T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. The book of jonah is the fifth book in the christian canons and the jewish tanakh. The lords compassion is not only for insiders like jonah and israel but also for outsiders like the ninevites. Jonah is portrayed as a great nationalist, and god as a great internationalist. It is a well known story for obvious reasons, not least of which are a disobedient prophet, an obedient fish and a wicked nation that starts out bad, yet ends up good. Although the book is written in the third person, the traditional view is that jonah is the author of the book, and there is no persuasive reason to theorize about an unknown author. God chastises him for his attitude, and the book affirms that. God demonstrates to jonah pretty quickly just how farreaching is his rule. Learn the main idea of each book of the bible as an aid to remembering where familiar passages are located. Watch our overview video on the book of jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
You will also remember how god provided jonah with a living submarine to get him back where he belonged. These last verses succinctly sum up some of the main issues in the book, namely gods compassion and jonahs hardness. Youngblood designed for pastors, teachers, and bible students, this series on jonah brings to light the universal scope of gods sovereignty and mercy. Gods determination to get his message to the nations. Jonah, second edition, part of the zondervan exegetical commentary on the old testament series, serves pastors and teachers by providing them with a careful analysis and interpretation of the hebrew text of the old testament book of jonah, quickly allowing pastors to grasp the big idea of the passage and how it fits in its larger context. Analysis of the book of jonah essay 2162 words 9 pages. The theme of jonah is gods saving mercy toward the nations of the world. A look at how jonah 2 fits with the book as a whole. Jonah will carry the object around the outside of the circle, while family members say, jonah, jonah disobeyed. What every book of the old testament is about crossway. Though the mission of god is the main theme within jonah, there are numerous other themes as well that weave their way through this masterful story. Disobedience and revival are the key themes in this book. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b.
Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. The purpose of the book of jonah is to show gods people that his plan is exceedingly compassionate god is gracious and exceedingly certain god is sovereign. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. We know nothing of the author other than what we can intuit from the book. At the end of the phrase, jonah will put the object into another family members hands, and that person will chase jonah around the circle.
The bible project jonah right now media the book of jonah by eric mason book. In fact one of the major themes running throughout the entirety of the book of jonah is gods sovereignty over all things. The book of jonah was likely written between 793 and 758 b. The book of jonah stands as an important link in the prophetic chain, giving readers a glimpse of christs death and resurrection hundreds of years before they. This is seen in the fact that he wants to save the city of nineveh from divine destruction. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc, it was probably written in the postexilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc. The book of jonah stands as an important link in the prophetic chain, giving readers a glimpse of christs death and resurrection hundreds of years before they actually occurred. The book of jonah preface those of you who are familiar with the story of jonah and the whale know that jonah hopped a ship heading in the opposite direction when god commanded him to go preach to the ninevites. The book of jonah is about an event that jesus said took place in history. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. Caught in a storm, he orders the ships crew to cast him overboard. The book of jonah is different from other prophetic books, as many have noted. The man jonah was the main character of the book, he was the son of amittai jonah 1. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man.
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. He is an expert on behavior change, social influence, word of mouth, and why products catch on. Another theme is gods unchanging nature, in contrast to jonahs inconsistency. The format of the hms series is similar to that of the zecnt series. Jonah represents jesus as the resurrection and the life. Sent to preach judgment on nineveh, capital of israels enemy, assyria.
A second common theme that emerges from the book of jonah concerns the role of israel among the nations of the world. Let me share with you seven great lessons from the book of jonah. Since forgiveness is a major theme in the book of jonah, repentance signals their complete submission to yhwhs extended compassion over all. With careful analysis and interpretation of the hebrew text, professor and scholar kevin youngblood traces the flow of argument in the book of jonah, showing that how a biblical. The book of jonah has one main point gods love for the world. He is the author of contagious and invisible influence, and has published more than fifty papers in academic journals as well as articles in the new york times, wall street journal, and harvard.
There are six parts to each section division using jonah 2 as an example. Jonah berger is professor of marketing at the university of pennsylvanias wharton school of business. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by god to travel to nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath. The title of the studysalvation belongs to the lordcomes directly from jonah 2. Summary of the book of jonah the story of the bible. The book of jonah demonstrates the sovereignty of the almighty as he employs his creation to accomplish the divine plan. When the call of god came to him, jonah could not see beyond his own selfish desire for god to punish the assyrians. Jonah 2 is packed almost completely with a prayer connected to jonahs experiences while waiting in the belly of the great fish that had swallowed him. Jonah allowed himself to be cast into the sea jonah 1. Read the entire book of jonah and identify how the book is divided into paragraphs or sections.
Best jonah commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. Beautifully balanced, deep and profound jonah s adventure opens a window into the heart of god. The primary theme in jonah is that gods compassion is boundless, not limited just to us jonah and the israelites but also available for them the pagan sailors. Modern scholars are divided as to whether jonah composed the prayer during his time in the fish or recorded it later the text does not make it clear, and its not important to make a distinction. Foundation 7 assignment 72 turn to the old testament. Turn to the old testament book of jonah and do the. Throughout the book the main theme of jonah is his willingness to accept blessing and mercy and his reluctance to see his enemies, the ninevites or assyrians, receive the same treatment. It is an important book to both religious traditions christianity and jewish because of its message of doom upon israels longtime enemy. Jonah study guide 3 major themes within jonah purpose of jonah gods grace is much bigger than we can comprehend, and much more expansive than what we are comfortable with.
Assignment 72 turn to the old testament book of jonah and do the following. Analysis of the book of jonah essay 2162 words bartleby. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Interestingly, the book of jonah consists of only 4 chapters, 48 verses, and just over 1,300 words. It is one of trei asar the twelve prophets in the tanakh, and in christian tradition as oi dodeka prophetai or ton dodekapropheton, greek for the twelve prophets.
The book is structured as three alternating cycles of oracles of judgment followed by oracles of redemption. Although the book of jonah is not about world missions, the theme of gods mission to the world is definitely present in the book. Thus the prophet jonah, like the jews of the day, abhors even the idea of salvation for the gentiles. Jonah was a picture of the death and resurrection of christ. 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. Of course the image by which we remember the story is the great fish that swallows jonah and then spits him out. The prophet jonah wrote his own story of how he accepted correction, carry out his assignment, and was taught an important lesson about the loyal love and mercy of god.
Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. The book of jonah appears to have served less purpose in the qumran community than other texts, as the writings make no references to it. Seven episodes in jonah 7 jonahs lesson about compassion 4. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, embraced in a single book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. The others are about what god taught the people through the prophet and jonah is more about what the prophet himself is being taught. The whole purpose of this novel concept, of course, is to justify adulterous relationships within the family. Read the entire book and identify how the book is divided into paragraphs or sections. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. It can be divided into four sections, roughly divided by each chapter. Jonah or jonas, in the hebrew bible tanakhold testament, is a prophet of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. Although the wicked city of nineveh deserved to be crushed immediately, god was. This article will highlight several of the theological themes found in jonah and demonstrate why preaching this short book will be a doctrinally.
Jonah fled from the presence of god perhaps in hope that god would leave him alone, but instead god summons a great storm to harass the ship. Jonah was resurrected from the whale to pursue gods path that he had laid before him, which was to rebuke nineveh into repentance. Jonah vividly displays the heart of mercy god has for all people groups of the world, even those known for their godlessness. You will also find options for commentaries on jonah that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. Turn to the old testament book of jonah and do the following. Some people think that jonah wrote this book, but unlike other prophetic books, the book of jonah is entirely a story about jonah and does not.