Jonah INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The Book of Jonah is unlike other prophetic books of the Bible in that it is a narrative, describing the adventures of a prophet who tried to disobey God's command. God told him to go to Nineveh, the capital of the great empire of Assyria, Israel's deadly enemy. But Jonah did not want to go there with God's message, because he was convinced that God would not carry out his threat to destroy the city. After a series of dramatic events, he reluctantly obeyed, and finally sulked when his message of doom did not come true.
The book portrays God's absolute sovereignty over his creation. But above all it portrays God as a God of love and mercy, who would rather forgive and save even the enemies of his people, than punish and destroy them.
Outline of Contents
Jonah's call and disobedience 1.1–17
Jonah's repentance and deliverance 2.1–10
Jonah's message against Nineveh 3.1–10
God's mercy on Nineveh 4.1–11
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Jonah INTRODUCTION: GNBDK
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Jonah About this book
About this book
The book of Jonah is different from the other prophetic books, because it gives only one sentence of what the prophet Jonah preached. Instead, this book tells how Jonah disobeyed the Lord and refused to warn Nineveh that it was going to be destroyed. Jonah even wanted the city to be destroyed, because it was the capital city of Assyria, a hated enemy of Israel. But the Lord corrected Jonah; then Jonah went to Nineveh and preached the Lord's message.
When many people think about the book of Jonah, they think only of Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish. However, the message of this book is that the Lord wants to have mercy on everyone; as Jonah says to him:
You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don't like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.
(4.2b)
A quick look at this book
1. Jonah runs from the Lord (1)
2. Jonah prays to the Lord (2)
3. Jonah goes to Nineveh, and its people believe God's message (3)
4. Jonah is angry because the Lord showed mercy (4)
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012