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Imperative essay of the book of jonah
Analysis of the book Jonah
Essay of jonah
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In this essay, I will argue that Jonah is not a good prophet because he shows that he is more concerned with his reputation rather than God’s will. In order to do this, I will articulate and defend a framework for my argument, according to which a good prophet is defined by his closeness to God as a result of his authentic concern with God’s visions and goals. This will be proven by exploiting the analogy between Saul and Jonah as bad prophets and contrasting them with the ultimate good prophet in Moses. The first component of my framework will demonstrate that a good prophet typically has an intimate relationship with God. Moreover, this intimacy with the Lord is important, as it shows the level of favor that God has for them. Thus, the …show more content…
Ultimately, some of the prophets that are chosen demonstrate that they aren’t as close to God as others.
A prophet’s closeness to God is significant, because it represents the level of favor God possesses for them. This idea is supported through Moses, as he is unrivaled in his intimate relationship with God, as the Hebrew Bible states:
Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses, face to face, as one speaks to a friend… The LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name”
(Hebrew Bible, p. 130-131)
The relationship between God and Moses is effectively highlighted by the powerful simile of the Lord speaking to Moses “as one speaks to a friend”. It is immediately revealed that their relationship transcends the norm of God’s altercations with his people. Ultimately,
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Moses proves to be a good prophet in demonstrating this idea, whereas Saul demonstrates that he is unfit for such a status. Ultimately, Jonah’s position on the prophetic spectrum will be revealed through the comparison of these two prophets. Jonah’s lack of concern is analogous to Saul’s, as he demonstrates that he is more concerned with his own reputation rather than God’s victory. After much struggle, Jonah eventually delivers the Lord’s message to the people of Nineveh that they will perish in forty days. Nineveh reacts by repenting their wrongdoings in hopes that God will show mercy, and it proves to be successful. Sequentially, Jonah wavers as a good prophet in his reaction towards God’s mercy, as the Hebrew Bible states:
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. Hey prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?… for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent in
The role of the prophet changes with the society in which he lives. In modern society, a prophet is a visionary, telling people what they can become; in Biblical times, a prophet was the voice of God, telling his people what they had to become to fulfill their covenant with God. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the prophet is a peaceful lad, Simon. He alone saw that the jungle, which represented freedom and the lack of civilization, was not to be feared but to be understood; he alone knew that the mythical Beast of the island, feared by all the boys, was, in fact, their own inherent savagery. Through these truths Simon represents a Christ figure paralleling Christ's misunderstood message and Christ's death.
This essay will attempt to exegete, the passage of Jonah chapter one. This is a common passage in the Old Testament known as the call of Jonah to Nineveh. It is widely believed that Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in about the 8th century BC . The available evidence seems fair to suggest that Jonah is the main character in the book named by his name. First thing to remember is that Johan’ popularity is based on his story for being swallowed by a fish. Hayes holds the view that he was born in 009BC in Gath-Hepher a few miles north of Nazareth. He was the son of the prophet Amittai. It traditionally believed that God revealed to Jonah that he will allow Israel to add a great expanse of territory to its borders.
The book of Jonah is an adventurous story of a prophet chosen by God to go preach denouncement to a heathen nation. With the exception of stating that Jonah is the son of Amittai, the book itself fails to reveal any background information. Nevertheless, a plorthea of scholars have attempted to provide us with some insight to the, who, when, where, and what of the book. This paper will utilize four scholarly commentaries in a quest to determine the author or authors of the book, the time when it was written, the original audience it spoke to, the occasion, the historical, social and cultural context in which it was written. It will also address the historical, social and cultural context of the book and that of the pericope of 3:1 – 10.
To discuss the topic of idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism, it is not hard to find out that there are many examples in the Holy Bible that teach people about the Sin of Idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism. Some of the prophets who were chosen by God, such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Micah and Hosea, are good examples of those issues. God used those people and their stories to teach other people about His words and His will.
