The Word of the LORD came to Jonah:
Go to Nineveh and Preach Against It
1: 1-2

The word of the LORD came to Jonah: go to Nineveh and preach against it DIG: What else do we know about Jonah from the TaNaKh? What seems both fitting and surprising about God’s command? What do you think might have been some of the comforts Yonah had to leave behind in Isra’el to follow the LORD’s instructions? Where do we first hear about Nineveh? What is unusual about the name of the city? What kind of a place was Nineveh? What kind of people were the Ninevites? Why might the reluctant prophet not want to preach to those wicked people?

REFLECT: What are some of your life goals that you’ve yet to see become a reality? Has God interrupted your life and seemingly tampered with those goals? How did you respond? Do you trust YHVH with the big decisions in your life? Do you think ADONAI will call you to a life of joy and fulfillment, or a life of rules and misery? Are you always convinced that He has your best interests at heart? Sometimes HaShem sends us into a hopeless place because its there that He can demonstrate His power. Have you felt hopeless lately? Do you have a Nineveh assignment? Did you grow up with a hatred or fear of any group of people? What doesn’t seem to make sense about something God is asking of you right now?

The book of Jonah may be divided into seven scenes. Each scene begins with a short description, then a commentary on that scene, and finally there is a reflection on what the scene as a whole says about God.

Short description of scene one: The story gets off to a fast start in 1:1-3. Scene I introducers the characters (ADONAI, Jonah, the people of Nineveh), gives the locations (Nineveh, Tarshish, Joppa, a ship), sets the tension for the story (What will happen to Jonah and to Nineveh?), and starts the action, as Jonah attempts to run away from the presence of God. The fact that the word Tarshish is mentioned three times in 1: 1-3, and that the phrase: intending to run away from God is mentioned two times, highlight the point of the scene.¹⁸

Commentary on scene one: Now the word of YHVH came to Yonah ben-Amittai, which means my true one (1:1). The first word in the book of Jonah in Hebrew is wayehi, “and it happened,” here translated, Now . . . came. This is a typical biblical introduction to a narrative: the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, Esther, Nehemiah (1:1b), and Ezekiel all begin in this way. It signals that what follows will be a story.

When the word of God came to Jonah nothing could ever be the same again for him. The word of God didn’t merely instruct him, it enlisted him. Calling is God’s initiative, God’s choice, God’s purpose, God’s instrument, and even God’s witness. Calling and election are not for our amusement or edification, still less our pride, but primarily for God’s purpose. Once the word came, Jonah had to move – the reluctant recruit. Yonah now had faith and a calling, and he didn’t welcome the combination; suddenly infinitely more is demanded of him. Once he was called in this way, whether in disobedience or reluctant obedience, he can’t help but be as salt in the world (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Df – You are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World) – an agent of saving transformation. And the hardest of all, he had to be transformed himself, even dying in the process. As with many other prophets, each has their own excuse, but eventually each says: Here I am. Send me (Isaiah 6:8b NLT). It just took a little longer in the case of Yonah (3:1).¹⁹

Jonah means dove (Genesis 8:8-12; Song of Songs 1:15, etc). Since names taken from animals are not unusual in Hebrew, there need not be any special significance to the name. For example in Hosea 7:11 a dove symbolizes Isra’el.

Jonah son of Amittai (Hebrew: meaning truthful) identifies the main character of the book. This was not the first time the spoken word of God had come to Jonah, for he had already received direct revelation from ADONAI by his prophecy that Jeroboam would expand the borders of Isra’el. That was a near historical prophecy, which was fulfilled shortly after it was given and authenticated Yonah’s prophetic office and calling. Because he was identified with the Jonah of Second Kings 14:25, he was believed to belong to the tribe of Zebulun west of the sea of Galilee (Joshua 19:10 and 13), near the present site of Nazareth.²⁰ This region later became known as Galilee and was in King Herod’s tetrarchy during the time of Messiah. So he would have been a familiar figure to the original readers of his book. Yonah was a contemporary of the prophets Amos and Hosea. Now, after a rather successful and positive ministry in the northern Kingdom of Isra’el, Jonah again received a prophetic message from HaShem, but this time it was of a different nature.

God interrupted Jonah’s life when He said to him, “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it” (1:2a). Get up is the disturbing instruction that Yonah had to obey. He had no option to stay put, whether he obeyed with ready feet or whether there were heel marks in the carpet. But the destination was appalling – Nineveh. Notice that God didn’t change what He wanted Jonah to do. He had been a prophet to Isra’el; now he was being called to be a prophet to Nineveh. The LORD just altered where and to whom His message was sent. The adjective great normally applied to size, but in this case it applied to the status of the city as a royal capital. That ancient city was notorious for being one of the most godless cities in the ancient world. We can only speculate about the details of how Nineveh affected Jonah, but Isra’el had been brutalized by her archenemy. Nineveh was also a long way away and Jonah was asked to go alone to the Assyrian triangle of three cities of about 600,000 people surrounding, and including Nineveh. Basically, He was asked to walk into the lion’s den. He was asked to be a light piercing the darkness, sacrificing his status, wealth, comfort, security and very possibly his very life for what? The Ninevites?

Since the kingdom of Assyria is prominent in Jonah’s record, we need to review a little of its history and its situation at the time of Yonah. According to the biblical record, one of Shem’s sons was Asshur, and the name Assyria undoubtedly comes from him (Genesis 10:22). It is reasonable to assume that he founded the city of Asshur, which (although it is never mentioned in the Bible) was the first capital of Assyria. Thus, Assur was the founder of Assyria, and the nation is occasionally called Asshur (Hosea 14:3). Assur was also later deified as Assyrian’s chief God.

