Book of Jonah
Notes.. .
. ..Introduction. By Jonah to show the extent of God’s grace and the message of salvation is for all people. People include Jonah and the boat’s captain and crew. Places include Jaffa (Joppa or Joppe) and Nineveh.
. ..Themes. God’s Sovereignty, God’s Message to all The World, Repentance, and God’s Compassion.
. ..Outline. “We stand up and open up our hymn notes and sing “wherever He leads, I’ll go.” And yet, in our hearts we begin to put limitations which means we would actually be singing a lie; which was the way it was with Jonah. Jonah, for all purposes and historical accounts, was a very faithful servant of God. However, he had that type of attitude. Lord, Yahweh, wherever you tell me to go I will go and whatever you tell me to do I will do except in Nineveh” (William Seay 2019, L13 23:00–23:52).
. ..Application. “The book of Jonah shouts for its message to be heard and to be headed. Christianity, cannot, as ancient Judaism sought to do, identify religious faith exclusively for national interest. God’s kingdom in Christ transcends all geographic and ethnic boundaries. When the storms of life are raging, we cannot afford to be asleep, imagining things are well. There are five lessons we should have learned from this book” (Seay 2019, L13 29:26–30:06).
. ..Timeline. Written about 785 to 760.
Introduction. 20:10 – The purpose was to show the extent of God’s grace and the message of salvation is for all people. The author is Jonah. The key people are Jonah and the boat’s captain and crew. The key places are Jaffa (Joppa or Joppe) and Nineveh.
Themes. 20:45 – There are four major theological themes. (i) God’s Sovereignty. Although the prophet Jonah tried to run away from God, God was still in control. By controlling the stormy seas and great fish God displayed His absolute yet loving guidance. (ii) God’s Message to all The World. God had given Jonah a purpose, to preach to the Assyrian city of Nineveh but Jonah hated Nineveh; and so, he responded with anger and indifference. Jonah had yet to learn that God loves all people. Through Jonah, God reminded His people of their missionary purpose. (iii) Repentance. When the reluctant preacher went to Nineveh, there was a great response. The people repented and returned to God. This was a powerful rebuke to Israel who thought themselves better and yet refused to respond to God’s message. God will forgive all those who turn from their sin. (iv) God’s Compassion. God’s message of love and forgiveness was not for the Jews alone. God loves all the people of the world. The Assyrians did not deserve it, but God spared them when they repented. In His mercy, God did not reject Jonah for aborting the mission. God has great love, patience, and forgiveness.
Outline. 22:50 – We stand up and open up our hymn notes and sing “wherever He leads, I’ll go.” And yet, in our hearts we begin to put limitations which means we would actually be singing a lie; which was the way it was with Jonah. Jonah, for all purposes and historical accounts, was a very faithful servant of God. However, he had that type of attitude. Lord, Yahweh, wherever you tell me to go I will go and whatever you tell me to do I will do except in Nineveh. When God challenged him and told him to go about preaching in Nineveh, Jonah responded by saying, “woah wait a minute, not those folks up there.” There is no limit to God. We are the ones who limit God from our own human weaknesses. Jonah had found enemies that he could not love, and he did not expect God to love them either. So, the book of Jonah teaches us a lesson about the nature of God and His love.
Jonah lived shortly before or during the very early years of Jeroboam the Second’s reign in Israel. Some biblical scholars contend that this book is an autobiographical work written shortly after Jonah returned from Nineveh or by someone of the day to whom he had told the events. Increasingly, however, more are suggesting that is was written centuries later after the great prophet who had become a national hero.
After about c. 538 BC, when the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, their religion took on an intensely exclusive coloring. They thought that God had no use for any other nation. In this theological climate, they needed to hear the story of one of their greatest prophets who once had a very similar attitude. The book is more than a story of a disobedient prophet, it focuses on the nature of Israel’s God. The writer, probably a person held in high esteem, wrote to show the people that their opinions and lifestyles were not consistent with God’s love for all people. God’s redemptive program included everyone. The messiah whom He would send, was to be for inhabitants of all nations. Only when Israel understood this theological truth could Israel become God’s instrument. Of all the enemies of God’s people, Assyria had been the cruelest. If the writer of Jonah could lead the Jews to understand that God also loved such a nation, they could see that He loved all enemies and all nations.
Jonah’s readers faced two major choices. (i) Either they could remain belligerent in their hatred and self-pity or (ii) they could join God’s mission and seek the conversion of all people, even their enemies. Thus, this book reaffirms the traditional doctrines of Israel. In addition, it underscores the basis theses of prophecy. God is not bound by His previous decree but, like humans, possesses a free will. He responds appropriately to the major choices of people. The book’s contributions however went far beyond where most Israelites were. Jonah showed us that God’s love is not confined to one nation. Even though He had chosen a people for a very special mission, He would never allow Himself to be exclusively possessed by any one group. No other OT book is so clearly missionary. Some have this teaching implicit in parts of their messages but this book trumpets it’s imperative from beginning to end. God’s plan for the ages taught so clearly in Ephesians finds its OT counterpart in this account of a proper prophet who learned the hard way that God’s love must never be limited to any one nation. The book of Acts, filled with missionary activity, finds its roots in the prophet Jonah was a foreign missionary long before the Apostle Paul answered the Macedonian call. The author struck the high-water mark of practical OT theology. Nothing else in Jewish Scriptures sets forth more clearly the character of God, His love for all mankind, and His willingness to forgive the most sinful people.
Application. 28:30 – Never, since Jonah’s day, has the message of this book been as needed as it is today. Prejudice and hatred abound. Many Christians contend that Jesus Christ is not the only answer to our sin. They insist that His gospel is not the final word for the world’s salvation. According to them, our missionary program is not only unnecessary but, in some cases, may even be counterproductive for harmony across the nations. Jonah reminds us that we must call all people to repentance. Missionary programs form the essence of the Christian gospel. The book of Jonah shouts for its message to be heard and to be headed. Christianity, cannot, as ancient Judaism sought to do, identify religious faith exclusively for national interest. God’s kingdom in Christ transcends all geographic and ethnic boundaries. When the storms of life are raging, we cannot afford to be asleep, imagining things are well.
There are five lessons we should have learned from this book. Five lessons which we need to apply to our ministries today. (i) Sin offends God’s holiness and must be dealt with, drastically. (ii) When God calls, we have no option but to obey. (iii) God’s redeeming grace is for all people no matter who they are or where they are. (iv) God will accomplish His purpose with us if He can or without us if He must. (v) Even after the fiercest message of prophetic condemnation, repentance can’t avert the threatened judgement.
Timeline. 31:10. Most biblical scholars agree that Jonah was written by the prophet Jonah around c. 785 BC to c. 760 BC.
An interesting side note concerning Jonah: Even the Lord Himself stated that Jonah actually spent time inside a whale.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).