In chapter two Johnson deals with the fulfillment of the Torah and how Luke uses prophecy as a literature shape. Chapter three however is what really sets the reader up for the “meat” of the book. In chapter three he talks about the characteristics of a prophet. The first key characteristic for a prophet he says is being led by the spirit of God. In order to support this claim he gives many examples of prophets such as Moses, Ezekiel, and Elijah who all had the Holy Spirit to empower them as they did Gods work. The second element to a prophet is speaking Gods word to humans. Not only do prophets do the work of God but they will also speak for him. I find Johnsons main example Moses to be the most helpful when looking at this step of the prophet. This is because countless times God spoke to Moses and then Moses would tell the Israelites. This key characteristic goes well with the third characteristic that the prophet embodies God’s word. Countless times we see Moses doing this throughout the Old Testament. An example of this is in Exodus 20:1 when God tells Moses the ten commandments that he passes on to his people by carving them into stone. The fourth characteristic of the prophet is working to make humanity into God’s vision for it. Moses again shows this characteristic by appointing elders to help watch over the Israelites in Exodus 18. The final distinguishing trait for
The people of Nineveh were living in evil, and Jonah was called to command them to repent [Jonah 1:2]. Furthermore, the citizens were governed by a King; moreover, the people repented to the Lord after Jonah’s warning [Jonah 3:6-10]. In addition, the book of Nahum is written almost entirely to address the people of Nineveh; Nahum prophesies that their wickedness, folly, and unrepentant lives will lead to destruction. Nineveh is described as a bloody city [3:1], and is repeatedly condemned for their practices of sexual immorality [3:4]. Lastly, Zephaniah 2:13 briefly foretells the future abbihulation of Nineveh. "Jonah son of Amittai” was an Israelite prophet from Gath Hepher; he lived under the rule of Jeroboam II [2 Kings 14:15-25]. He was called to travel to the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, and command them to repent of their wickedness [Jonah 1:2] Conversely, Jonah boarded a ship to travel Tarshish, fleeing from God’s request [1:3]. However, while at sea a great storm arose as a result of Jonah’s disobedience, and after being tossed overboard, was swallowed by a large fish [1:4-16]. Consequently, after being in the belly of the fish for 3 days, he repented; this led to a change in the prophets heart, and he was determined to do as the Lord had asked [1:17-2:10]. Therefore, he traveled to Nineveh, and proclaimed God’s call to repentance for all to hear [Chapter 3]. Additionally, in Matthew 12:39-40, Jesus says evil doers will receive the sign of Jonah. In verse 40 Jesus parallels his 3 day stay in “the heart of the earth” to Jonah’s 3 day experience in the belly of the fish.
The prophets were sensitive to the voice of the Spirit of God and when the people of Israel began to deviate in idolatry God has to reveal to His prophets in this case the prophet Hosea, the unclean and detestable it was for God that his people go afte...
Specifically, it taught about how His mercy could not be restricted by a person’s preconceptions. Jonah was a prophet of God but was ruled by his unrelenting hatred towards sinners. Despite his loathing, God was more than capable of using him in the salvation of the corrupted. When Jonah was commanded by the Lord to preach to the Ninevites, he resisted. Nineveh was a pagan society and epitomized “everything evil that the Israelites hated” (MacArthur, Jonah 112), Seeing that his enemies would be forgiven if he delivered the message, Jonah fled from his duty. However, he would not be able to elude from the will of God and, after some precarious situations in the sea, would reluctantly prophesied to the Ninevites and inspired their faith in the Lord. This came to show that while “Jonah was filled with resentment … [and his] wrath was aroused, … the Lord [could still extend His] grace” (MacArthur, Jonah
Works Cited Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. Interpreting The Minor Prophets. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. Brown, William P. Westminster Bible Companion: Obadiah Through Malachi. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Holy Bible New Living Translation. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1996. Meyers, Carol L., and Eric M. Meyers. The Anchor Bible: Zechariah 9-14.New York: Doubleday. 1993.
