JONAH: THE BOOK, THE MAN, THE STORY

“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying...” – Jon 1:1-

To say that the book of Jonah is unique, even among the books of the Bible, would not be an overstatement. For a so-called Minor Prophet, his story is quite popular. Many a Christian may look at you cluelessly if you ask them about the contents of the book of Nahum, or Zephaniah. But even atheists will attest to being familiar with “Jonah”.

It’s a book of ironies and contradictions.

It’s supposedly a prophetic book, yet it has only one prophetic message; and even that consists of just five words (3:4).

In books like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the prophet obeys God’s orders and goes to prophecy to God’s disobedient people. In Jonah, this is reversed. The prophet is disobedient and his audience, who aren’t even God’s covenant people, are penitent.  

In this book, idolatrous sailors are religious and seek God’s intervention, while the Hebrew prophet is rebellious and flees from God.

The eponymous author is not any less unusual.

For an Old Covenant prophet, he demonstrates a familiarity and knowledge of Jehovah that was way ahead of his times.

Some believers say that they prayed to God and He refused to answer them; in Jonah, it is the LORD who is talking to Jonah while the weird prophet refuses to answer. His book even ends with a question mark! Who ends a book with a question mark?

Yet despite all of these strangeness, (or maybe because of it), the book of Jonah remains one of the most moving books of the Old Testament. It’s a book worth reading over and over again.

Like Ecclesiastes, it seems to pride itself in its ability to shock its message into the reader: the message of the universal love of God for all mankind. Of God not being a respecter of persons. And of the certainty of God’s forgiveness to anyone whatsoever that comes to Him.

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Rev 22:17)

 

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN