Jonah

Write one paragraph explaining the historical background and purpose of the prophet.

      I believe Jonah was the author of this book. Mostly, because of the intimate moments with God he has with God that shows his defiant heart so well. It's very revealing of his character and we never really see him turn from his bitterness (4:9-10). It just seems that only Jonah would have been comfortable writing that about himself. Anyone else may have not wanted to talk about him like this after he died. We know his father was Amittai (1:1). The only passage I found to place Jonah was found in II Kings 14:25. He lived in the time of king Jeroboam II of Israel and kings Uzziah and Ammaziah of Judah and was a prophet to Israel and the Assyrian city of Nineveh. Some of the main themes found in Jonah are mercy and compassion as God has mercy for Jonah and the city of Nineveh (3:1, 3:10). Obedience and repentance are two other main themes in the book of Jonah. I think the purpose of this book is to show that God's love and mercy go beyond Israel and Judah, and God showed what He wanted His people to do when warning came through the prophets. He wanted repentance, humility, and a change of heart.

What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

      God is in control of the wind and the waves. All of creation is under his authority (1:4). God shows His ability to work everything out for God, even through man's disobedience. The men in the boat worship God because they see His great power displayed in the calming of the sea (1:16). Salvation comes from the Lord alone. Of course Jonah is talking about his physical salvation from the whale, but we know that it goes beyond just a physical salvation (2:9). God's mercy and compassion is displayed as he rescues Jonah from the whale and speaks to him a second time to do the thing Jonah refused to do (2:10-3:2). We also see God display these characteristics as He holds back his rage from Nineveh, because of their change of hearts (3:10). Jonah, through bitterness and anger shares about God's character as well. He says, you are merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people” (4:2).

What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?

      To the original reader this book gives a very unique look at God's redemptive plan. God works a little outside the box as He uses Jonah to reach the Assyrians. These people were the worst of the worst but yet God chooses to hold back His judgment, because of their humility in repentance. God forgave the worst of the worst humans on earth. They would have been shocked that God would have compassion on them, but God was simply showing them how they too could be spared from God's judgment.

In Mat 12:40 Jesus refers to Jonah and compares his three days and three nights in the belly of a whale to the three days and three nights Jesus would spend in the heart of the earth. Jonah could be called a type of Christ. I don't want to go too deep into the comparison, but Jesus himself makes a parallel between himself and Jonah. I think there's something there, but only for Jesus to compare and show that He is greater than Jonah who preached a simple message and saw a city repent.