The Book of Jonah
by Owen Borville
Jonah was an 8th century B.C. (786-746 B.C.) Hebrew Israeli prophet of the Northern Kingdom. Jonah was called by God to leave his country and go northeast to preach to the people of Nineveh. The city of Nineveh was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades. It was a city of 120,000 people (Jonah 4:11). Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul (Iraq) that lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris river.
Jonah was called by God to preach to the city of Nineveh but he refused and fleed to the sea by boat in the opposite direction from where God wanted him to go. He fled toward Tarshish (to the west). Jonah was thrown into the water by his crew and was swallowed by a big fish or whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and nights. After Jonah prayed to the Lord, the fish released Jonah and he went to Nineveh to preach. The people put on sackcloth and repented and the city was spared from God's wrath. Jonah was angry that God spared such an evil city as Nineveh, but God explained his compassion for the people of Nineveh and used a fruit plant as an example.
Jonah 1 Jonah Fleed from the Lord while at Sea and was Swallowed by a Fish After being Thrown into the Water
Jonah 2 Jonah Prayed to the Lord, and the Fish Released Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 3 Jonah Went to Nineveh to Preach, and the People Repented and Put on Sackcloth, Then God spared Them.
Jonah 4 Jonah's Anger Toward the Lord's Compassion for Nineveh
Jonah did not understand why the Lord had compassion for Nineveh and was angry that he spared the city. But God asked,
"Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?" Jonah 4:4.
God used a gourd (fruit plant) to teach Jonah (Jonah 4). The plant grew quickly over Jonah's head and died quickly overnight because Jonah did not take care of it.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd (fruit plant), for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore (120) thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Jonah 4:10-11.
Later in Matthew 12:38-41, Jesus Christ quoted Jonah:
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Matthew 12:38-41.
by Owen Borville
Jonah was an 8th century B.C. (786-746 B.C.) Hebrew Israeli prophet of the Northern Kingdom. Jonah was called by God to leave his country and go northeast to preach to the people of Nineveh. The city of Nineveh was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades. It was a city of 120,000 people (Jonah 4:11). Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul (Iraq) that lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris river.
Jonah was called by God to preach to the city of Nineveh but he refused and fleed to the sea by boat in the opposite direction from where God wanted him to go. He fled toward Tarshish (to the west). Jonah was thrown into the water by his crew and was swallowed by a big fish or whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and nights. After Jonah prayed to the Lord, the fish released Jonah and he went to Nineveh to preach. The people put on sackcloth and repented and the city was spared from God's wrath. Jonah was angry that God spared such an evil city as Nineveh, but God explained his compassion for the people of Nineveh and used a fruit plant as an example.
Jonah 1 Jonah Fleed from the Lord while at Sea and was Swallowed by a Fish After being Thrown into the Water
Jonah 2 Jonah Prayed to the Lord, and the Fish Released Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 3 Jonah Went to Nineveh to Preach, and the People Repented and Put on Sackcloth, Then God spared Them.
Jonah 4 Jonah's Anger Toward the Lord's Compassion for Nineveh
Jonah did not understand why the Lord had compassion for Nineveh and was angry that he spared the city. But God asked,
"Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?" Jonah 4:4.
God used a gourd (fruit plant) to teach Jonah (Jonah 4). The plant grew quickly over Jonah's head and died quickly overnight because Jonah did not take care of it.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd (fruit plant), for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore (120) thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Jonah 4:10-11.
Later in Matthew 12:38-41, Jesus Christ quoted Jonah:
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Matthew 12:38-41.