Nineveh is first mentioned in Genesis 10:11, where it is said of Nimrod that he went into Assyria and built Nineveh. It is on the east bank of the Tigris River (near Al Mawsil or Mosul), about 550 miles northeast of Jerusalem by air, or about 220 miles north of Baghdad. The expression, the great city of Nineveh, designates not only the walled city itself, but also the surrounding region and could be translated greater Nineveh.²¹ There was the walled city of Nineveh, and then a triangle of three other cities that served as its greater suburbs: Rehoboth Ir, Calah (twenty-five miles to the south) and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah – which is the great city (Genesis 10:12). The opening and closing words of the book call to mind the picture of a far-off, sprawling metropolis of ancient times.²²

Nineveh was a place of hopelessness. He was to go there and tell the people that they were destined for destruction within forty days after Jonah began preaching to them because their evil had come to God’s attention, literally, before My face (1:2b CJB). The Hebrew word evil has the double sense of wickedness and calamity. In the Hebrew mind the two were closely linked. The Assyrian people subjugated other nations with unusual ferocity and cruelty. However, ADONAI took note of Nineveh’s wickedness and now Jonah was commissioned to preach against the great city. All that happened in Nineveh, and by inference in every other place also, rises up and comes to God’s attention.

The Assyrian king acknowledged that his people’s ways were evil and characterized by violence (Jonah 3:8). They were carefree (Zephaniah 2:15) thinking themselves invincible. The prophet Nahum wrote about several of their crimes (Nahum 3:1, 4 and 16). Nineveh was well known in the ancient near East for the brutal atrocities it inflicted on its captives. For example, writing of one of his conquests, Ashurnasirpal (883-859 BC) boasted, “I stormed the mountain peaks, and took them. In the midst of the mighty mountains I slaughtered them; with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool . . . The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I formed them into a pillar over their city; their young men and their maidens I burned in the fire.” Regarding one captured leader, he wrote, “I flayed him, his skin I spread upon the wall of the city.” He also wrote of mutilating the bodies of live captives and stacking their corpses in piles.

Shalmaneser II (859-824 BC) boasted of his cruelties after one of his campaigns, “A pyramid of heads I reared in front of his city. Their youths and their maidens I burnt up in the flames.” Another Assyrian king, Sennacherib (705-681 BC) wrote of his enemies, “I cut their throats like lambs. I cut off their precious lives as one cuts a string. Like the many waters of a storm I made the contents of their gullets and entrails run down upon the wide earth. Their hands I cut off.”

Esarhaddon (681- 669 BC) was even more boastful when he said, “I am powerful, I am all powerful, I am a hero, I am gigantic, I am colossal, I am honored, I am magnified, I am without equal among all kings, the chosen one of Asshur, Nabu, and Marduk.”

Ashurbanipal II (669-626 BC) described his treatment of a captured leader in these words, “I pierced his chin with my keen hand dagger. Through his jaw . . . I passed a rope, put a dog chain upon him and made him occupy a kennel.” In his campaign against Egypt, Ashurbanipal also boasted that his officials hung Egyptian corpses “on stakes and stripped off their skins and covered the city wall with them.” No wonder Nahum called Nineveh the city of blood (Nahum 3:1), a city noted for its cruelty (Nahum 3:19). Ashurbanipal was egotistical, saying, “I am Ashurbanipal, the great [king], the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, the great gods . . . magnify my name, they made my rule powerful.”

The city was also known for its gross idolatry. It had temples dedicated to the gods Nabu and Adad, and the Ninevites worshiped Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. The religion of Assyria was Babylonian in origin but in Assyria the national god was Assur, whose high priest and representative was the king.

After Jonah’s day, Nineveh became the capital of the Assyrian empire under Sennacherib (705-681 BC), the successor of Sargon II (722-705 BC) who destroyed the northern kingdom of Isra’el. It soon became the most powerful city in the ancient Near East. But the Assyrians had become relentless and persistent in their sins. The city of Nineveh fell to the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians in August of 612 BC.²³

We all have things we want to accomplish in our lives – our life goals. But sometimes life gets in the way. My wife had worked many, many years as a nurse with a Bachelors of Science degree. One of her life goals was to earn a Masters of Science degree. Near the end of her nursing career she was enrolled in a Masters program and was at the top of her class (she is ten times smarter than I am). For a variety of health and financial reasons, she needed to complete her degree within that certain window of opportunity. But her mother became very ill and she had to seek the Lord for a decision to either finish her Masters program or take care of her mother. Unlike Jonah, she obeyed the Lord and took care of her mother. But her life was interrupted, and humanly speaking she felt frustrated.

You know the feeling don’t you? The overwhelming frustration that washes over you when you are derailed off your chosen course for just one day, let alone your life goal. The fog of life’s journey can clog our spiritual insight and the fear of the unknown can stop us dead in our spiritual tracks. We planned one thing, and yet our current situation looks nothing like what we had in mind. Sometimes we might even feel that God has tampered with our ambitions, goals, and dreams. The yellow-brick road of our lives veered off in some unexpected direction.

But YHVH graciously gives divine interruptions to His children. He presents us with an opportunity to partner with Him in purposes we could never imagine. A life interrupted by the Lord is a privilege (easier said than done). We must internalize this principle in order to live a life that accomplishes God’s will. He doesn’t need us to complete His purposes, yet He still chooses to ask us to partner with Him. Is that mindboggling or what? His calling means that He has chosen you above everyone else to do what He is asking. You are the one He singled out and appointed as His partner for that particular ministry opportunity.

