What is a “bank”? Is it the land beside a river? A financial institution? Yes, depending. It’s ambiguous until you know the context. In a similar (but more sophisticated) way, the author of Jonah play...
Frank Santora
“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 plan...
The man Jonah is indeed like us in a number of ways. Learning to identify with him is our key to the meaning of his story—and our big mistake if we fail to do so....
Bethany Verrett
When analyzing a story with about something as difficult to believe as Jonah being swallowed by a whale, it is important to remember that, while the Bible does have parables and metaphors in it, it is...
As shocking as it is to see the wickedness of Jonah’s heart, many of us are just like him. I call it the Jonah Syndrome, and in times past, it has affected me too. Let me explain exactly what I mean....
Hope Bolinger
Even though Jonah ran in the complete opposite direction of God's plan, God still brought others to know him, Jonah's shipmates....
Mike Leake
There are invitations for us to put ourselves in that ditch of despair and realize the stupidity of our racism, the ignorance of our self-focus, the rebellious nature of our tribalism, and to call us ...
Michael Jakes
While the spotlight seems to be on Jonah and his response to the call of God and the eventual outcome, there are other things in this story that deserve our attention. When we look at all that takes p...
The book of Jonah may be studied for many reasons, but a chief reason is for what it teaches about God's sovereignty. Sovereignty is a problem for some Christians in certain areas....
Blair Parke
Who here likes change? Okay, who here really likes change that comes from being humbled? Hmmm, not as many hands up and cries of “Hallelujah”. Though everyone would say that they love change and tha...
Hope Bolinger
We can easily laugh at Jonah, or roll our eyes at him. After all, why couldn't he allow God to save the people of Nineveh? But how often do we have someone we don't want to see redemption?...
Mike Leake
We must acknowledge from the beginning that our anger isn’t “righteous” simply because we feel justified in having it. Or that we can build a case for why we have been treated unfairly. Jonah could ha...
Dr. Sandra Hamer Smith
Jesus refers to foreknowledge in John 1:47-48. When he saw Nathanael coming, he said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” ...
Molly Parker
If there’s one thing the Bible isn’t short on, it’s weird animal stories. Such tales include Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the whale, and Daniel in the lion’s den—well-known narratives that point to an incred...
Mary Oelerich-Meyer
There are only three small chapters in the Book of Nahum, but a look at their chapter headings makes it obvious that this prophecy is about Nineveh being repaid by God for inflicting pain and sufferin...
Ashley Hooker
God has always been asking His people to obey commands. In each situation, God’s instruction is doable because He has already set his plan into motion. God did not leave Moses, Esther, Jonah, or his d...
The story of Jonah shows us that the gospel—the good news that God relentlessly pursues sinners in order to rescue them—is just as much for Christians as it is for non-Christians. ...
Mike Leake
The book is all about the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. Yes, that Nineveh. The same one which Jonah had preached against a century prior. The same empire that had repented and turned...
Clarence L. Haynes Jr.
Living in a world where the one thing that remains constant is change, it helps to know you serve a God who does not change with the shifting tides of the world. This gives you peace and calm in a wor...