Author

Jonah, whose name means “dove.” Although his book does not tell us much about his personal history, we do learn from 2 Kings 14:25 that he was the son of Amittai, from the town of Gath-hepher. This town was only about three miles northeast of Nazareth. According to one Jewish tradition, Jonah’s mother was the widow of Zarephath and that it was Jonah whom Elijah raised from the dead in 1 Kings 17:8-24. It is also possible that Elisha was the one who discipled Jonah into the ministry.

According to 2 Kings 14, Jonah was primarily a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel, during the rule of King Jeroboam II. However, the majority of what is know of Jonah’s ministry is his work as a prophet to Ninevah, recorded in the book of Jonah.

Date

The book was probably written around 770 B.C; toward the end of Jonah’s ministry. His time as a prophet comes after Elisha and before Amos and Hosea.

Audience and Purpose

The book is written as a biographical narrative, recounting the story of Jonah’s ministry to Nineveh. Although the primary people group targeted by Jonah’s ministry in the book were the people of Nineveh, we must not forget that the intended audience of the writing was the people of God back in Israel.

The main purpose of the book is to show that God’s grace and forgiveness are available to anyone who repents of their sin, whether a Jewish prophet, or a wicked pagan nation. (Take note that it would be the people of Nineveh –  the capitol of Assyria — who would come and destroy the northern kingdom of Israel less than a century later.)

Major Themes

• Prophecy.
• Repentance and Holiness.
• Human Will and Emotion.
• Salvation of the Gentiles.
• Obedience to God’s Calling.

Key Scriptures

• Jonah 4:2 — “And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Outline

• Jonah 1:1-17 — Jonah Runs from God’s Call as Prophet to Nineveh
• Jonah 2:1-10 — Jonah’s Prayer
• Jonah 3:1-10 — Jonah Prophesies Judgement on Nineveh and People Repent
• Jonah 4:1-4 — Jonah’s Anger
• Jonah 4:5-11 — God’s Response

Gospel Summary

Jonah is one of the best stories in the Old Testament concerning the grace and mercy of God, and His desire to forgive sin. 

Jonah, as a prophet of the Lord, knew that God would forgive the people of Nineveh if they repented, yet his personal prejudice against them despised the idea that they should be forgiven. Faced with his own sin and consequences of his disobedience (inside the fish’s belly), Jonah has to repent and be forgiven as well. This universal condition of sin and the need of a savior is the great equalizer of all humanity. We all need the grace of God to cover us, Jews and Gentiles alike.

One other point of interest is that the skepticism of many toward the “fish story” being true, would lead Jesus to use Jonah as a picture of His own death and resurrection. People would have to dare to believe the impossible to see that He is who He said He is: “But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12:39-41).

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© Anthony Scott Ingram 2021. All Rights Reserved.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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