That is how the word prophet is defined in Webster’s dictionary, but a prophet is much more. A prophet is someone who is chosen by God to convey his message to the people; a middleman between God and his people. A prophet is someone who God selects as the embodiment of himself. Someone that people will listen to. Someone with a presence. Now the prophets did not all lead perfect lives, but they all had a bond with the Lord that could not be matched. The Prophets were holy people but they were in no way God-like. They were humble people that gladly served their God. This summary of a prophet is what most people believe the prophet Obadiah was like.
In fact, God provided them similar missions for His kingdom. Moses was the first Hebrew prophet to lead the children of Israel. Being humble and doubtful of his ability to lead, God still chose Moses to lead the Children of Israel of bondage. (Ex 3) Though Moses would often doubt God’s commandments, the Lord would always reassured Moses to go and carry out His commands. (Ex 6:1-12)
An interesting concept that appeared to me while reading the Book of Jonah, was that the concept of the story was universally understood, so simple that they made a children's book from it. While reading “Obadiah, Jonah, Micah : A Theological Commentary” by Philip Peter Jenson, he brought up the question of the message of the story. My initial perception of the story was that Jonah was an unwilling prophet, that did not believe that God would actually do harm to the people of NININ and he chose to ignore the word of the Lord. After the Lord punishes him to a wicked storm and a bit of solitary confinement for three days and three nights, Jonah repents to God and decides to listen to his God. Jenson brought up the point that “The message of Jonah is notoriously difficult to identify. The main objections to the standard proposals is that they do not do justice to all parts of the book, and that the key to the meaning is imported from outside the story without sufficient evidence” (Jenson 36). With examples such as prophecy, universalism, theodicy it started to make me question my initial interpretation of the message being
It is thought that Jonah, the fifth of the Minor Prophets, lived during the reign of Jeroboam II, when the kingdom was divided. (Lockyer, 198) Although the Book of Jonah is quite short, just two and one-half pages, it is not short on themes. Because there are so many themes it is hard to classify or to determine its primary message. (Anchor 936 and New Interpreter's 490) These themes range from running away, praying, second chances, anger, and God's compassion and mercy, to name a few. The following will provide a brief explanation of each theme, previously mention, as it relates to the Book of Jonah.
Life presents all human beings with moments when choosing to stand up for something, or someone, brings certain opposition. Criticism, cynical jeers, rejection, and ridicule, all present as potential outcomes to acting out of such convictions. The prophet Jeremiah faced more than a moment, or even a short season of aforementioned affliction. Scholars project from 627-586 BCE, some forty years of perpetual calamity in the life of Jeremiah, results in a book within the Hebrew Bible drawing attention to palpable emotions and experiences. Noticeably unique from other Biblical texts, in its inclusion of considerable amounts of biographical writings, known as “confessions” (Brettler, p. 181), Jeremiah, the book, strongly focuses on its title character and his challenges. Living a somewhat inconceivable life upon accepting the call from the Lord, it seems Jeremiah lead through unceasing adversity, according to many of his oracles. Further, he did so alone, being forbidden to marry, or have children (Jeremiah 16.1-4 Tanakh Translation). A difficult charge was upon the young life of Jeremiah. Fully briefed that this mission would require him to stand up in the face of unenviable opposition, the Lord directs Jeremiah to remain strong in sharing the prophetic message, accepting His assurance that “they shall not overcome you” (Jeremiah 1.17-19). Like other prophets, Jeremiah became a bearer of both devastating, and hopeful news; however, the emotionally taxing life of this “weeping prophet” (Jeremiah 8.23), resulting from his acceptance of God’s call, seems astonishingly painful.
God inspired the prophets to tell the people what they needed to know and do in order to follow His will. God inspires the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel to reveal to the Israelites why they will become captives to Babylon, His anger against false prophets, and the restoration of Israel.