious prophet, disobeyed the Word of the Lord! Jonah went in the opposite direction in full rebellion of God. He boarded a merchant ship in Joppa heading to Tarshish (possibly in Spain) and fell asleep below deck. God sent a great storm and the crew was in full panic mode. This was apparently a Gentile crew as they cast lots to see who among them brought about this divine trouble. The lot was cast and they determined correctly that it was Jonah who was the culprit. They woke him and drilled him on who he was, where he was from, what he was doing and why he was provoking his God. Jonah quickly admitted that he served the Lord who made the sea and the land and confessed quickly that he was indeed in rebellion and his proposed solution to the problem was to throw him overboard. Obviously this solution would normally have resulted in his certain death. In other words, he would rather die than to turn around and obey the Lord, preach to the Ninevites and watch them receive God’s compassion instead of his wrath. The perplexed crew did not want to kill an innocent man, but Jonah left them no option. As they complied, the storm was immediately calmed. They acknowledged the God of Jonah and seemed to believe and repent right then and there. They offered a sacrifice and made vows to the Lord. Nevertheless, Jonah was thrown overboard to what should have been his death, but God sent a huge fish to swallow him instead and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, alive the whole time.
From inside the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed and thanked the Lord that he was still alive and agreed to go to Nineveh and preach to his enemy so that they may be saved. Then the Lord caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. We can speculate that the place he landed was probably near where he boarded the ship in Joppa which is about 65 miles from Jonah’s hometown in Gath-hepher, a small Galilean city, about 2 miles north of Nazareth. From there, Nineveh is about 500 miles to the northeast. So Jonah must have had time to recuperate from his traumatic experience and apparently gathered some supplies and began his journey. Since he was a recognized prophet of the Lord, it’s likely some Israelites assisted him on his way. When he finally arrived in Nineveh, his repentant attitude may have faded and his rebelliousness grew. It seems like he knew he had to fulfill the letter of the law of his assignment but he obviously did it reluctantly and unenthusiastically. Jonah began by traveling a day’s journey into the city proclaiming, “forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). This represented what we can call the bare minimum of what can be considered preaching. He did not mention the Lord or his attributes, he did not mention the specifics of their sinfulness or that the Lord will have compassion on them if they did repent. He offered no hope whatsoever. He was probably still hoping that in forty days, they would be overthrown. But God must have moved in the hearts of the Ninevite King and his people. The king proclaimed a fast and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth which was an indication of their repentance (Jonah 3:5). This was another in a string of miracles witnessed by the prophet in this brief narrative but instead of recognizing the work of the Lord and rejoicing in the salvation of thousands, Jonah retreated to the outskirts of the city and sat on a hill sulking.
God Justifies His Sovereign Compassion
The last chapter in Jonah serves as an epilogue to this great story of repentance. The rebellious heart of this prophet is fully revealed in his anger about God’s compassion for the Ninevites. He basically scolds God and explains that this unthinkable thing is exactly what he was afraid would happen which is why he ran away in the first place. So on a hill overlooking the city, he built a shelter, perhaps hoping that something would change and he could watch God bring down fire from heaven on them or something along those lines. He was so mad and frustrated that he reiterated his desire to die and pleaded with God to take his life, which is basically the same attitude he had back on the merchant ship when he told the crew to throw him overboard. But the same gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, overlooked that foolishness and simply asked a rhetorical question, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4). Jonah didn’t answer and instead finished his shelter and waited to see what would happen. That prompted God to initiate another series of small miracles which would serve as an object lesson for this prophet and would heal his rebellious heart.
