Jonah

Overview

The theme of the book of Jonah is the Lord as a God of worldwide grace, mercy, and love who desires to save all people. Thus he rescues the sailors in chapter 1, Jonah in chapter 2, and the Ninevites in chapter 3. In sharp contrast is Jonah, who delights to experience the Lord’s mercy and salvation for himself (ch. 2) but does not want to share it with evil Gentiles (ch. 4). The book closes with the Lord using a question to reveal Jonah’s misunderstanding of the Lord’s mercy and love. He asks, in effect, “Jonah, is it not right for me to show these things to all people, even those you do not think deserve it?” No answer is given; the question is left for the reader to answer.

Title, Author, and Date of Writing

The book is named after its main human character, Jonah, a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel. The book is one of “the Twelve,” the traditional Jewish title for the Minor Prophets.

We are not told who wrote the book or when it was written. The presence of details only Jonah would have known—such as his prayer in chapter 2—could imply it was written shortly after the events it narrates by Jonah himself (after his repentance?), or by a contemporary prophet who knew him. It could also have been written at a later point by an inspired author working with sources describing the events, or by a prophet to whom they were revealed. That the “twelve prophets” are named in Sirach 49:10 (written shortly after 200 BC) means Jonah was written before that time, leaving a very broad range of possible dates, from any time during Jonah’s life to many centuries later (therefore, c. 750–250 BC). There is simply not enough evidence to narrow the date further.¹

Date of the Book’s Events; Occasion

A much narrower range of dates may be proposed for the book’s events. We know that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (cf. 2 Kings 14:25), who ruled for most of the first half of the eighth century BC.² But we do not know how Jonah’s life and ministry overlapped with Jeroboam’s rule. If he was alive before Jeroboam’s reign and these events took place early in his life, they may have occurred in the second half of the ninth century BC. If he was alive after Jeroboam’s reign and these events took place later in his life, they may have occurred in the second half of the eighth century BC. They also could have happened anytime between these two extremes, leaving us with a range of 843 to 705 BC in which the events of this book could have taken place.³

Nineveh was a chief city (and later capital) of Assyria, whose power and significance grew considerably from 883 to 826 BC, went through a period of decline for about seventy years, and then began to grow again when Tiglath-pileser III came to the throne in 745/744 BC. It was under this renewed Assyria that Israel was defeated and carried off into exile in 722 BC. As for Nineveh in particular, “Its great moments took place in the early first millennium, beginning with Shalmaneser I and Assurnasirpal II (9th century),” with its full glory being reached during the reign of Sennacherib (704–681).⁴ Thus during Jonah’s life Nineveh was a place of great enemy power, filled with those who worshiped gods other than Yahweh. Significantly, it was also associated with great wickedness (cf. comment on 1:1–2), which may help explain Jonah’s attitude toward it.

Why was Jonah written? The book itself does not explicitly provide a reason, but its content seems to emphasize at least three reasons for its composition (see table 6.1).

TABLE 6.1: Three Reasons Why Jonah Was Written

These three reasons are closely connected. Those who are spiritually proud are the quickest to forget their own need of God’s mercy and compassion, and therefore the slowest to have mercy and compassion for others. Such pride leads to patterns of sin that demand the Lord’s discipline and justice. The book of Jonah thus becomes a somber warning against any type of spiritual pride and a clear call to keep the Lord’s mercy and love so strongly in front of our eyes that we remain humble toward him and become passionate about sharing such wonderful mercy and love with others.

Genre and Literary Features

The opening verses of Jonah are very similar to the opening verses of other prophetic works (cf. comment on 1:1–2). What follows these verses, however, is not a series of oracles—as is usually the case in prophetic literature—but a story. This makes Jonah a prophetic narrative. As discussed below, it is similar to 1 Kings 17–19 (cf. Interpretive Challenges).

The story itself is brilliantly told. The narrator uses clever contrasts of characters (cf. Response sections on Jonah 1:1–16; 1:17–2:10), plays on words (cf. comments on 4:1; 4:6), and questions left hanging for the listener to answer (cf. comments on 4:4; 4:10–11). The result is the Israelite listeners’ being led slowly and surely to a view of Jonah—the one with whom they would have identified most in the story—as a man who is dead wrong. Once the listeners are there, it is only a short step to ask, “What about us?”