Some changes we’re delighted with. Others disappoint us and leave us buried in questions. Without a firm belief in the goodness and the care of ADONAI, we can spend years mad at ourselves, mad at others, or even mad at God because we didn’t get to accomplish what we originally set out to do. The importance and priority we’ve placed on our plans cause us to frown on new assignments the Lord may send our way. What other challenges might you face that will make it difficult for you to see God’s interruptions in a positive light?²⁴

Dear Heavenly Father, How wonderful You are! Praise You for Your great love for all the world, so they may know, from the rising to the setting of the sun, that there is no one besides Me. I am ADONAI – there is no other (Isaiah 45:6). You are an awesome father! For you are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua.  For all of you who were immersed in Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:26-28). We desire to please You by our loving obedience even when You break into our lives with instructions that upset what we want to do, for we know that You love us and You know and want what is best for us. We look forward to praising Your great name in heaven for all eternity. In Yeshua’sholy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Jonah Flees from the LORD
1: 1-16

The first chapter of Yonah introduces the larger theme of life and death. It addresses the life and death of the wicked Ninevites, against whom Jonah was sent to preach, and the life and death of the pagan sailors, whose ship is threatened to break up in the storm. At its center is the life and death of Jonah, who is thrown into a raging sea and is swallowed by a whale. Yonah’s struggle for life before ADONAI will be partially resolved in his prayer of thanksgiving in chapter two, and later, in his conversation with YHVH in chapter four. The resolution of the Ninevites’ struggle is resolved by Jonah’s preaching, their repentance and God’s compassion in chapter three.

Chapter one only resolves the life and death struggle of the sailors. Their terror in the midst of the storm has them frantically searching for a way to survive. Yonah’s reluctant confession to them in the midst of their distress and his willingness to be tossed overboard into the sea eventually result in the calming of the storm. His words also inadvertently result in the sailors’ conversion to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Even in reluctance and in the face of his certain death by drowning, Jonah fulfills HaShem’s call on his life by his witness to faith. Yonah testifies that ADONAI is the source of life and he later proclaims that being separated from His presence is the same as death.¹⁶ So the story of a reluctant prophet teaches us how no one is beyond the reach of God’s hand. Just as Jonah’s attempt to escape the divine intervention of ADONAI proved unsuccessful, we, too, are incapable of eluding His grasp.

I am Jonah.
I want to serve God . . . as long as it’s convenient.
I desire to do His will . . . until it’s a tad uncomfortable.
I want to hear His Word . . . as long as its message is one I’m supposed to give to others.
I don’t want to have my plans interrupted.
Oh yes. I am Jonah, and I suspect that in one way or another, you are too.¹⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your love that was willing to be our sin sacrifice (First Corinthians 5:21), even when it was not convenient for You and cost You incredible pain and suffering. Praise You that You never leave us alone (Hebrews 13:5) but have given You Ruach ha-Kodesh to live in us to help, comfort and to guide us. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper so He may be with you forever –  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17). We love You and are willing to serve You wherever Youask. In the Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Jonah’s Good News

The prophetic good news of Jonah is found in learning how God thinks. ADONAI reveals how He thinks about the ignorant wicked, repentance as a means of salvation, and the discomfort of His disagreeable chosen prophet. Interpreters have divided opinions about Jonah’s theological contribution. Is the Good News of Jonah only found in God’s viewpoint (everyone gets second chances, the repentant wicked are forgiven, and God is patiently logical with His disgruntled prophet)? Is Yonah only a flat figure who is disgruntled, disobedient and angry? Some see him as a comic figure, who, among other things, thinks he can successfully run away from HaShem. In this view, he is not a proper prophet who speaks on behalf of the Almighty because most of his words and actions are rebellious.

Nevertheless, Jonah is a mouthpiece for God’s word in the midst of his dispute with God. He is disobedient, runs away from ADONAI, and is angry about God’s clemency for the violent Ninevites. But his rebellion is grounded in God’s Word as he has learned it and as it is proclaimed in the Bible. The wicked will perish. High-handed rebellion will not be pardoned, even in repentance (Numbers 15:27-31). Jonah’s opinion concerning Nineveh, far from being rebellious, represents a major opinion that is a necessary part of any dialogue with God about wickedness in the world. Until Jonah’s dialogue with God, the prophet’s opinion about the wicked was known as God’s way in the world.

Jonah is a true prophet voicing a true theology. In this sense he is not rebellious. Jonah is being faithful to what he knows to be God’s word of strict justice when the LORD asked him to disregard that word with a new word. God’s new word is a controversial word even among believers today. Jonah’s questions and actions in reaction to this new word are faithful to the word from YHVH that he previously received. Jonah the prophet and Jonah the book faithfully struggle with this difficult question: “What should be done about the violently wicked who repent?” This is an even more difficult question than the early church’s struggle to understand how righteous Gentiles, like Cornelius in Acts 10, could receive the LORD’s grace and Holy Spirit.

Jonah is a faithful prophet because he is true to speaking God’s word of justice as he had known it, even to God Himself. When he is convinced by his resurrection from the dead that God was determined to extend His forgiveness to the previously unforgivable, he goes and preaches the word to Nineveh. Although reluctantly . . . he finished his commission. Like Abraham, Moses and Jeremiah, he protested to ADONAI in chapter 4 when the Ninevites repented. Yonah demonstrated his integrity in representing traditional justice, and by preaching to Nineveh. Jonah’s protest provides an occasion for God’s revelation of a better justice (4:10-11) in the context of the life of a true and honest man. The Good News is that Jonah’s struggle is accepted by God as a legitimate human struggle to understand the continuance of wickedness in the world.¹⁵

Jonah’s Message

Jonah’s mission to Nineveh was addressed to Isra’el. The book was written not simply to record a historical narrative; in addition, it conveyed a message to the northern kingdom of Isra’el. In one sense Yonah is not the principal person in the book . . . ADONAI is. The LORD had the first word (1:1-2) and the last word (4:11). God commanded the prophet twice (1:2 and 3:2). He sent a violent storm on the sea (1:4). He provided a whale to rescue Yonah (1:17). HaShem commanded the whale to vomit Yonah onto dry land (2:10). God threatened Nineveh with judgment and relented in compassion (3:10). God provided a plant to shade His prophet (4:6). The LORD commissioned a worm to destroy the plant (4:7), and He sent a scorching wind to discomfort Jonah (4:8).

The book of Jonah contains only forty-eight verses. But in many ways the book is a microcosm of God’s relationship to the whole of His creation. Although the narrative is sometimes melodramatic, it covers serious subject matter. What then is the message God was seeking to deliver to Isra’el through His dealings with Jonah, the Ninevites, and natural phenomena like the sea, animal life, plant life and the wind?

First, one apparent message to Isra’el was God’s concern for the goyim, the Gentile nations. The Lord’s love for the souls of all peoples was supposed to be mediated through Isra’el, God’s elect and covenant nation (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Dt – I Will Bless Those Who Bless You, and Curse Those Who You Curse). Through Isra’el the blessing of His compassion was to be preached to the nations (see my commentary on Isaiah In – He Made My Mouth like a Sharpened Sword). In other words, the book of Jonah was a reminder to the northern kingdom of Isra’el of her missionary purpose.

Second, the book demonstrates the sovereignty of God in accomplishing His purposes. Though the northern kingdom of Isra’el was unfaithful to its missionary task, God was faithful in causing His love to be proclaimed. In praise to ADONAI for raising him from the dead, Jonah proclaimed: Salvation comes from the LORD (2:9). Isra’el failed to proclaim God’s grace and mercy, but His work gets done in spite of human weakness and imperfection.

Third, the response of the Gentiles served as a message of rebuke to God’s sinful nation of Isra’el. The spiritual insight of the sailors (1:14-16) and their concern for the Jewish prophet contrast starkly with Israel’s lack of concern for the Gentile nations around her. Yonah’s spiritual hardness illustrated and rebuked Israel’s callousness. In addition, Nineveh’s repentance contrasted sharply with Israel’s rejection of the warnings of Jonah’s contemporaries Hosea and Amos.

Fourth, Yonah was a symbol to Isra’el of her disobedience to God and indifference to the religious plight of other nations. Hosea, Jonah’s contemporary, graphically portrayed the unending love of God for His people by loving a prostitute (who was a symbol of Israel’s religious waywardness). Similarly Jonah symbolized Isra’el by his disobedience and disaffection. The LORD’s punishment of Yonah shows His wrath on Isra’el. Yet ADONAI’s gentle miraculous dealings with Yonah also picture His tender love and slowness of anger with her. As Jonah wrote the book from a repentant heart, God desired that the nation would heed the lesson that Jonah had learned and repent as Jonah and the Ninevites had done.¹⁴

The book of Jonah is a very short book, only four chapters and 48 verses in length. However, it is a most fascinating book, and one with an important message, not only for Yonah, but also for modern readers 2,600 years later.

Jonah’s and God’s Way in the World

Jonah had a variety of responses to God’s call on his life. The conversation between ADONAI and Yonah begins and ends with what ought to be done about the wicked and ignorant people in the great city of Nineveh (1:2 and 4:11). Jonah’s view of strict justice verses God’s desire to forgive even the most heinous sinners is the subject of the debate. Yonah’s last substantive argument summarizes his perspective: That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity (Jonah 4:2b, also see Joel 2:13). Jonah doesn’t like it, but God insists on it.

Common sense seems to be in Jonah’s favor. The Assyrians were the bullies on the block and they needed to be taught a lesson. Yonah’s view of strict justice would say, “What goes around comes around.” When the bully says, “I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again,” our human nature is not impressed. Most people still believe that the wicked should pay the consequences for their crimes, not have the consequences removed through forgiveness. As long as a violent threat exists, it constitutes a present danger.

Yonah learned through a series of personal experiences that God’s compassion and clemency were not weakness in God’s justice, but were better justice than our human nature would dictate. Jonah personally felt the weight of ADONAI’s judgment in the storm at sea. He experienced his own false moral superiority (to God’s) in being willing to die for his position while sinking beneath the waves. He died and was resurrected. Then he realized the value of God’s better justice when it was directed at him. By Yonah’s own standards, he knew he deserved to die for his rebellion. But he was taught that his own purposeful rebellion as well as Nineveh’s ignorant rebellion both required God’s intervention.

The reluctant prophet became angry again at the Ninevites’ escape from death. In realizing the needs and longings of his own humanity, Yonah points out all creation’s basic reliance on God’s forgiveness to temper strict justice and grant grace, or undeserved deliverance. The book’s special contribution to the canon of Scripture can be seen in God’s question: And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and also many animals’ (4:11)? God’s concern is for the part of His creation that is ignorant of His ways and yet responsible for their actions.¹²

1. The book of Jonah asserts that God has created, controls and cares for the natural world. Jonah’s confession at the midpoint of the storm in 1:9 speaks of God’s work in making the sea and the dry land, that is, of making all that exists. It is clear that ADONAI has not retired from the scene after creating the heavens and the earth. God controls the macro and the micro creatures and the forces of nature. The story begins with the LORD hurling a great wind on the sea (1:4), and ends as ADONAI again sends a scorching east wind, this time directed at Yonah (4:8). HaShem appoints a great sperm whale (1:17), but also a tiny worm and a plant (4:6-7). God’s care for His creatures is movingly expressed in the last words of the book: and also many animals’ (4:11). The animals had also taken part in Nineveh’s repentance (3:7-8). The planet does not exist for our sake alone, God is also concerned about the animals.

2. Alongside these assertions of God’s creating and sustaining work in nature, Jonah’s prayer testifies that God rescues those who call upon Him in times of trouble. Yonah, having been swallowed by the sperm whale, tells us of his experience. Three statements speak about God’s saving ability: In my distress I called to ADONAI, and He answered me (2:2a) . . . When my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD (2:7a) . . . Salvation comes from ADONAI (2:9b). Taken together, these words of witness speak comfort to all believers who are experiencing distress, whose lives are slipping away. Jonah had experienced a resurrection from death. Here he tells others about that experience and speaks of ADONAI who rescues.

