Book of Jonah

On 12/14/10 we had an awesome time discussing the Book of Jonah. Evangelist Myra, Sis. Karen, Sis. Jean and Sis. Doris. Thank you ladies for joining us for the “Tea Time Tuesday” Ladies’ Night Bible Study. 

Narrative

The Book of Jonah (Hebrew: Sefer Yonah) is a book in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah ben Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission.^[1] Set in the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BCE), it was probably written in the post-exilic period, sometime between the late fifth to early fourth century BC.^[2] The story has an interesting interpretive history (see below) and has become well-known through popular children’s stories. In Judaism it is the Haftarah for the afternoon of Yom Kippur due to its story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent.^[3]

The plot centers on a conflict between Jonah and God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but Jonah resists and attempts to flee. He goes to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a great storm at sea, and the ship's crew cast Jonah overboard in an attempt to appease God. A great sea creature (the Book of Jonah says it is a fish but the New Testament reference in Matthew 12:38-41 says it to be a whale) sent by God, swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah languishes inside the fish's belly. He says a prayer in which he repents for his disobedience and thanks God for His mercy. God speaks to the fish, which vomits out Jonah safely on dry land. After his rescue, Jonah obeys the call to prophesy against Nineveh, and they repent and God forgives them. Ironically, the relentless God demonstrated in the first chapter becomes the merciful God in the last two chapters (see 3:10). In a parallel turnabout, Jonah becomes one of the most effective of all prophets, turning the entire population of Nineveh (about 120,000 people) to God.

Minister Kelly’s observation:

 I always thought that Jonah was afraid of traveling on the sea or just did not want to go to Nineveh. During further study of this book, I found that he had hate in his heart towards the people because of past wars against his people of Israel.  God displays His love towards Nineveh by giving them a chance to repent before placing judgment on them.  He sent Jonah to relay His message, but Jonah took it upon himself to judge them and claimed that they did not deserve forgiveness.  God punished him for his disobedience, having been swallowed up by the whale.  Jonah repented and promised that he would deliver God’s message to the people.

We are not to decide who is worthy of God’s love and mercy.  In that case, all of us have fallen short.  We need to love our enemies.  If God has commissioned us to spread the Gospel to all nations, then that’s what we must do in spite of our feelings towards them.  God loves everyone, and we should too.