Jonah's Jonah: The Book Of Jonah

John Walton’s The Object Lesson on Jonah 4:5-7 and the Purpose of the Book of Jonah is a very enlightening work of research. In this article, Walton seeks to reveal to us that Jonah chapter four and particularly the object lesson in verses 5-7, holds the key to our understanding of the purpose of the book of Jonah. He highlights Jonah’s anger which is caused by how God responds to Nineveh’s repentance. Walton also reveals to us the significance of the author’s intended purpose for including this incidence in the book. He concludes that the message of Jonah is a theological message. Before reading this article, I must admit that my understanding of Jonah has always been from a missiological perspective. I had never considered the fact that the

In all reality, it most likely written by a third party. Much like the parables that Jesus taught, Jonah was left “incomplete,” if you will. Meaning that we simply do not know how Jonah responds; the Bible left that part out. As if God leaves that part to us to reflect on our own lives and decide how we would act in Jonah’s place. It is written as a prophetic narrative, but the “hero” is portrayed in a negative light. Furthermore, the book of Jonah is sensational literature, meaning it is designed to arouse the imagery in the audience’s mind and use that imagery to produce emotion. The time period is also not very clear. “The actual composition of the book is not datable except within the broadest boundaries (ca. 750b.c.-250b.c.) simply because there are no certain indicators in it of date (Stuart 432). However, it was obviously between the time when Nineveh was a strong power in the known world; and most likely between the time when Assyria had taken Israel into exile. However, it is most plausible that Jonah took place closer to the 750

In the book of Jonah we see the vast amount of tension between both God and Jonah. He is one of the prophets who also believes in tolerance of non-Jews opposite to Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s stress of an unadulterated blood race of Jews under a restrictive Jewish God. Jonah is one of a vast line of important people in the bible who argues with God. As you see in past books of the bible everyone has stood their own against the Lord. Jonah though decides to try and run from God. The Lord called to Jonah and said “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry against it,” but Jonah flees to Joppa, setting sail on a ship duty-bound for Tarshish, assuming he can evade the Lord. Jonah views the Lord as sort of a indigenous God of restrained power that his hand would not reach as

Jonah was given the task of delivering God’s message of impending judgment to a society that Jonah despised.

But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts gwere

The prophet Jonah was an angry, hateful man who lived in eighth century B.C. During the reign of King Jeroboam II, he was commission by God to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent of their wicked ways. While it is not known, who wrote the book of Jonah is it widely believed to be have been penned by the prophet himself. The passage I have chosen takes place after the people of Nineveh repent and God has shown compassion for them. Jonah is stubbornly angry at God’s compassion and leaves Nineveh. The passage picks up with Jonah sulking on a hill overlooking the city.

And even though they almost did not make it because of the choppy condition the day before; it was because of God’s grace and the faith of the believers the ship made it ashore. At a later date, a scouting party of men took a smaller boat to search the land and the sea. Whilst at sea it began to snow and rain. The waves became bigger and the rudder of the ship split. The men rowed the boat as much as possible because they saw a harbor up ahead.

God’s angel says that his descendants will follow God and bless all nations. Jesus is born, God’s love starts to affect us. It shows Abraham's faith to us, and that God loves everyone. Jonah Lord People of Nineveh The book of Jonah God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah ran away from God, God sends a large storm, sailors threw Jonah at the sea, Jonah got eaten by a Giant fish, Jonah gets thrown up, Jonah goes to Nineveh and tells them to stop being wicked and they do.

We often read stories in the Bible without taking the historical context into consideration. As a result, we become unaware of the story’s historical validity. In some cases, stories are used to share a moral concept, or used as a tool to teach a lesson. The Book of Jonah is an example that will be used to determine if this particular story describes an accurate recount of history, or if it teaches the readers a lesson. In the Book of Jonah, Jonah (the prophet) is instructed to go to a pagan city (Nineveh) to preach to the Ninevites, hoping that they will repent for their sins. However, he challenges God and travels to Tarshish instead. Jonah receives consequences for his actions and Nineveh is eventually forgiven by God. Although the

Ferguson, Paul. “Who Was the King of Nineveh in Jonah 3: 6.” Tyndale Bulletin 42, no. 7 (1996): 301-14.

It is thought that Jonah, the fifth of the Minor Prophets, lived during the reign of Jeroboam II, when the kingdom was divided. (Lockyer, 198) Although the Book of Jonah is quite short, just two and one-half pages, it is not short on themes. Because there are so many themes it is hard to classify or to determine its primary message. (Anchor 936 and New Interpreter's 490) These themes range from running away, praying, second chances, anger, and God's compassion and mercy, to name a few. The following will provide a brief explanation of each theme, previously mention, as it relates to the Book of Jonah.

God responses to a repented heart. After the Ninevites turned from the evil ways and cried out to God, God responded by not destroying the people according to Jonah’s proclamation.

The Hebrews faced many similar difficulties that we face today. The physical difficulties that the Hebrews encountered were that they were unable to “ban” or completely drive out the Canaanites. Also, their crops were not succeeding in growth while the Canaanites’ crops were. The Hebrews came to believe that if they prayed, sacrificed, and worshiped the fertility gods, Baal and Ashtarte, they would prosper and obtain an abundant supply of crops.

Jonah is one of the books of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. The main character Jonah was called by God to prophesy against wickedness in the great city of Nineveh. The themes are obedience, compassion, love, mercy, and salvation. Jonah refused God’s calling, boarding a ship to Tarshish in an attempt to flee from the presence of God. A fierce storm tossed the ship causing Jonah to be thrown overboard. Jonah was swallowed by a great fish where he cried unto the Lord. Graciously, God heard his cry and delivered him. When Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish, he served as a symbol of Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Jonah quickly obeyed God by prophesying to Nineveh. Although the city’s inhabitants

He was a prophet during the time of Jeroboam II. Jonah’s defining event was being swallowed by a whale for disobeying God by not going to Nineveh to warn them. Jonah is credited with writing the book of his namesake where the account of the whale is told.