3. The book of Jonah testifies that God cares about all the people of the world. Jonah’s statement: I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity (Jonah 4:2b) is a typical biblical expression of God’s love for the people of Isra’el (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13). The only Israelite in this entire story is Yonah. God’s love for Isra’el is illustrated in His compassion, patience and love in dealing with this prophet. If the story had ended with 1:16, the point would have been clear: Do not try to run away from the LORD! God, however, continued to work with Jonah, putting up with his rebellion, resurrecting him, giving him a second chance to complete his missionary assignment to Nineveh, and patiently trying to teach him. The point is clear: like a parent’s love for a child, even a child who runs away, God’s love for one of God’s own people never gives up (Hosea 11).

These attributes of HaShem are seen in a new and nontraditional way in 4:2. God is described as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love – this time not toward the people of Isra’el but toward the people of Nineveh! God cares about the people of the world. One cannot miss the positive portrayal of the Gentiles in this story. The sailors along with their captain are men of virtue and action (1:5-6), decent human beings (1:12-14) who are eager to do the right thing in the eyes of God about whom they have heard little (1:14). They finally come to worship that God (1:16). After only a few words from the reluctant prophet about the corrupt state of their city the people of Nineveh and their king, even their animals, all repented and turned their life around (3:5). The story begins with God’s decision to send a prophet to this great, but wicked city and ends with His declaration of concern for its people and even for the animals that live there.

4. The story of Jonah makes clear that God may change His mind about punishment. When King Darius signed a decree, it could not be changed, even if the king himself wanted to grant amnesty (Daniel 6:8-15). God is not bound by any legal documents or pronouncements, even pronouncements ADONAI Himself has made! When a people repent, God may call off an announced disaster, even a disaster announced by a prophet. Will God always do this? The king of Nineveh is a good enough theologian to respond: Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (3:9). The story of Jonah illustrates the sayings of Jeremiah about the potter and the clay (Jeremiah 18:7-10).

5. The book of Jonah assumes that the LORD is the only true God. When writing his book, Jonah was aware of religious pluralism, describing the piety (1:5-6) and practices (1:7) of the Gentile sailors without judgment or comment. The sailors, however, are not left to try to find the one true God through their own religions but become believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The people of Nineveh also respond positively to his message. The book makes clear that ADONAI is the only true God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Psalm 31:6; Isaiah 44:9-20 and 45:5-6) with the declaration that those who worship worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them (2:8). This suggests that slipping over into the worship of worthless idols must have been a real temptation for those first hearers of the story of Jonah.

6. The story of Jonah indicates that those who experience the LORD’s deliverance are invited to respond in thanksgiving, witness, and praise. There is a pattern to the story. The sailors are in distress, are delivered, and then respond by worshiping ADONAI. Jonah drowns, is resurrected, and responds with words of witness, praise and acts of worship in his prayer. The story of Jonah not only pictures the God who creates, sustains and delivers, but also provides a model for the response of those who have experienced the LORD’s blessing and deliverance. The story invites both the people of God and the peoples of the world to join in with the song of praise emerging from the belly of the great whale.¹³

Jonah Among the Prophetic Books

It is not immediately apparent that the story of Jonah should be grouped with the prophetic books of the TaNaKh. Since the Jonah material is a story about a prophet rather than a collection of prophetic sayings, it could have fit well in the books of Kings, where there are a number of stories about prophets. In fact, many phrases from Jonah find their closest biblical parallels in the stories about Elijah (First Kings 17) and Elisha (Second Kings 9). An account involving a sperm whale (and a small worm) would not have been out of place there, since these narratives in Kings already tell of encounters between prophets and lions (First Kings 13:20-32 and 20:35-36), bears (Second Kings 2:23-25), ravens (First Kings 17:4-6), and a donkey (First Kings 13:20-32). The Jonah material could have been placed after the reference to Jonah son of Amittai in Second Kings 14:25. Or one could imagine the book of Jonah as part of the third section of the Hebrew canon, the Writings. As a short narrative about a memorable figure from Israel’s history, Jonah would also have fit well here, next to the books of Ruth and Esther.⁸

The biblical canon, however, has firmly positioned Jonah among the Book of the Twelve, and not the histories. This collection has existed alongside the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel at least since the time of the writing of Sirach in the second century BC. “May the bones of the Twelve Prophets send forth new life from where they lie, for they comforted the people of Jacob and delivered them with confident hope” (Sirach 49:10). A partially complete Hebrew text of Yonah was discovered at Wadi Murabba’at in the Dead Sea area in March of 1955 and was published in 1961 as Les grottes de Murabba’at, volume 2 of Discoveries in the Judean Desert. In both the Masoretic text and the Hebrew scroll of the twelve prophets found at Wadi Murabba’at, Jonah is the fifth of the prophets in the collection: Hosea. Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. In the Greek codices Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, Yonah is in sixth place. These Greek manuscripts begin the collection of the Twelve Prophets with Hosea, Amos, and Micah, linking these figures identified with the eighth century in their superscriptions, and then follow with Joel, Obadiah and Jonah; the last six books follow the Hebrew order. Jonah’s location in the context of the prophetic books in general and the book of the Twelve “minor prophets” in particular suggests four directions for the interpretation of the book.⁹

First, Jonah is the only prophetic book that is primarily a story about a prophet. Prophetic books are normally made up of words from God to the people through the prophet, words from the prophet to God (prayer), and biographical or autobiographical material about the prophet. The book of Jonah, however, is not a book of prophecies such as you might find, for example, in Isaiah. There are no oracles, detailed judgments or hopes. Where there are the familiar impassioned pleas, in this book, they are most significantly said by God and directed to Yonah. By contrast, Jonah’s prophecy of eight words is short indeed: Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown (3:4). But we should also note that although the book of Jonah is not really a book of prophecies, or a history book, it is most definitely a history of what it is like to be a prophet. Here, the relationship of God to the prophet and the prophet to God are intimately if ironically portrayed.¹⁰

Second, the linking of Jonah with Hosea, Amos and Micah in the Minor Prophets indicates that Jonah ought to be understood as a story about a person from the eighth century BC. Jonah’s link with that time is also evident from his identification as the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1 and Second Kings 14:23-27). The context within the canon and the reference to Second Kings both suggest that we need to understand the book in the context of the ancient Near Eastern world of the eighth century BC when Assyria was the rising world power, although not at her zenith, and Nineveh was a great city.