Theology of Jonah; Its Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ

The following survey will complement and expand some of the observations already made.

The Lord Is Sovereign in His Power

At several points in this book, the Lord demonstrates his sovereign power by commanding nature to do his bidding (1:4, 17; 2:10; 4:6–8). Jonah declares the Lord to be maker of all things (1:9), which from a biblical perspective means he is their King (Ps. 95:3, 5) and thus the One before whom all people should bow in humble worship and praise (Jonah 1:16; 3:5–9; cf. Pss. 24:1–2; 68:32–35; 89:9–12; 96:1–13; 97:1).

In the NT, Jesus demonstrates the same sovereign power over nature: he stills storms (Mark 4:39); he commands plants, and they obey (Matt. 21:19). What is more, his power extends to healing the sick (Luke 4:40), raising the dead (Mark 5:22–43; John 11:43–44), and delivering people from the forces of spiritual evil (Luke 4:41). Such power makes it clear: here is the King of God’s kingdom! The Lord has given to Jesus all authority in heaven and earth, and therefore everyone in heaven and earth should bow before him in humble worship and praise (Matt. 28:18–20; Phil. 2:9–11).

The Lord Is Savior

Because of his sovereign power, the Lord is able to rescue and save. Salvation really does belong to the Lord (Jonah 2:9), and this truth is central to Jonah: “It is true for the sailors in chapter 1, for Jonah in chapter 2, and for the Ninevites in chapter 3, and it is the objective of God’s questioning of Jonah in chapter 4.”⁵ The implication is that the Lord is the one to whom all people should look for salvation.

This lesson extends far beyond Jonah. The Lord is commonly described in the Bible as the one who delivers and saves, be it from the trials we experience in this life (the focus of many OT texts) or from the ultimate trial of eternal death (the focus in the NT). (Cf. comment on 2:7–9.) He is a saving God and thus the one we should cry out to for deliverance and salvation. Today, this means crying out to Jesus, who is not simply the King of God’s kingdom but the one God has sent “to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). And Jesus delights to answer our cries; he is the King of love and mercy who has given his life for his sinful, rebellious subjects in order that we might be saved (1 Pet. 3:18).

All People Need the Savior and Are Capable of Turning to Him

This book emphasizes that all people are sinful and thus equal in terms of their need of God’s saving mercy. The Lord wants his people to remember how desperately they need his mercy so that they might be humbled, rely on him in the appropriate way, and show his mercy to others (cf. Response section on Jonah 1:17–2:10). Jesus returned to this same lesson in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14), and his warning stands to this day: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 14).

The book also tells two stories of two different groups of pagans who repent and turn to the Lord to receive his mercy: the sailors (Jonah 1) and the Ninevites (ch. 3). Such stories are rare in the OT. They should not only set a model for Israelite listeners to follow (“You, too, be people of repentance!”); but the stories should also give the Israelites a vision for what can happen among their pagan neighbors and thus encourage them in their mission: to be a kingdom of priests in and for the world (Ex. 19:6), priests who “pray for, love, minister to, and witness to the nations.”⁶

Jesus understood this mission. This is why he showed God’s mercy and love not only to Israelites but also to the nations (Matt. 8:5–13; 15:22–28; John 4:5–35). It is why his final words to his followers are to “make disciples of all nations” by taking the good news of his kingdom “to the end of the earth” (Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8). This leads to the last point.

The Lord Desires to Show His Mercy and Salvation to All

When Jonah experiences the Lord’s mercy and salvation, he praises the Lord (Jonah 1:17–2:10). When the Ninevites experience the same (3:5–10), he is furious with the Lord (4:1–3). How can this be?

Jonah’s root problem is that he somehow views himself as deserving of God’s mercy but others as deserving of his justice. He has forgotten his own sinfulness and deep need of mercy. He has also misunderstood the heart of God. The Lord created humanity to experience love and not wrath, blessing and not curse, and this is true for all his creation. He “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4; cf. 2 Pet. 3:9). As soon as we divide the world into those who are deserving of this salvation and those who are not, we have forgotten God’s real desire to show his mercy to all; in fact, we have denied it.

