Jonah - Introduction

PLUS

NEXT I. The Prophet’s Rebellion (Jonah 1:1-17)

Introduction

Author

THE BOOK OF JONAH IS ANONYMOUS. But if Jonah did not write it, he was presumably the source of the story.

Historical Background

Jonah son of Amittai was an eighth-century-BC prophet from Gath-hepher in the land of Zebulun (1:1; see 2 Kgs 14:25). According to 2 Kings 14:25, he predicted that King Jer-oboam II (793–753 BC) of the northern kingdom would restore Israel’s northern border.

The city of Nineveh, to which Jonah preached, was a major city of the Assyrian Empire; it was located in northeastern Mesopotamia on the east bank of the Tigris River (about 220 miles north of modern Baghdad, Iraq). Longtime enemies of Israel, the Assyrians were cruel in battle. Ancient Assyrian artwork, in fact, depicts horrific scenes of their treatment of those whom they conquered, and Israel would eventually fall to Assyria in 722 BC. During the days of King Sennacherib of Assyria, his palace was located in Nineveh (see 2 Kgs 19:36). The prophet Nahum prophesied the eventual destruction of Nineveh (Nah 3:7), which was overthrown by the Medes and Chaldeans in 612 BC.

Message and Purpose

Jonah ministered during the reign of King Jeroboam II. He was called by God to go to the wicked city of Nineveh and tell its people to repent. While it’s easy to miss the concern of this book by focusing on Jonah, it is really about the character of God. It begins with God and ends with God. He is the one who initiates all the action.

The message of the book for Israel related to what was happening to Jonah. That message was that God loves all people, Jews and Gentiles. Though Israel’s sins put them in the same scenario for judgment that the Ninevites were in, Jonah showed the Israelites that God’s love is for all who repent. The book of Jonah, in fact, is a message of grace because God gave the Ninevites a forty-day window in which to repent. It reveals to us the heart of God to see people across all racial, social, class, and cultural lines repent and be saved. And our hearts should reflect the same desire. Jonah was a reluctant prophet who God used to teach us the kingdom perspective God’s people are to have toward all people.

VIDEO INTRO

Outline