Third, in reading Jonah in the context of the prophetic books, we discover that Jonah is the only one of these prophets sent to proclaim a message to a foreign land. Other prophets delivered oracles concerning foreign nations (Amos 1-2; Obadiah; Nahum; Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-50; Ezekiel 25-32), but only Jonah is portrayed as walking down the streets of one of the major cities of the ancient world to deliver his message.

Finally, as we consider Jonah in the context of the biblical prophets we also discover that only Jonah needs to have his assignment from the LORD given to him a second time. The doubling of ADONAI’s directive suggests to the interpreter that this commission to carry out a mission in Nineveh was important, very important indeed.¹¹

Jonah’s Authenticity and Historicity

Although the majority of modern secular scholars prefer to view Jonah as fictional, this is a relatively recent development. Only in the past one hundred years has there been a marked departure from what was once the almost unanimous opinion that the events described actually occurred. The fact that generations and generations of scholars and writers were convinced that the author of Yonah did not intend to write fiction argues against the modern view that the form or style of the narrative conveys this very impression. Were these earlier generations completely blind to features that we are asked to believe are so obviously apparent? Did these earlier writers not live and study in an environment much closer to that of the author of Jonah than we do? And if so, would they not have been more attuned to the generic signals of an ancient narrative? With these factors in mind, we must surely expect good reasons for ignoring or rejecting the traditional interpretation of Yonah.⁵

Critical secular scholars with their anti-supernatural bias, have denied the authenticity of the Book of Jonah for five reasons. The rebuttal to these objections to the authenticity and historicity of Jonah will be in the text of the commentary and not here. First, critics scoff at the miracle of the great whale swallowing the reluctant prophet. Scholars, however, have demonstrated the validity of such an event (for example, A. J. Wilson, “Sign of the Prophet Jonah and Its Modern Confirmations,” Princeton Theological Review 25 October 1927, pages 630-642; George F. Howe, “Jonah and the Great Fish,” Biblical Research Monthly. January 1973, pages 6-8). Second, some “scholars” have questioned the size of Nineveh (3:3) and its population (4:11). Third, the reference to the king of Assyria as the king of Nineveh (3:6). Fourth, some reject the book of Yonah because of the sudden repentance of the Ninevites (3:5). And fifth, some scholars reject the authenticity of the book because of the rapid growth of the leafy plant (4:6).

Three main arguments support the historicity of the book. First, known cities are mentioned in the book, including Nineveh (1:2, 3:2-4 and 6-7, 4:11), Tarshish (1:3, 4:2) and Joppa (1:3). Second, Jonah is viewed as a historical person, not a fictional character. He was said to be a prophet from Gath Hepher (Second Kings 14:25) who lived in the reign of a historical person, Jeroboam II. Third, Yeshua recognized the historicity of Jonah (Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:29-30, 32), calling him a prophet (Matthew 12:39) and acknowledging his death and resurrection from inside the sperm whale (Matthew 12:40). In fact, Jesus based His call to repentance in His day on the validity of Yonah’s message of repentance (Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:29-32). If the story of Jonah is merely a parable such a literary form is extremely unusual and would be different from all the other prophetic books.⁶

However, the true root of the difficulty is the denial of the miraculous and the work of the Holy Spirit. Was the sign of Jonah not the death and resurrection of the Lord Yeshua Messiah? If we exclude the miraculous from our Bibles, how much do we have left? And more importantly, what kind of God do we have left? It is nothing less than shortsighted unbelief to think that the difficulty is solved by the removal of this miracle from the book of Jonah. The trusting child of God is not afraid of the miraculous. And more, this perennial scorn of the miracle of the swallowing of Jonah by the large sperm whale has served all too long to swallow up the central message of the book, which is that God is the God of second chances.⁷

The book is full of miracles. Note these clear miracles in the book: the storm, the selection of Jonah by lot as guilty, the sudden subsiding of the sea, the great whale appearing at just the right time, the resurrection of Yonah, his ejection from the whale onto dry ground, the worm, the east wind, and finally, the repentance of the entire city of Nineveh, which is more difficult to believe than Jonah being swallowed by a whale.

Introduction to the Book of Jonah
from a Messianic Jewish Perspective

To my son Brian. He has learned that ADONAI is the God of second chances.

The Use of the New International Version

Because I am writing this commentary on Jonah from a Jewish perspective, I will be using the New International Version unless otherwise indicated. There will be times when I substitute Hebrew for English names using the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern. But generally I will be using the NIV translation for the Jewish perspective.

The use of ADONAI

Long before Yeshua’s day, the word ADONAI had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as YHVH. The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of God, and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition, which is unnecessary but harmless, I will be using ADONAI where YHVH is meant.¹ In ancient times when the scribes were translating the Hebrew Scriptures, they revered the name of YHVH so much that they would use a quill to make one stroke of the name and then throw it away. Then they would make another stroke and throw that quill away until the name was completed. His name became so sacred to them that they started to substitute the phrase the Name, instead of writing or pronouncing His Name. Over centuries of doing this, the actual letters and pronunciation of His Name was lost. The closest we can come is YHVH, with no syllables. The pronunciation has been totally lost. Therefore, the name Yahweh is only a guess of what the original name sounded like. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

The use of TaNaKh

The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Nevi’im,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” or the Sacred Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. The term “Old Covenant” implies that it is no longer valid, or at the very least outdated. Something old, to be either ignored or discarded. But Jesus Himself said: Don’t think I have come to abolish the Torah and the Prophets, I have not come to abolish but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). I will be using the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh (sometimes I might use the phrase the Old Covenant when comparing something to the New Covenant) instead of the phrase, the Old Testament throughout this devotional commentary.