In Luke 15, Jesus is speaking to religious leaders who are upset that he would actually show love to “tax collectors and sinners” (v. 1). He tells them a series of parables about things that were lost—a sheep, a coin, a son—and the joy people felt when they were found. The point of each parable is the same: heaven rejoices when lost sinners repent and are found (vv. 7, 10). The Lord welcomes them back like a father welcoming back a long-lost child (vv. 20–24).

If we remember the tremendous mercy and love the Lord has shown to us in Jesus—even though we do not deserve it—we will be filled with mercy and love for others and a desire that they experience the same. But if we forget, it will not be long before we find our hearts to be the same as Jonah’s, just as lacking in compassion and love.

Preaching from Jonah

The Miraculous Events

When preaching from Jonah, it will be important to recognize that, for many audiences, some of the miracles in the book will seem hard to believe. The preacher may explain the two basic approaches to this issue in Christian and Jewish communities. (1) Throughout history, it has been common to treat these miracles as true, just like scores of other miracle accounts in the Bible. The book is therefore read as a historical account, recorded to teach us important points. (2) More recently, an increasing number have viewed the miracles as fiction; the book is therefore treated as a parable—a story that is not historical but still is teaching valuable lessons. Importantly, the preacher may note that, in either case, the story of Jonah is included in the Bible to teach us something, and this means that people in both camps can listen to it with ears to learn.

Staying Focused on God’s Character and How It Is Revealed in Jesus

If we focus a sermon simply on the human characters in this story, moralism often results: “Be like the sailors! Don’t be like Jonah! Be like the repentant Ninevites!” While it is true that certain people in the book model good behavior while others model the opposite, what must not be missed is that each chapter uses the actions or words of the characters to make some aspect of the Lord’s character clear. In chapter 1, the sailors act as they do because they realize the Lord’s sovereign power. In chapter 2, Jonah praises the Lord for being a God who saves. In chapter 3, the Ninevites’ repentance provides the Lord a way to show that he is a God who relents from sending judgment to those who repent. And in chapter 4, Jonah’s words make clear that the Lord is a God who is merciful and forgiving, while Jonah’s actions provide the Lord a chance to emphasize he is a God whose love is worldwide. Thus sermons from this book should keep coming back to the Lord’s character. And once we are there, we will naturally want to show how Jesus shows this same character, and to consider how we should respond in light of who he is (cf. Response sections for examples).

Real change does not happen by giving people a list of moralistic rules; it happens as we come face-to-face with the Redeemer and are transformed by his Spirit. Let us do all we can to bring our listeners into his presence.

Interpretive Challenges

A Real Story or Simply a Parable?

Throughout the centuries, the most common approach to Jonah was to read it as a historical account. In more recent times, however, many have read Jonah as a parable: a story that is not true but is meant to convey a certain point. As noted above, this second approach would not take away from the lessons the book is teaching. Jesus often taught in parables and expected his hearers to learn and act on the truth the parables conveyed. But is “parable” the best approach to Jonah?

Those in favor of this approach tend to argue that: (1) Jonah has an improbable number of miracles. (2) The literary artistry of Jonah, with all its hyperbole, irony, and wordplay, is more suggestive of parable than historical account. (3) Various inaccuracies in the book suggest a distance from historical realities.⁷ By way of response, it may be noted: (1) It is not clear what standard is being used when the number of miracles is labeled “improbable”; that this approach is much more common in recent times than in ancient ones suggests it is connected to a modern scientific worldview, with its skepticism toward the miraculous. The biblical worldview has no such skepticism, which should at least give us pause before using the word “improbable” too quickly. (2) It would be accurate to say these types of literary artistry (hyperbole, irony, wordplay) may be more common in parable than in historical writing, but they are not exclusive to parable; history writers may and do make use of these same literary techniques (and more besides!) as they select and arrange their material.⁸ (3) Supposed instances of historical errors (such as the “king” of Nineveh at 3:6) are considered in the commentary that follows and found to be unpersuasive.

