Bible Overview: Jonah

Introduction: Minor Prophets

How many Minor Prophets are there? (12)

We will deal with them in chronological order the best we can.

Prophecies during the divided Kingdom (931 B.C. - 722 B.C.): Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah

Prophecies during the single Kingdom of Judah (722 B.C. - 586 B.C.): Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk

Prophecies during the exile in Babylon (605 B.C. - 536 B.C.): Obadiah?

Prophecies after the return of the exiles (536 B.C. - 400 B.C.): Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Unknown: Joel (beginning or end likely?)

Author: Jonah son of Amittai (1:1)

· Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 14:25) during the reign of Jeroboam II (very prosperous king)

2 Kings 14:25 ESV

He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

Date: 780 B.C.

Jeroboam II reigned from 793-753 B.C., so the events of Jonah happened sometime during that period.

This makes Jonah one of the first (if not the first) prophets of the Minor Prophets.

Purpose: to reveal that God’s grace and mercy is for the Gentiles also

The Jews were very jealous of their covenant relationship with God and didn’t want to share God with anyone else. But God had revealed since the time of Abraham that his desire was to bless all nations through Abraham and his descendants. But Jonah was apparently caught up with this nationalistic zeal.

Contrasts: Jonah vs. Sailors, Jonah vs. Ninevites

Theme: The sovereignty and mercy of God

Key Verses:

Jonah 1:1–2 ESV

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Jonah 1:4 ESV

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

Jonah 1:17 ESV

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:10 ESV

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Jonah 3:1–2 ESV

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”

Jonah 3:10 ESV

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 4:2 ESV

And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah 4:6–8 ESV

Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:11 ESV

And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Outline:

1. Jonah’s Mission to Nineveh

2. Jonah’s Disobedience and Consequences

3. Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance

4. Jonah’s Second Chance and Successful Preaching

5. Jonah’s Anger at God’s Mercy and God’s Response

Spiritual Application of Jonah

· God is free to act in mercy when he wants to. We must not discriminate when offering the gospel.

· God is merciful in giving us second chances.

· God rules over all creation (he is sovereign) and can do anything he wants to.

· God is omnipresent. We cannot run away from him or go somewhere that he is not.