Jonah
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Jonah
Jonah ben Amittai was a prophet of Israel from Gath Hepher, a village near Nazareth. His book is unique among the Prophets in that it is almost entirely narrative. It recounts how Jonah learned that God was much bigger than he had thought, especially in the extent of His power and His compassion.
The major power in the middle East at that time was Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh. Since the ninth century b.c. the Assyrians had been sending savage military expeditions west into Syria-Palestine (see the feature article in the section on Isaiah). When Jonah prophesied in the early eighth century b.c., Assyria was in a weakened state, making possible the expansion of Jeroboam II in Samaria and Uzziah in Judah (see introductions to Hosea and Amos). God had earlier given Jonah the privilege of delivering the good news that Israel would experience a time of safety and prosperity (2 Kgs. 14:25).
He and all Israel would have been glad if Assyria had continued to disintegrate. But they regained power in the later eighth century, conquered Syria-Pales-tine again, and in 722 b.c. conquered Samaria and deported its citizens. Jonah was not pleased when God commanded him to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. They worshiped the vicious god Ashur and a multitude of other gods and goddesses. Their brutality and cruelty was legendary. They were known to impale their enemies on stakes in front of their towns and hang their heads from trees in the king's gardens. They also tortured their captives—men, women, or children—by hacking off noses, ears, or fingers, gouging out their eyes, or tearing off their lips and hands. They reportedly covered the city wall with the skins of their victims. Rebellious subjects would be massacred by the hundreds, sometimes burned at the stake. Then their skulls would be placed in great piles by the roadside as a warning to others. Jonah decided that he would rather quit than preach to such people.
Many have regarded Jonah as a parable or didactic fiction, as if factual history were ruled out by literary artistry or the recounting of miraculous events. If this narrative, however, whose form bears at every point the mark of a historical account, were judged unhistorical on either of these bases, then most of the Bible would have to be so categorized. It is pointless to ask whether Jonah really could have been swallowed by a great fish without also asking whether God really could communicate with a prophet. Every aspect of man's encounter with God is miraculous. Jonah is clearly didactic, but it is not presented as fiction or interpreted as such in the New Testament (see Matt. 12:40-41).
Message and Purpose. Jonah is the story of how God taught a lesson to a narrow-minded, sinful prophet. When Jonah refused to go preach in Nineveh and God retrieved him and mercifully delivered him, Jonah was thankful. But when Jonah preached in Nineveh and they repented and were mercifully spared, Jonah was angry, for which God taught him a lesson.
The Book of Jonah ends with an unanswered divine question regarding compassion, suggesting to the reader that Jonah repented and inviting the reader to do the same. Thus, Jonah's overall purpose is to stir up compassion in God's people. God is concerned for all human beings (John 1:7; 1 Tim. 2:1-6; 2 Pet. 3:9) and has the right to show mercy to whomever He wills (Exod. 33:19; Rom. 9:15).
Structure. The book has been called "a masterpiece of rhetoric" and a "model of literary artistry, marked by symmetry and balance." Its four chapters divide into two halves by commands from the Lord in 1:1-2 and 3:1-2 to go preach in Nineveh. The first time Jonah fled (1:3), and the second time he obeyed (3:3). Each half begins with an introduction (1:1-3; 3:1-4) and includes two episodes. In the first episode of each half, Jonah encounters a group of pagans, the sailors (1:4-16) and the Ninevites (3:5-10). Each group surpasses Jonah in sensitivity to the Lord's will. The second and climactic episode of each half finds Jonah talking with God (2:1-10; 4:1-11).
- Jonah's Disobedience (1:1-2:10)
- Jonah's Obedience (3:1-4:11)
Jonah Flees (1:1-16)
To avoid his divine assignment Jonah tried to get as far away from Nineveh as possible. Nineveh was about five hundred miles to the east, so he headed for Tar-shish, probably what is now Spain, the farthest western location he knew, about two thousand miles. But God sent a storm and then a great fish to turn Jonah around. The sailors showed more compassion for Jonah than Jonah showed for Nineveh.
Jonah Prays (1:17-2:10)
Jonah, having been thrown overboard, thought his life was over. Suddenly he found himself alive inside a huge fish. The psalm of prayer Jonah uttered was an expression of thanks to God for saving his life. For his own deliverance Jonah was thankful, but Jonah would show a different attitude toward Nineveh's deliverance. In view of his rebellion in chapter 1, his anger in chapter 4, and the pagan sailors' response to God in 1:14-16, Jonah's vow of thanks in 2:8-9 sounds rather self-serving. Also, there is no confession of sin or expression of repentance in Jonah's prayer.
The "three days and three nights" of 1:17 alluded to the notion popular at that time that the journey to the land of the dead ( sheol) took that long. So Jonah's retrieval from the fish was like a retrieval from death (Matt. 12:39-40). The fish very likely dropped Jonah off at Joppa, where he had started.
Jonah Preaches (3:1-10)
Perhaps about a month later, Jonah arrived in the great city of Nineveh ("a very important city" is literally "a city great to God"). After Jonah preached for only a day rather than the expected three days, the people repented. The message God gave Jonah to preach did not explicitly call for their repentance. Rather, it told the Ninevites that they had angered Jonah's God and that punishment was on the way. The Ninevites did not presume that God could be appeased but repented in humility, hoping that "God may yet relent" (3:9; see 1:6), which He did. That God's judgment message was conditional is clear from His sending the prophet, giving them forty days' warning, and postponing Nineveh's destruction (see Jer. 18:7-10).
Jonah Fumes (4:1-11)
Jonah despised the Ninevites so much that he would rather die than live, knowing he helped them escape destruction. Still hoping God would give Nineveh what they deserved, Jonah waited and watched. Through the incident of the plant and the worm (sent by God like the wind and the fish in chap. 1), the Lord chided Jonah for his double standard. Jonah was concerned for the transitory plant that gave him shade but not for the 120,000 people of Nineveh who despite their limited knowledge had trusted God.
Theological and Ethical Significance. God is sovereign over the forces of nature and the affairs of men. God's favor is always by grace; it is never deserved. His mercy is His to give, and without it we are all corrupt and deservedly condemned. Joy is the appropriate response when God lavishes His grace on the vilest of sinners who put their trust in Him (see Acts 10:34-35). God's servants should value the human beings whom He created and seek their salvation. We should also acknowledge God's authority to do what He pleases.
Questions for Reflection
- What does God desire for all the peoples of the world?
- How do we seek to avoid God's command to share our faith with others?
- How does prejudice compromise our Christian testimony? How do we begrudge God's love for others?
Sources for Further Study
Alexander, T. D. Jonah: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1988.
Ellison, H. L. "Jonah." Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.
Gaebelein, F. E. Four Minor Prophets: Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai. Chicago: Moody, 1977.
Smith, B. K. and F. S. Page. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.
Walton, J. Jonah. Bible Study Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982.