Does anything speak in favor of reading this work as actual history? It has been noted that, from a literary perspective, Jonah is similar to the account in 1 Kings 17–19, concerning the prophet Elijah.⁹ Like Jonah, these chapters are also about a prophet, are full of miracles (even miracles involving animals; 1 Kings 17:6), and recount at least some events outside Israel (1 Kings 17:8–24). Significantly, these chapters are found right in the middle of historical narrative. The reader is to understand that these events, some of which—such as a person rising from the dead or fire coming down from heaven—are just as miraculous as anything in Jonah, actually happened. This opens up the possibility of reading Jonah in the same way.

The above observations neither disprove a parabolic approach nor prove a historical approach (and again, the book’s lessons remain no matter which approach is taken). In the absence of strong arguments to the contrary, I find myself hesitant to take an approach different from that of the majority of readers since ancient times, especially considering that their worldview was probably more in keeping with the writer of Jonah’s than is my own.

Outline

1. I. Jonah Experiences the Lord’s Mercy and Finally Does What Pagan Sailors Have Also Learned to Do: Pray to the Lord and Worship Him (1:1–2:10)
   1. A. Pagans Learn to Fear the Lord While Jonah Rebels against Him (1:1–16)
      1. 1. The Lord’s Prophet, Jonah, Flees from the Lord and His Prophetic Mission (1:1–3)
         1. a. The Lord Gives Jonah a Mission (1:1–2)
         2. b. Jonah Flees from the Lord and the Mission (1:3)
      2. 2. In the Storm-Tossed Ship: The Pagan Sailors’ Fear of the Lord vs. Jonah’s Rebellion against Him¹⁰ (1:4–16)
         1. a. The Contrast Is Introduced: The Sailors’ Fear vs. Jonah’s Slumber (1:4–6)
         2. b. The Contrast Deepens: The Sailors’ True Fear of the Lord’s Actions vs. Jonah’s Empty Fear of the Lord (1:7–12)
         3. c. The Contrast Is Complete: The Sailors’ True Fear of the Lord vs. Jonah’s Judgment (1:13–16)
   2. B. Jonah Experiences the Lord’s Mercy and Catches Up to the Pagan Sailors’ Spiritual Progress (1:17–2:10)
      1. 1. The Lord’s Merciful Deliverance of Jonah in the Sea (1:17)
      2. 2. Jonah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (2:1–9)
         1. a. The Place of Prayer: The Belly of the Fish (2:1)
         2. b. The Prayer Itself: Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Deliverance (2:2–9)
      3. 3. The Lord’s Merciful Deliverance of Jonah to Dry Land (2:10)
2. II. Jonah’s Hard Heart toward the Lord’s Worldwide Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness; the Listener’s Dilemma: Will We Be the Same? (3:1–4:11)
   1. A. Jonah’s Second Chance and the Ninevites’ Amazing Repentance (3:1–10)
      1. 1. The Lord Gives Jonah the Mission Again (3:1–2)
      2. 2. Jonah Carries Out the Mission and Preaches a Message of Warning (3:3–4)
         1. a. Jonah Goes to Nineveh (3:3a)
         2. b. Aside: Nineveh, the “Great City to God” (3:3b)
         3. c. Jonah Preaches a Message of Warning (3:4)
      3. 3. Nineveh Responds to God’s Warning with Humble Repentance (3:5–9)
         1. a. The People Respond Humbly (3:5)
         2. b. The King Responds Humbly (3:6)
         3. c. The King Commands Humble Repentance of the Entire City (3:7–9)
      4. 4. God Accepts Their Repentance and Relents from the Judgment They Deserve (3:10)
   2. B. Jonah’s Hard Heart toward the Lord’s Worldwide Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness; the Lord’s Searching Questions (4:1–11)
      1. 1. Jonah’s Displeasure and Complaint; the Lord’s Searching Question (4:1–4)
         1. a. Jonah’s Displeasure at the Lord’s Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness (4:1)
         2. b. Jonah’s Complaint about the Lord’s Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness (4:2)
         3. c. Jonah’s Desire to Die (4:3)
         4. d. The Lord’s Question: Is Your Response the Right One? (4:4)
      2. 2. An Object Lesson of the Lord’s Worldwide Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness; the Lord’s Searching Questions (4:5–11)
         1. a. The Problem: Jonah Still Hopes for Disaster to Come on the City (4:5)
         2. b. The Lord’s Response: An Object Lesson of His Worldwide Grace, Mercy, Love, and Forgiveness (4:6–11)