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...
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....
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...
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....
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....
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 ...
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...
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?...
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.” ...
We are like Abraham. There is nothing in us to commend us to God. And yet God loves us. Just as He sought Abraham, He seeks to draw us into fellowship with Himself....
Ruth Clemence
Life has a funny habit of continually moving forward whether we like it or not. Christian author and speaker Elisabeth Elliot once said, “the secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circu...
Pamela Palmer
Prayer and Bible reading are not separate activities. The Bible is full of real, powerful prayers from faith warriors, and we can borrow their words in our own prayers. Let's take a look at what this ...
Clarence L. Haynes Jr.
Casting lots was a practice that was used in the ancient world to attempt to decipher what was the divine will in a particular matter. Because the outcome produced by casting lots was random, the resu...
Lisa Loraine Baker
Babylon in the Bible was an important city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (the southern part of modern Iraq). ...
Bethany Verrett
As humans, we experience a wide range of emotions, sometimes all in one day. God gets this, and he understands those strong feelings. But when those strong feelings morph into things like hatred, bitt...
Jessica Brodie
Put simply, a revival is typically a gathering of Christians that reflects an urgent and bold spiritual awakening, where hearts and lives are transformed and people commit themselves anew to following...
Kristi Walker
The disciple who walked to Jesus on the water was the same one who denied Jesus three times. Simon Peter (Simon son of John/Jonah, given the name Peter, Petros, or Cephas meaning “rock” ...
Jessica Brodie
The Bible is indeed a well-organized collection of writings penned by more than two dozen authors spanning thousands of years. Instead of being organized chronologically, it is organized by literary g...
Jessica Brodie
Reading the Old Testament with an eye on the New Testament indicates another perspective about the violence throughout the earth’s earlier days. We know God’s ultimate plan involves rescuing His peopl...