Jonah Introduction
Introduction
Unlike the other prophetic books in the Bible, the book of Jonah does not collect the sayings of a prophet. (In fact, Jonah's only prophetic utterance amounts to a mere half verse, 3.4b.) Instead, this book is a simple narrative telling the story of how one prophet responded to God's call in an unexpected way. The story is often humorous as it moves from one episode to the next, but its central theme is quite serious: God's all-encompassing love extends to all the world's peoples and must be shared, even with nations whom history had shown to be one's mortal enemies. This is a significant and ever-relevant message, here presented in parable style, challenging those Israelites who taught that God has no concern or love for the people of other nations, especially enemies. In the context of this parable, Jonah functions symbolically, doing everything he can to avoid God's call and not share God's message of forgiveness with people he thinks are beyond God's concern.
Rather than respond to God's call to go to Nineveh, the capital of the deadly enemy of so many of the smaller nations of the Ancient Near East, Jonah boards the next ship leaving in the opposite direction, hoping to get beyond the reach of God. He does not want to go to Nineveh and proclaim God's message, fearing that God will be merciful rather than vindictive (as he would prefer). When his ship threatens to sink in a fierce Mediterranean storm, the sailors discover that Jonah has been disobedient to his God. Concluding that Jonah is the cause of this storm, they toss him overboard. The storm ceases, but Jonah is swallowed by a great fish, in whose belly he is then preserved alive for three days and nights. Deeply alienated from God, the creator and sustainer of all things, Jonah prays “out of the belly of hell,” a psalm of deliverance (chapter 2; cf. Pss 86, 88, and 91). The fish then spits out Jonah onto the seashore and the prophet makes his way to Nineveh, where he delivers his warning. He is shocked to see the Ninevites take his warning with the utmost seriousness, cover themselves with sackcloth and ashes, repent of their evil ways, and accept God's forgiveness. Jonah's response to this is to sulk in anger, but God uses an object lesson to teach the prophet the meaning of mercy and love, which for God has no limits whatever.
Outline
Jonah Receives God's Call to Prophesy in Nineveh but Runs Away (1.1-16)
Jonah Is Swallowed by a Great Fish but Saved by God (1.17—2.10)
Jonah Goes to Nineveh and Proclaims God's Message (3.1—4.11)
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Jonah Introduction: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Jonah Introduction
Introduction
The story of Jonah has great theological import. It concerns a disobedient prophet who rejected his divine commission, was cast overboard in a storm and swallowed by a great fish, rescued in a marvelous manner, and returned to his starting point. Now he obeys and goes to Nineveh, the capital of Israel’s ancient enemy. The Ninevites listen to his message of doom and repent immediately. All, from king to lowliest subject, humble themselves in sackcloth and ashes. Seeing their repentance, God does not carry out the punishment planned for them. At this, Jonah complains, angry because the Lord spares them. This fascinating story caricatures a narrow mentality which would see God’s interest extending only to Israel, whereas God is presented as concerned with and merciful to even the inhabitants of Nineveh (4:11), the capital of the Assyrian empire which brought the Northern Kingdom of Israel to an end and devastated Jerusalem in 701 B.C. The Lord is free to “repent” and change his mind. Jonah seems to realize this possibility and wants no part in it (4:2; cf. Ex 34:6). But the story also conveys something of the ineluctable character of the prophetic calling.
The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies. The name “Jonah” means “dove” in Hebrew, but Jonah’s character is anything but dove-like. Jonah is commanded to go east to Nineveh but flees toward the westernmost possible point (1:2–3), only to be swallowed by a great fish and dumped back at this starting point (2:1, 11). The sailors pray to their gods, but Jonah is asleep in the hold (1:5–6). The prophet’s preaching is a minimum message of destruction, while it is the king of Nineveh who calls for repentance and conversion (3:4–10); the instant conversion of the Ninevites is greeted by Jonah with anger and sulking (4:1). He reproaches the Lord in words that echo Israel’s traditional praise of his mercy (4:2; cf. Ex 34:6–7). Jonah is concerned about the loss of the gourd but not about the possible destruction of 120,000 Ninevites (4:10–11).
Unlike other prophetic books, this is not a collection of oracles but the story of a disobedient, narrow-minded prophet who is angry at the outcome of the sole message he delivers (3:4). It is difficult to date but almost certainly is postexilic and may reflect the somewhat narrow, nationalistic reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. As to genre, it has been classified in various ways, such as parable or satire. The “sign” of Jonah is interpreted in two ways in the New Testament: His experience of three days and nights in the fish is a “type” of the experience of the Son of Man (Mt 12:39–40), and the Ninevites’ reaction to the preaching of Jonah is contrasted with the failure of Jesus’ generation to obey the preaching of one who is “greater than Jonah” (Mt 12:41–42; Lk 11:29–32).
The Book of Jonah may be divided as follows:
I. Jonah’s Disobedience and Flight (1:1–16)
II. Jonah’s Prayer (2:1–11)
III. Jonah’s Obedience and the Ninevites’ Repentance (3:1–10)
IV. Jonah’s Anger and God’s Reproof (4:1–11)
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