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
Jonah 4:5-11
That’s how the book of Jonah ends. However it is clear that Jonah did repent of his rebelliousness and went on to record these events to share with his fellow Israelites in the hopes that they would understand the brilliance of God’s plan to bring salvation to all people. This lesson in Nineveh served as a foundation to the prophecy of Isaiah which said “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).” It also is consistent with what the Lord previously promised in his covenant with Abraham. God’s plan was to establish a special holy nation, Israel, and they would be great but would also bring blessing to all people on earth, that is, the Gentiles would be blessed through Israel. This of course was ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ who was not explicitly revealed until many generations later. But God used his prophets to reveal many of his future intentions. Notice the last clause in the Abrahamic Covenant:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1-3
The miraculous object lesson God showed Jonah with the leafy vine can be understood to predict the work of God in the coming years (from Jonah’s perspective). The leafy vine that God caused to grow to provide comfort to Jonah could represent the nation of Israel. God caused the vine to grow and it provided shade and happiness for him – it was a blessing. In the same way, God formed the nation Israel quickly to be a blessing to the world but as Israel rebelled, God decided, in his sovereignty, to send them into exile. The worm that came and ate the vine can be correlated to the future actions of this vicious attack from Assyria on Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel finally fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. God is Sovereign and makes something from nothing and it stands as long as he desires. Likewise, it falls as he wills. The collective message of the Bible is that God is Sovereign and has chosen Israel to be his instrument to bring about the Savior, Jesus Christ and ultimately salvation will spread to the whole world through the rebellious nation of Israel. They may be as stubborn as Jonah, but God’s plan to save the Gentiles will come to pass exactly as he intends just as Nineveh was saved in spite of Jonah’s rebelliousness. Just as Jonah must have learned to love God’s ways and recorded these miraculous events for our benefit, so also Israel, as a nation, will be given a new heart and will be the light to the Gentiles in the coming tribulation. That period precedes the Second Coming of the Lord and his glorious Millennial Kingdom on earth from which representatives from all peoples will honor the Lord.
And they [the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures] sang a new song, saying:
“You [Jesus] are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:9-10
The Prophet Isaiah prophesied using nature examples on many occasions. One of his famous ones refers to John the Baptist (the voice of one calling) and how the glory of the Lord would be revealed. He goes on to compare the insignificance and temporal status of human beings by comparing them to grass which is here today and gone tomorrow. That prophecy is consistent with Jonah’s vine that grew quickly but then died just as suddenly, at the will and pleasure of the Lord. In the same way Israel was formed, grew steadily but then fell to Assyria. Subsequently, it is clear that all world events occur under the care and discretion of the Lord who controls all things according to his sovereign plan.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:3-8
That was a prediction of the coming Christ and the establishment of his kingdom on earth. As great as men may become, as individuals or as nations, there is no lasting value to whatever we obtain on our own. It’s all in vain. The only thing that matters is God’s plan, his word and his will. It is clear that Jonah learned to appreciate that divine message and we would do well to observe God’s work in the world up to the present age. He chose Abraham and made him into a great nation. He sent Jesus Christ to be our Savior. And in the same Bible that records all we know about Jesus, his miracles and salvation of believers, God’s written word has recorded that Israel will once again be restored to its place of honor among the nations. At that time Christ will reign for 1000 years on this earth, from Jerusalem, and Israel will finally be a light to the Gentiles. Though as a nation they are currently in full rebellion to God’s revelation of Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior of the world, they will miraculously experience a change and become willing and zealous for Christ and fulfill God’s will in being a light to the Gentiles. This is what the prophet Ezekiel learned when he recorded this classic prophecy:
Ezekiel 37
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
“When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
“‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”
Ezekiel 37:1-28
The Story of Jonah is Not a Fable
Some liberal scholars attempt to consider the content of Jonah as a mere fable with too many supernatural occurrences to be considered literally. However, this is not the view of the Christian church nor of the ancient believers. Jonah, along with the rest of the content included in the canon of Scripture is to be considered as literal, true and accurate. Jesus himself referred to this story and used it as a comparison to his miraculous resurrection, perhaps the most important miracle of all!
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Matthew 12:38-41
God’s Plans for Our Lives
Believers of the Gospel acknowledge the grace of God in providing salvation to us even though we were undeserving and had done nothing to earn or deserve such a blessing. More than that, we know that God has prepared things for us to do much like he prepared that mission for Jonah. Sometimes we respond affirmatively; sometimes we may be reluctant or rebellious. But we can be sure that God will accomplish all he has prepared for us to accomplish. He will use the circumstances of life to guide and direct us. He will change our hearts to be obedient. God’s Will will be accomplished as clearly taught by the Apostle Paul:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Closing Thought
Jonah 2:9
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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