The Great Parable
Jonah’s anger emerged after the 40 days had expired. He had spent that time preaching impending doom throughout the Assyrian heartlands and the fact that central Assyria was not destroyed evidently comes as a shock to him. The Hebrew (4:1) is emphatic.1
“displeased” –…
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The Great Fish
In chapter 2, the record returns to follow Jonah’s plight and most of the events described would have occupied about 3-5 minutes. On the surface, newly converted sailors are making sacrifice and vows to their new God. Beneath the surface, Jonah desperately utters a vow too, hav…
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The great storm
Little is revealed about Jonah in Scripture outside the book that bears his name and the historical accounts and inferences meagrely scattered throughout the record. Jonah means ‘a dove’ and his father, Amittai, means ‘truth.’ He is ‘a dove, the son of truth’ and this …
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Background
Many of us would have pictured Jonah as a somewhat sulky individual known for hating gentiles and famous for trying to run away from God and being swallowed by a whale. We aim to show this is an entirely incorrect view of both the man and his character – of those four att…
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Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
In this record we see Jonah at his best. In direst peril, facing what seems sure to be certain death, the real depth of his character emerges. We see him as he is. There is no one to impress, no false face to put on. And he is presented before our gaze as a man…
Having been found asleep, Jonah must now endure a very public scrutiny. No longer can he travel incognito; there must be a full disclosure of his background, identity and role. Jonah’s bold, though belated declaration fills the sailors with fear. And his suggestion that he must be sacrificed to en…
The Flight and the Storm Read More »
Jonah’s anger at the Ninevite response to the Word emboldens him to the point where he presumes to remonstrate with his God. He takes up station outside the city where through the triple miracle of gourd, worm and east wind Yahweh teaches him that his own devices and his own thinking are quite…
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The book of the prophet Jonah may be brief but it is packed with incident and drama. This first chapter sets the scene as the prophet receives a commission from his God that he can scarcely believe and will not obey. He sets out to flee; not for his own life, but as he perceives it, for the national…
In this issue we commence a new study on the prophet Jonah. The numerous New Testament allusions to the prophet from the mouth of our Lord shows how important the message of this small but powerful prophet is. We would encourage readers to reduce the script and mark up their Bibles accordingly. In t…
The story of Jonah is a masterpiece of brevity. Its few verses reward the reader with vivid human drama and suspense; with passionate prayer; with faith and defiance. But above even these things it favours us with an intriguing insight into the mind of a man who is at once an erudite scholar, a love…
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