The Book Of Jonah Summary

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF JONAH

Introduction

The Book of Jonah begins with a call from God to the prophet (Jon. 1:1-2). Unlike the others, however, Jonah rejects God’s call.

The plot of Jonah centres on the conflict between Jonah and God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but Jonah resists and attempts to flee. He goes to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a great storm at sea, and the ship's crew cast Jonah overboard in an attempt to appease God. God then sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. He says a prayer in which he repents for his disobedience and thanks God for His mercy. God speaks to the fish, which vomits out Jonah safely on dry

Jonah is furious, however, and angrily tells God that this is the reason he tried to flee from Him, as he knew Him to be a just and merciful God. He then beseeches God to kill him, a request which is denied when God causes a tree to grow over him, giving him shade. Initially grateful, Jonah's anger returns the next day, when God sends a worm to eat the plant, withering it, and he tells God that it would be better if he were dead. God then points out, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Jonah disobeys God’s call because he objects to God’s intent to bless Israel’s adversaries, the nation of Assyria and its capital city, Nineveh, and when he ultimately relents and his mission is successful, he resents God’s mercy to them (Jonah 4:1-2).

Theology of Jonah

The book of Jonah is short in content but is richly filled with theological implications. It shows the character of God and what is the role of the people of God to the rest of the outside nations of the covenant. The theology of the book of Jonah are discuss in different points in the followings

God is in total control of the forces of nature but is not part of them. The sea is not a person but a part of creation. Yahweh can make it rage or be still (Jonah 1:4 Jonah 1:13 Jonah 1:15 ).He can send the wind and cause a storm (Jonah 1:4 ). He can remove the clouds and make the sun bear down with all its force (4:8 ). He can use the fierce desert wind to carry out his plan (Jonah 4:8 )

The book of Jonah is the story of the sovereignty of God. Sovereignty means that God is ultimately in control of, well everything. History, kings and rulers, the seas and the land, weather, the destiny of great cities, the path of a man. It also is the story of God's compassion. Maybe Jonah didn't want Nineveh to repent but God did. He wanted to show them his mercy in spite of the fact that they were heathens who did not worship him or follow his ways.

The sovereignty and centrality of God as the major figure in this historical narrative are evidenced in His providing a fish to swallow Jonah.

Theology of God’s saving