Mbona Jonah?

Mention the book of Jonah, and almost immediately two things come to mind: a giant fish and a stubborn prophet.

For many people however, Jonah is little more than a children's story or a piece of ancient fiction. They struggle with the miracles. How can a man survive inside a fish for three days? How does a plant grow overnight? Can a worm really change the course of a prophet's life? Isn't all this simply symbolic?

Yet the Bible presents Jonah as history.

Jonah is introduced as a real person, "Jonah the son of Amittai" (Jonah 1:1). The same prophet appears in 2 Kings 14:25, where he prophesied during the reign of King Jeroboam II. The Jews accepted Jonah as historical, and nowhere in the Old Testament is the book treated as a parable or allegory.

Most importantly, Jesus treated Jonah as a real historical figure. When challenged by those demanding a miraculous sign, Jesus replied, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40)

He went even further and said that "the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." (Matthew 12:41)

If Jonah never existed, Jesus built one of His greatest prophetic illustrations on fiction. If Nineveh never repented, Jesus based His warning of the coming judgment on an event that never happened.

Believers, therefore, receive Jonah not as myth but as history inspired by God.

A Book Filled With Miracles.

People usually focus on the fish, but the fish is only one miracle among many. Throughout the four chapters, God repeatedly intervenes in His creation.

• He appoints a violent storm upon the sea (Jonah 1:4).
• He directs the casting of lots so that Jonah is identified (Jonah 1:7).
• He calms the sea immediately after Jonah is thrown overboard (Jonah 1:15).
• He appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah (Jonah 1:17).
• He commands the fish to vomit Jonah safely onto dry land (Jonah 2:10).
• He appoints a plant to grow overnight and provide shade (Jonah 4:6).
• He appoints a worm to destroy the plant (Jonah 4:7).
• He appoints a scorching east wind that exposes Jonah's heart (Jonah 4:8).
• Finally, perhaps the greatest miracle of all, an entire city repents at the preaching of one reluctant prophet (Jonah 3:5-10).

Every chapter reminds us that God is Lord over nature, nations, animals, plants, weather, and human hearts.

Then there are the unexpected heroes. Ironically, Jonah is not the most admirable character in his own book. The pagan sailors often display more spiritual sensitivity than the prophet;

• They were hardworking businessmen simply trying to earn a living.
• They were religious. When the storm came, "each cried out to his own god" (Jonah 1:5).
• They were thoughtful. They questioned Jonah carefully: "Tell us, on whose account has this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?" (Jonah 1:8)
• They showed remarkable compassion. Before throwing Jonah overboard, they first threw their cargo into the sea to lighten the ship (Jonah 1:5). Even after Jonah admitted his guilt, they "rowed hard to get back to dry land" (Jonah 1:13). They were reluctant to sacrifice a single life. Only when every other option failed did they obey Jonah's instruction.
• After the sea became calm, they feared the Lord greatly, offered sacrifices, and made vows to Him (Jonah 1:16).

The prophet was running from God while the sailors were inching towards Him.

Nineveh: More Than Just a Great City.

Jonah repeatedly calls Nineveh "the great city" and history explains why. One archaeologist invested 9yrs digging up the past and brought much to light.

Nineveh was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Its massive walls stretched for miles. Ancient writers describe enormous fortifications with hundreds of towers. Commerce flourished. Power was concentrated there. Luxury was abundant. Yet beneath the impressive skyline lay terrible wickedness.

God's message to Jonah was simple: "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." (Jonah 1:2)

The greatness of Nineveh was not merely measured by its size. Its sin was equally great. Yet when Jonah preached, "The people of Nineveh believed God." (Jonah 3:5) From the king to the common citizen, repentance spread throughout the city.

Four Chapters, Four Great Pictures.

Each chapter of Jonah has its own central emphasis.

1. Chapter One presents a daring prophet running from God amid a great storm.
2. Chapter Two presents a drowning prophet crying to God from inside a great fish.
3. Chapter Three presents a reluctant prophet proclaiming God's message in a great city, where an astonishing revival takes place.
4. Chapter Four presents a disappointed prophet arguing with a great God whose compassion extends far beyond Israel.

Jonah's complaint in chapter four reveals something surprising. His problem was not ignorance but theology. He knew exactly who God was. He confessed, "I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster." (Jonah 4:2)

Everything Jonah feared actually happened. God was gracious, God was merciful, God was patient, God overflowed with steadfast love and God relented from bringing judgment when people genuinely repented. Jonah wanted justice while God delighted in mercy. That tension lies at the heart of the entire book and causes you to wonder why Jonah started his mission rebeliously. The answer lies in 2 Kings 14.

The story begins with Jonah concerned about himself and ends with God concerned about people.

Many readers, preachers and sermons become preoccupied with whether a fish could swallow a man but the book of Jonah invites us to ask a different question.

How could a holy God continue pursuing rebellious people?

• He pursued a runaway prophet.
• He pursued pagan sailors.
• He pursued an idolatrous city.
• He even pursued Jonah after his obedience, exposing the prejudice still hidden in his heart.

The greatest miracle in Jonah is not a fish but the relentless grace of God. The book leaves us with God's final question: "Should I not 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?" (Jonah 4:11)

The question is never answered. Instead, it is left hanging for every reader to answer. Will we rejoice when God shows mercy to people we think deserve judgment or will we be angry because His grace reaches farther than our compassion?