About the book

Few books of the Bible are as surprising as Jonah. In just a few pages, it shows a prophet who flees from God and a pagan city that repents at the shortest sermon in the Bible.

Jonah receives a clear command: go to Nineveh, the great enemy city of Israel, and announce God’s judgment against its wickedness. Instead of obeying, he sets sail for the opposite side of the known world.

The flight does not escape the Lord. A violent storm, a casting into the sea, and a great fish become the instruments God uses to bring Jonah back onto the path.

Inside the fish, the prophet prays. His prayer echoes the Psalms: he acknowledges his anguish, but also trusts that salvation comes from the Lord.

When he finally preaches in Nineveh, the result is surprising. From the king to the common people, the whole city humbles itself, fasts, and turns to God.

God has compassion and does not destroy Nineveh. But instead of joy, Jonah feels anger. He would rather see the enemy punished than see it forgiven.

With a plant, a worm, and a scorching wind, God teaches the prophet one last lesson. If Jonah has pity on a plant, why would God not have pity on an entire city?

The book ends with this question, unanswered by Jonah. It is the reader who must answer whether they share God’s compassion for those they consider enemies.

Read Jonah and discover a God who pursues the reluctant prophet with the same patience he pursues the nations. His mercy is greater than any border.

Book overview

Purpose

To show that God's mercy reaches even Israel's greatest enemies

Audience

The people of Israel, to remind them of God's mercy toward other nations

Date written

Around 760 BC, during the reign of Jeroboam II

Place of writing

Israel, according to tradition

Geographic setting

Nineveh, in Assyria, and the sea route between Joppa and Tarshish

Historical setting

During the reign of Jeroboam II, before Assyria became the power that would subjugate Israel

The only prophet whose flight and disobedience are the central subject of the book, cited by Jesus as a sign of his own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-41)

793 to 753 BC

Reign of Jeroboam II in Israel, the era of Jonah's prophetic activity (2 Kings 14:25)

around 760 BC

God calls Jonah to preach against Nineveh, and the prophet flees toward Tarshish

around 760 BC

Storm at sea; the sailors cast Jonah into the waters

around 760 BC

Jonah is swallowed by a great fish and prays inside it for three days and three nights

around 760 BC

Jonah preaches in Nineveh, and the whole city repents before God

around 760 BC

God uses a plant, a worm, and a scorching wind to confront Jonah's anger

722 BC

Fall of Samaria: Assyria conquers the northern kingdom of Israel

612 BC

Fall of Nineveh, fulfilling the judgment announced by the prophet Nahum

1

1:1-16

Jonah flees the mission

God calls Jonah to preach against Nineveh, but the prophet flees in the opposite direction, toward Tarshish. A violent storm threatens the ship, and the terrified pagan sailors cast Jonah into the sea after trying everything to save him. The scene shows that no one flees from God's presence, and that he can use even a storm to call back someone who has drifted away.

2

1:17 to 2:10

Jonah prays in the belly of the fish

A great fish swallows Jonah and keeps him alive for three days and three nights. From inside the fish, he prays, acknowledging that salvation comes from the Lord. God commands the fish to return him to dry land. The prayer teaches that even in the most desperate place, a sincere cry reaches God.

3

3:1-10

Nineveh repents

God calls Jonah a second time, and this time he obeys and preaches in Nineveh. To everyone's surprise, from the king to the common people, the whole city humbles itself, fasts, and turns away from evil. God sees their repentance and withholds the announced judgment. The episode shows that no heart is too far from God's grace.

4

4:1-11

God teaches Jonah about grace

Instead of joy, Jonah feels anger over the forgiveness granted to Nineveh and wishes to die. God makes a plant grow to give the prophet shade, then withers it using a worm and a scorching wind. Faced with Jonah's grief over the plant, God asks whether he would not have even more reason to have compassion on an entire city. The book ends with this question, an invitation for the reader to examine their own heart.

Jonah

Other books

Tiago

2 Crônicas

João