Jonah is one of the most notable books of the “minor” prophets. The minor prophets weren’t less important than the “major” prophets, but their writings were much shorter. Jonah’s story is known the world over, because he is the poster child for being given a task by God, rejecting it for selfish reasons, and then undertaking the task only after God intervenes in his life in a supernatural way. Jonah’s story adds one final twist in that after he carries out God’s purpose, he is upset God showed mercy to an entire nation of people. Jonah is the only prophetic book that focuses entirely on the prophet, himself, rather than on a prophetic message to a group of people.
Jonah 1 offers us the background for the book. The LORD called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach a message of repentance to the people. Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved, so he ran away. Taking a boat in the opposite direction of Nineveh, Jonah thinks all is well. But the LORD sent a storm and the boat on which Jonah was a passenger was in danger of being destroyed. Jonah told the crew it was his fault and they had to throw him overboard. The crew attempted to save Jonah, but ultimately gave in to his request, and the moment he hit the water, the storm dissipated. We would think that would be the end of Jonah, but the LORD sent a great fish to swallow him. Many discount Jonah’s “story” as just that, a story, because of this detail, and what follows in chapter two, but we must remember if there is a God who exists beyond the natural, a supernatural God, then He is capable of intervening in the natural world, as Jesus did constantly during His earthly ministry.
In Jonah 2, Jonah cried out to the LORD from the belly of the fish, and the LORD heard. He had the fish vomit Jonah out on dry land!
In Jonah 3, the LORD tells Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh. This time, Jonah goes. He preaches to the people to repent. They do, and the LORD shows mercy and spares them from punishment. The King of Nineveh took Jonah’s message so seriously he even had the people put their cattle in sackcloth, showing their repentance
In Jonah 4, Jonah explodes with anger toward the LORD for His compassion on Nineveh. He tells the LORD he knew this is what would happen, that the LORD’s mercy and compassion would be shown. He asked the LORD to let him die and said that’s why he left for Tarshish in the first place: he didn’t want the Ninevites to be spared. The LORD then made a plant grow up to shade Jonah from the heat. But after a while, He sent a worm to kill the plant. Once again, Jonah’s anger flared, and he wanted to die. The LORD asked Jonah whether he ought to be angry about a plant that died, which he did nothing to plant or cause to grow. Jonah said he ought to be angry. But the LORD was using it as an analogy, and asked Jonah whether He ought to have shown mercy for a city that had 120,000 children living in it? We don’t get Jonah’s answer, but we can guess Jonah might still have been angry. We don’t always find it easy to demonstrate the kind of compassion the LORD shows. Indeed, without the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all too easily have Jonah’s attitude. His life serves as a dramatic example of what great lengths the LORD will go to save thousands of people, and also how He works in the lives of individuals, because He cares about all of us, but He also cares about each of us.
As we return to John 1, we’re reminded how different John’s gospel is from the other three. John wrote his gospel much later than the others, and his purpose was more “theological” than “chronological.” That is while Matthew, Mark, and Luke wanted to present an overview of Jesus’ life (and return to heaven) from beginning to end, John wanted to show us clearly Jesus is God. In John 1, John tells us Jesus is “the Word.” He tells us Jesus was with God in the beginning, and Jesus created everything. He tells us Jesus was full of grace and truth. We leave chapter 1 with a clear understanding: Jesus is not just an amazing man; He is God!