The Author

The book of Jonah was almost certainly written originally by the prophet himself. The name Jonah, or Yonah in the Hebrew, means dove, although, throughout the book he tends to act more like a hawk than a dove. He was a servant of the LORD from Gath Hepher, which by ancient tradition, is identified with Hirbet ez-Zerra, five kilometers northeast of Nazareth (Second Kings 14:25), and a town in the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:10 and 13). Yonah lived when Jeroboam II was king of the northern kingdom of Isra’el (Second Kings 14:23-25). Jonah’s prophecy that Israel’s boundaries would expand under Jeroboam came true. This prophet, a Hebrew (1:9) and the son of Amittai, was the only prophet in the TaNaKh to run from God. Yonah was one of four prophets in the TaNaKh whose ministries were referred to by Christ (Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32). The others were Elijah (Matthew 17:11-12), Elisha (Luke 4:27) and Isaiah (Matthew 15:7). Jonah had some parallels to his immediate predecessors Elijah (First Kings 17-19, 21; Second Kings 1-2) and Elisha (Second Kings 2-9 and 13), who ministered to Isra’el and also were called to Gentile missions in Phoenicia and Aram. Some have suggested that Yonah was not the author of the book because he is referred to in the third person (1:3, 5, 9, 12, 2:1, 3:4, 4:1, 5, 8-9). But this is not a strong argument. Moshe, author of the Torah, often used the third person when describing his own actions. Also Isaiah (Isaiah 37:21, 38:1, 39:3-5) and Daniel (Daniel 1:1 to 7:1) sometimes wrote of themselves in the third person. So no one would have been able to write about his unique experiences except Jonah himself.

Date

Since Second Kings 14:25 relates Yonah to the reign of Jeroboam II, the events in the book of Jonah took place sometime in Jeroboam’s reign (793-753 BC). Jonah’s prophecy about Israel’s boundaries being extended may indicate that he made that prophecy early in Jeroboam’s reign. This makes Jonah a contemporary of both Hosea and Amos, and probably lived during the reign of the Assyrian king Ashur-dan III (772-754 BC). Jonah’s reference to Nineveh in the past tense (3:2) has led some to suggest that the son of Amittai lived later, after the city’s destruction in 612 BC. However, the tense of the Hebrew verb can just as well point to the city’s existence in Yonah’s day.

Historical Setting

Jeroboam II, in whose reign Jonah prophesied, was the most powerful king in the northern kingdom of Isra’el (Second Kings 14:23-29). Earlier the Assyrians had established supremacy in the Near East and secured tribute from Jehu (841-814 BC). However, after crushing the Arameans, the Assyrians suffered a temporary decline because of internal dissension. In the temporary setback of Assyrian imperialistic hopes, Israel’s Jeroboam was able to expand his nation’s territories to their greatest extent since the time of David and Solomon by occupying land that formerly belonged to Aram (northeast toward Damascus and north to Hamath).

However, the religious life of Isra’el was such that God sent both Hosea and Amos to warn of impending judgment. Jeroboam changed the worship from God to golden calves, place of worship from Jerusalem to Dan, the priests from Levites to all sorts of people and the date of the feast of Booths from the seventh to the eighth month (First Kings 12:26-33). Therefore, as a result of the northern Kingdom’s stubbornness, the nation would fall under God’s chosen instrument of wrath, a Gentile nation from the east. Amos warned that God would send Isra’el into exile beyond Damascus (Amos 5:27). Hosea specifically delineated the ravaging captor as Assyria: Will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent (Hosea 11:5). So Assyria, then in temporary decline, would awake like a sleeping giant and devour the northern kingdom of Isra’el as its prey. This prophecy was fulfilled in 722 BC when Sargon II carried the northern Kingdom into captivity (Second Kings 17). In addition, Assyria also brought Assyrian people into Isra’el and eventually intermarrying with them and assimilating them into the Assyrian culture (Second Kings 17:24). The people in the southern kingdom of Judah deeply resented this and considered their northern brethren to be “half-breeds” (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Gw – The Parable of the Good Samaritan). The prophecies of Hosea and Amos may explain Jonah’s reluctance to preach in Nineveh. He might have feared he would be used to help the enemy that would later destroy his own nation.

Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River, about 550 miles from Samaria, capital of the northern Kingdom. Nineveh was large and, like Babylon, was protected by an outer wall and an inner wall. The inner wall was 50 feet wide and 100 feet high. Before Jonah arrived at this seemingly impregnable fortress-city, two plagues there (in 765 and 759 BC) and a total eclipse of the sun occurred on June 15, 763. These were considered signs of divine anger and may help to explain why the Ninevites responded so readily to Jonah’s message, around 759 BC.²

Acceptance in the TaNaKh

The Jews apparently accepted the book of Yonah, with all its supernatural aspects, as true and authoritative right from the start. It was included as canonical among the books of the prophets, even though (alone among all these books, from Isaiah through Malachi) it contained no prophecies except the one in Jonah 3:4 proclaiming the imminent doom of Nineveh. That prophecy was not fulfilled until much later, of course, because the people of the city of Nineveh did repent at that time.³

Jonah as a Type of Christ

The story of Yonah is a fascinating tale of adventure that at first seems so incredible that few people take it seriously enough to realize that it is a true story. Jonah was a real man; a true prophet of God who died and was resurrected after his body spent three days and nights in the belly of a great whale. Then he returned to his prophetic ministry, preaching so powerfully against the wickedness of the Assyrians in Nineveh that the total population of the Assyrian triangle of about 600,000 (made up of Nineveh and her satellite cities of Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen) repented and turned to God. These real life adventures of the reluctant prophet are presented in such a matter-of-fact way that it clearly has the ring of truth, even without Christ’s testimony. Jonah is identified as a type in the B’rit Chadashah (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Mc – The Resurrection of Jesus: The Second Sign of Jonah). All this is confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ and has thereby become a striking foreshadowing in terms of His willingness to die for others, His shed blood, His descent into sh’ol, and His bodily resurrection. Consequently, there are seven different ways in which Yonah is pictured as a type of our Lord in this short book. These similarities will be woven into the fabric of the narrative as we proceed through our study.

