Overview: Jonah

The Book of Jonah. A disturbing story about a rebellious prophet who hates God because he loves his enemies. Jonah is unique among the Old Testament prophets because they are typical collections of God's words spoken through the prophet. But this book doesn't really focus on the prophet's words; It's actually a story about a prophet, a very evil and hateful prophet. Jonah appears only once more in the Old Testament, during the reign of Jeroboam II, one of the worst kings of Israel. And Jonah prophesied in his favor; promising him that he would win a battle and recover all of his territory on Israel's northern border.

It is important to know that the prophet Amos also confronted Jeroboam and through him, God specifically reversed Jonah's prophecy; promising that Jeroboam would lose all those territories, because he was very terrible. So before Jonah's story even begins, we become suspicious of Jonah's character. Jonas's book is beautifully designed with all its pairings and literary symmetry. Thus, chapters 1 and 3 tell the story of Jonah's encounter with non-Israelites, first with some sailors and then with Jonah's hated enemies, the Ninevites. Each part presents a humorous contrast between the selfishness of Jonah and the humility and repentance of the pagans. Chapters two and four contain Jonah's prayer; one is a prayer of repentance, in a way, and the other is a prayer in which Jonah rebukes God because he is very good.

This careful book design lends itself to a unique narrative style. The story is full of typical characters who, ironically, do the complete opposite of what you think they would do. Then we have the prophet, the man of God, who rebels and hates his own God. There are the sailors, who are supposed to be very immoral, but in reality they have soft and repentant hearts and turn to God with humility. You have the king of the most powerful murderous empire on the planet and he humbles himself before God because of Jonah's five-word sermon. Even the king's cows repent.

This type of story could well be called "satire" today. These are stories about well-known characters, who find themselves in extreme circumstances and use humor and irony to criticize their stupidity and character defects. Let's dive in and see how all the pieces work together. The story begins when God addresses Jonah and orders him to go preach against evil and injustice in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Israel's bitter enemy. But instead of going east to Nineveh, Jonah goes in the opposite direction, finding a ship heading as far west as possible, to Tarshish. The big question here is "why"?

Why did Jonah flee? He is afraid? They don't like the Ninevites. This is not yet shown to us. So the man of God tries to run away from God. And he boarded a ship full of pagan sailors. He goes down to the boat and then falls asleep. Then God sends a great storm to wake up his prophet. Ironically, the sailors have their eyes on everything that happens. They come to recognize that a divine power is at work here. Then they cast lots and discover that Jonah is the culprit. They ask Jonah for an explanation and Jonah spouts some religious nonsense and says, "Yes, I am a Jew and I worship the Lord, the God who made the sea and the land." What a joke, right?

Well, God made the sea and the land and Jonah is too fat to walk away from God and get on a boat? And when the sailors ask Jonah what they should do, he says, "Kill me by throwing me into the sea." This at first glance seems like a noble thing to do, until you realize that it may actually be the most selfish move yet. There is no better way to avoid going to Nineveh. Then, he puts his blood on the hands of these innocent sailors, forcing them to kill him. Naturally they doubt. And they repent before God even when they throw it into the sea.

The storm subsides and they begin to fear the God of Israel. And unlike Jonah, they actually worship God. But God thwarts Jonah's plans to avoid Nineveh. As Jonah drowns, God provides him with this strange watery grave, the belly of a great fish. Now, of course, under normal circumstances, this would be certain death, but in this story, everything is reversed. Then Jonah's underwater death becomes his path to life. Trapped in the belly of this beast, Jonah utters a prayer; where he technically never says he's sorry, but rather he thanks God for not abandoning him and promises that from now on he will obey God in everything.

And God's response is quite funny: the whale vomits Jonah up on the shore. So once again God orders Jonah to go preach to Nineveh. And Jonah agrees. We are told that Nineveh was a giant city; it took him days to get through. So one day Jonah comes and here is his message: "Another forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed." There are only five words in Hebrew. His sermon is very short and also strange. Take a look at what's missing. There is no mention of the evil the Ninevites have done or what they must do to respond.

There is no mention of who can destroy them. And what is most striking is that God is not mentioned. What's going on here? Has Jona intentionally provided the bare minimum of information here? It is as if he is trying to spoil his message or make sure that the Ninevites are destroyed. There's just no effort on Jonah's part here. Whatever his motives, the plan doesn't work. Because as soon as he delivers this five-word sermon, the king of Nineveh, the entire city, including the cows, repents in sorrow and ashes. Thus, for the second time, these pagans show themselves to be more sensitive than God's own prophet.

Thus, God forgives the Ninevites. And he does not bring destruction upon the city. Here's the surprising part of the story. The last word of Jonah's short sermon "shall be destroyed" means precisely that: "shall be cast down." And it can refer to a city that was destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. But it can also be used for something that transforms, as if it turns around and becomes the opposite of what it was. Then, as a joke, Jonah's words actually come true, but not in the way he expected. Nineveh is upside down, as Jonah's enemies repent and find God's mercy.

The final chapter brings all the pieces together. Jona foams at the mouth with rage. And he utters the second sentence of his. He first tells God why he ran away in chapter one. It was not because he was afraid, but because he knew that God was very merciful. And that's wonderful, Jonah actually quotes God's own description of himself in the book of Exodus, throwing it back at God as a kind of insult. He says that he knew that God is compassionate and that he would find a way to forgive these terrible Ninevites. You can hear the disgust in Jonah's voice.

Jona then ends the conversation. She prays that God kills him on the spot. He would rather die than live with a God who forgives his enemies. Fortunately for Jonah, God disagrees and simply asks if Jonah's anger can even be justified. Jonah ignores the question and leaves the city to camp on a nearby hill to see what happens, because the Ninevites might turn back from their repentance and ultimately burn. What happens next is very strange. God provides a vine-like plant to protect Jonah from the sun, and this makes Jonah very happy. But then God sends a little worm to eat the plant, so Jonah loses his shadow.

And there, in the heat of the sun, Jonah again asks God to kill him. God then asks Jonah if his anger is justified, and Jonah responds, "Indeed, let me die!" The last words of God or what closes the book. He says this whole vine incident was an attempt to get to Jonah. That's right, Jonah was very concerned and excited about this vine that he only tasted for one day. And God asks Jonah, "Aren't people worth little more than vines?" I mean, isn't it nice if God can feel the same emotion and concern for the city of Nineveh, which is full of thousands of people who have gone astray, and also for their cows?" That's how the book ends, with God. who asks Jonah for permission to show mercy to his enemies.

And what is Jonah's response? Because that is not the purpose of the book, to mock you, is it true that you, the readers, agree with the fact? that God loves his enemies? It causes humility and gratitude, because God would love his enemies and endure them in all of us. So this strange story really becomes a message of good news about the extent of his mercy for God, who. should challenge us to our core. And this is the book of Jonah Contact us: [email protected].