Study From the Book of Jonah,1

Study From the Book of Jonah,1

The Author: Jonah is a Hebrew name means “dove.” He was a prophet in the northern kingdom at the time of the king Jeroboam II. So he wrote his book around 760 B.C. He was a true prophet according to 2 King 14:25.

Some are doubted the story of Jonah and the big fish but that doubt is slashed as the Lord Jesus talked about the Jonah’s story in Mathew 12:39-41.

The story line is as follows: Jonah received a command from the Lord to go to Nineveh further east to Israel to preach the people there, asking them to repent; otherwise their city would be destroyed from the top to the bottom. However, he disobeyed and instead he took a boot to Tarshish at the opposite site, a city in Spain in further west. His motive of that was he did not want Nineveh to be saved as he knew that the Lord is a merciful Lord once they repent He will forgive their sins. As a prophet he knew that the Assyrians will occupy the Northern Kingdom of Israel and get his people to exile. This happened latter as the Israelites indulged in their sins. A great wind wricked the boot he was raking that made the sailors threw him in the sea. Jonah found himself in the belly of a great fish. He prayed and God answered him and the fish expelled him back into the shore

Nineveh repented, and saved but that made Jonah sad and depressed. God healed him and taught him a lesson.

Many lessons can be learned from the book of Jonah but the important one is the similarities between it and the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, but with great difference. Jonah suffered because of his disobedience; however our Lord suffered because of His obedience to save us from eternal suffering.

Structure:

Chapter 1: Jonah’s call and his disobedience

Chapter 2: Jonah’s distress in the belly of the fish

Chapter 3: the prophet preached Nineveh with city repentance as the result

Chapter 4: Jonah’s displeasure because of God’s withholding His judgement.