Themes

God is sovereign. He controlled the weather and the great whale to achieve His ends. God’s message is for the whole world, not just people we like or who are similar to us. God requires genuine repentance. He is concerned with our heart and true feelings, not good deeds meant to impress others. Finally, God is forgiving. He forgave Jonah for his disobedience and he forgave the Ninevites when they turned away from their wickedness.

Applications

First, this book teaches the universality of God; He is the God of both the Jews and the Gentiles. Secondly, it shows us ADONAI’s willingness to save Gentiles as well as Jews. Thirdly, it teaches the principle of delayed judgment. Eventually, Nineveh did suffer a judgment, and the prophet Nahum gives us the details of Nineveh’s destruction. Of course, Nahum’s prophecy is the one Yonah would have preferred to give, but that was God’s will for Nahum, not Jonah. Sometimes God will delay judgment because of repentance. Fourthly, YHVH will not throw aside His servant because of unfaithfulness. Although Jonah was faithless, God still responded to him in mercy. Fifth, it teaches the nature of ministry; the result may not be what one expects. One might expect good results and get bad ones, or one might expect bad results and get good ones. But, whether they are good or bad, HaShem is responsible for the results. Sixth, a believer should not react to the grace given to another believer without remembering the grace that was given to him or her. It must be remembered that God deals differently with different believers.⁴

The Outline of the Book of Jonah

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JONAH (Ac)

A. Jonah’s Authenticity and Historicity (Ad)

B. Jonah Among the Prophetic Books (Ae)

C. Jonah’s and God’s Way in the World (Af)

D. Jonah’s Message (Ag)

E. Jonah’s Good News (Ah)

II. JONAH FLEES FROM THE LORD (Ai) 1:1-16

A. The Word of the LORD came to Jonah: Go to Nineveh (Aj) 1:1-2

B. Jonah Flees From the LORD (Ak) 1:3

C. Jonah and the Violent Storm (Al) 1:4-16

1. But the LORD Sent a Great Wind on the Sea (Am) 1:4-6

2. They Drew Lots and Jonah was Singled Out (An) 1:7

3. A Hebrew I am, and I Fear ADONAI, the God of Heaven (Ao) 1:8-10

4. Then They Took Jonah and Threw Him Overboard (Ap) 1:11-16

III. JONAH AND THE GREAT WHALE (Aq) 1:17 and 2:10

A. The LORD Prepared a Great Whale to Swallow Jonah (Ar) 1:17 to 2:1

B. The Sign of Jonah (As) Matthew 12:38-41 and Luke 11:29-32

C. Jonah’s Prayer (At) 2:2-9

D. Then the LORD Commanded the Whale and it Vomited Jonah Out (Au) 2:10

IV. JONAH AND THE GREAT CITY (Av) 3:1-10

A. Jonah Goes to Nineveh (Aw) 3:1-3a

B. The Ninevites Believed God (Ax) 3:3b-10

V. JONAH AND THE PLANT (Ay) 4:1-11

A. Jonah’s Anger at the LORD’s Mercy (Az) 4:1-3

B. Jonah Had Gone Out and Sat Down Outside of the City (Ba) 4:4-11

Jonah, Where Life and the Bible Meet . . .

1. Look at the outline (Ab), and read the Introduction (Ac) before starting on the commentary itself.

2. The DIG and REFLECT questions are in bolded royal gray, and will help to give you a deeper understanding of the book and make it more personal to you. Go slowly and give yourself time to answer these questions. They really strike at the heart of the commentary. What are the DIG questions for? To dig into the Scripture “story” to find out what’s going on, to figure out the main idea, the plot, the argument, the spiritual principle, and so on. What are the REFLECT questions for? To apply the “story” in the scripture to your own life; to take personal inventory and to decide what you are going to do about it! Most, but not all, of the DIG and REFLECT questions are taken from the Serendipity Bible.

3. I would strongly suggest that you look up the references that are given in each section. Many times this will greatly enhance the background, and hence, your understanding of the scriptures that you are reading on a particular day. Take your time, read only as much as you can digest.

There are times when I refer you to either another file in Isaiah, or a file in another book of the Bible, to give you more detail on a particular person, topic, concept or theology. An example might be something like the Great White Throne Judgment (see my commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment). If you feel you already know enough about the Great White Throne Judgment, you can skip the reference and continue reading. But if it interests you, or if you don’t know what the rapture is, you can go to that file and read it first before continuing. It’s your choice. 

4. All scripture is in bold print. The NIV 2011 is used unless indicated otherwise. However, sometimes the purpose of the bold print is merely for emphasizing a certain point. When bolded maroon is used, it is for special emphasis. The words of Jesus are bolded in red.

5. When bolded teal is used, it is quoted from one of the two Jewish commentaries listed in the bibliography. This will give you the moderate Orthodox Jewish interpretation. It is useful for word studies, but its Christology is obviously entirely wrong. Where rabbinical interpretation is cited, I will add, “The rabbis teach. . .” in front of the passage. Although it is not a Christian interpretation, I think it is interesting to see how the rabbis interpret these passages.

6. Read the Scriptures for a particular day from your Bible, then skim the DIG and REFLECT questions, read the commentary and reflect on it; answer the DIG and REFLECT questions, then read your Bible again. Hopefully, it will have greater meaning and understanding for you the second time you read it. Then live it out.

7. If you come to a Jewish word or phrase that you don’t understand, see the Glossary at the end of the book (see Bb – Glossary).

8. To download a pdf file, click on the red rectangle on the top of any page.

9. You can download anything you want from this devotional commentary for bible study © 2015 but all rights are reserved by Jay D. Mack, M.Div.