Book of Jonah
Even non-Christians have heard about the story of Jonah and the whale. Usually non-Christians just think it’s a fantasy story that you can ignore. However, we know Jonah was a real person, and this is not just an allegory or a fantasy. Jonah shows up in 2Kings14 and also Jesus talked about him as a real person in the NT.
Jonah was a suspect prophet. In 2 Kings 14:23-25 he made a prophecy that God’s favor was with Jeroboam II, however, Amos in Amos 7:10-17 says God reversed his prophecy ends up saying the opposite and contradicting Jonah would lose territory because he was horrible. So in Jonah’s time it did come true but later in Amos’ time his prophecy came true so it’s a little weird but it’s just a timing thing each came true in their own time revealing different sides of God’s character.
Matthew and Luke have Jesus saying that Jonah is a sign for a wicked and adulterous generation. So we know Jonah relates to Jesus - however, when you read it, you sort of realize In some ways Jonah is a symbol and in other ways Jonah is almost like the direct opposite of Jesus. The whole book of Jonah is like a “subvert your expectations” book!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bartley - actually swallowed by a whale for two days - found after two days alive - was white and shriveled and blind from the gastric juices! Don’t know if it’s true and there seems to be some doubt but interesting if true. Regardless, God can do anything even if this may or may not be plausible.
The Ninevites were evil Assyrians who were barbaric brutal wicked killers and were notoriously known for being ruthless brutal killers, and other unspeakable crimes. (Nahum 3:1-7) Are such people worth saving? God says he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them: ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?’
Chapter 1
God called Jonah to cry out against the wicked Ninevites.
Jonah noped out of there, found a boat, and went the other way to Tarshish! (I think Tarshish just means “far away land”, some say it’s like Spain - so far on the other side of the Mediterranean. (Jesus did what the Father asked) (Sing the Gilligan's theme song? - A three hour tour… The weather started getting rough… )
As the storm raged Jonah was asleep? How do you do that?
The sailors drew lots to find out who was at fault and it fell on Jonah! I don’t put faith in lots but in this case, it was probably a divine miracle, not just a coincidence. They didn’t want to but they threw Jonah overboard, and behold the storm went calm!
Jonah sort of would rather die than prophecy to the Ninevites! Weird.
Jesus also slept during a storm, but then woke and said Peace be still! - sort of similar.
Now this part is sort of weird. We know Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. In the book of Matthew, Jesus calls it a monster. What was it? Who knows, but God can do anything. It doesn’t have to be anything we know about, God could have created this kaiju just for this purpose.
3 days and 3 nights is specific and Matthew and Luke record Jesus saying that it’s a sign and we know that it corresponds to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Some people say this is literal 72 hours and some say any part of it can be counted as a day, and that’s why you have some people say Good Friday, some Good Thursday, and some Good Wednesday as they were all some sort of high day so it’s hard to know for sure but most people say Friday so we sort of go with that.
Matthew 12:40
for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
Chapter 2
This is a weird chapter as it is Jonah’s prayer during the 3 days and 3 nights.
It almost sounds like Jonah died (depth of Sheol) but then it sounds like he didn’t and no one seems to know for sure. If nothing else it more relates to Jesus’ burial. The seaweed on his head might be a symbolism of Jesus’ burial clothes?
Anyway, it’s sort of a prayer of repentance and sort of not - still a weird prayer for a prophet of God - but he appears to commit to God.
So he gets vomited up onto the dry land. That has to be humiliating.
It’s said that stomach acid would have done a number on his skin and if so he would have been in pain. Nothing is said of that so it may not have been the case and it would have been hard for him to survive in stomach acid for three days so this fish thing - who knows its anatomy?
If he did he would have been shriveled and ashen white and looked rather peculiar and ghastly!
If you’re not where God wants you to be, he may intercede to bring you back! … and it won’t be pleasant (chastised)!
Chapter 3
God again tells Jonah to proclaim to Nineveh.
From Joppa to Nineveh is about 600 miles. That would have taken him at a man's pace about 40 days to get there.
Nineveh was big and it would take 3 days to walk from one side to the other (big).
On the first day, he does the minimum and just says in 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown (nothing about God, nothing about why, just overthrown). It’s like Jonah didn’t want them to believe it and repent.
But they believe and repent anyway. Even the king makes a decree to repent - don’t eat or drink and is covered in sackcloth and stop violence and comically even wants the animals to not earth and to be covered in sackcloth!
God saw it and relented! So Nineveh was saved!
Chapter 4
Jonah, griped to God, that he knew God would have mercy on them and was angry about that and that’s the initial reason he went the other way! He was upset that God cared and had compassion! And because of this he wanted to die!
God made a little vine to shade Jonah, which he liked, then made a worm which killed the plant, which he was mad about and then again wanted to die!
God called out Jonah for having more compassion for the plant than for the people of Nineveh who were more valuable than a plant.
—-------- Thoughts
If one of your children acted like Jonah, how would you react? Would you have reacted the same as God did?
Jonah is sort of a “subvert your expectations” kind of book. Many things are upside down and backwards to what you would expect! Maybe the book of Jonah makes us reflect on ourselves and our hypocrisy as Christians?:
Jonah, a prophet, you expect should be goodie two shoes but instead he seems mean, callous and rebellious. He does the opposite of what you think a prophet should do! (Do you think Christians should be mean, callous and rebellious? Some are! Break out of that!)
God calls Jonah to prophecy to Nineveh, and instead does the opposite and runs away. (If God called you to do something would you do it? He’s called us to share God’s love to others!)
The sailors, who you think should be disreputable, actually seem more compassionate, not wanting to hurt Jonah even at their own peril, wanting to do good and right more than Jonah does. (Would you expect sailors to be upstanding citizens? Sometimes the lost are nicer than come Christians? Sadly!)
The king of Nineveh, who you think should be evil and wicked, actually calls for repentance and turning to God! (Would you expect the king of a wicked nation to repent or double-down?)
Jonah may have been a narrow nationalist - only wanting redemption for Israel but not other nations! (Salvation seems to be given to the Gentiles partly because of this - they wouldn’t share God’s Word and love. The Jews really hated the Gentiles! They believed they were God’s chosen people because of heritage (we know that’s not really true - God can make Children of Abraham from the rocks paraphrased Matthew 3:9). Aren’t we all God’s children? Do we just preach and share God's love to people we like or to all peoples?)
Jonah many times would rather just die than face reality that God cares for His enemies! (Is that how a Christian and Man of God should be?) (He purposefully didn’t want them to repent even though that’s the wanted outcome by God - even for all of us to come to repentance!)
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
Jonah was bitter that God loved his enemies! (Wasn’t he once God’s enemy? Weren’t we once God’s enemy? How can you be angry that God wants everyone to not to be his enemies but His beloved?)
Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—
Jonah wanted love and forgiveness but didn’t want that for Nineveh too? Sick!
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
We like to think of ourselves as not-sinners, but we are all just sinners who have received mercy. Paul acknowledged that he was the chiefest of sinners. If we are honest with ourselves we are all bad sinners. Thankfully God loved us even while we were yet sinners, enough to save us. Even the worst sinners, God cares about, and are worth saving and we should be happy to do God’s will and reach out to even the worst sinners. To some that seems counter intuitive but the more you think about it the more it makes sense. We were once those people too and we’re glad that God reached out to us and changed us! God gave us a second chance. And He wants to give everyone that second chance, not just people we like.
We know that Nineveh went back to being evil and eventually was destroyed. However, for a time, they repented and perhaps some were saved. Same with our world. We can’t save everyone but perhaps we can snatch a few from the fire before it’s too late!
