The book of Jonah is a very interesting story.Jonah was trying to run away from god. He didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the people. He boards a ship going the opposite direction as god told him to go. God is mad and creates a storm that scares everyone on the boat. They know Jonah is the problem so they throw him overboard and a big fish swallows him. Jonah is inside the big fish for three days and three nights. In his time inside the fish he repents to God for his sin. After
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
The Book of Jonah is a story centered around the concept of disobedience. This book starts off in the most shocking way by showing the prophet Jonah disobeying God’s commands. The first instance of disobedience is shown when god commands Jonah to head to Nineveh in order to preach against their ideals, instead Jonah choses to flee, he heads to Joppa and boards a ship heading to Tarshish. Nowell points out in his biblical commentary Jonah, Tobit, Judith how ludicrous this situation was by citing Jonah
moral concept, or used as a tool to teach a lesson. The Book of Jonah is an example that will be used to determine if this particular story describes an accurate recount of history, or if it teaches the readers a lesson. In the Book of Jonah, Jonah (the prophet) is instructed to go to a pagan city (Nineveh) to preach to the Ninevites, hoping that they will repent for their sins. However, he challenges God and travels to Tarshish instead. Jonah receives consequences for his actions and Nineveh is eventually
this essay I will take the position that the book of Jonah was intended to follow the unfinished journey of a prideful christian, and to show the involvement of an altruistic God. One of the major themes found in the book of Jonah is the relationship between God and Jonah. First, Jonah flees from God’s will, then he turns back to God, and finally, Jonah preaches God’s message of repentance to the people of Nineveh, but sadly, it doesn’t end there. Jonah was called as a prophet for God, but he had
In this essay, I will show what the meaning of the book of Jonah is to me. In the Bible, there is a recorded account of the story of Jonah. Using chapters one through four, I will explain that the book of Jonah gives insight to God’s mercy and judgment concerning his people. First, I’d like to show that God calls us to do His will and that He is persistent (up to our will) in doing so. Second, I will point out that though we may run away from God’s calling, He will not desert us; He will deliver
of the book the main character tells that despite his parents named him John, he wishes to be called Jonah. The reason he gives is that somebody or something had compelled him to be certain places at certain times without fails. Why it would be significant that this character has this desire can be answered by reading the book of Jonah inasmuch as there are some similarities between these two books. The book of Jonah is story
God’s love and compassion is displayed numerous times throughout the book of Jonah. He showed love and compassion towards not only the lost, but to those who were walking in him already as well. God’s compassionate love extended to not only the Ninevites, and those on the boat with Jonah but to Jonah himself, in the book of Jonah. God displays his love through the multiple chances that he gives to Jonah while Jonah is resisting the job that he has been called to do. God also displays his love when
Jonah: A False Prophet or a Prophet with a False God? The Jonah narrative is a story often told to children to emphasize that it is wrong to run from God and there is no way to escape from God. However as adults we see that there is more to the story. There are many ways to interpret the Jonah narrative and the character of Jonah. Readers may even read the story with an anti-Semitic view if they judge solely from their first impressions of Jonah. We see a man who flees, a man who is angry with
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
Jonah to bring a prophetic message to Nineveh, appointed the plant to grow up amazingly quickly, and then appointed a worm to kill the plant, and caused a brutally hot wind to blow. Cynics often scoff at the book of Jonah, and even Christian scholars wrestle with the unbelievable events recorded in the book. But the point of the book isn’t to say this stuff happens all the time, it’s meant to be unbelievably miraculous because God is revealing something unbelievably massive about Himself and the
Introduction When we read and consider Jonah, its important to know about the historical Jonah in 2nd Kings as well. The historical Jonah was known to be an adviser to king Jeraboam II. He was responsible for expanding the boarders of Israel from the Euphrates river to the Red sea. Not only was he known of expanding the boarders in Israel, he was also known for making Israel a very prosperous nation. When you consider all that the historical Jonah did for his time, he would have been well known
run away from following his rules by allowing themselves to be distracted by everyday life activities. In the story of Jonah, his mindset and actions throughout the story is a prime reflection of people within today’s society who are torn between God and their daily activities. Jonah’s personality and in the form that the story is told makes the story of Jonah intriguing. Jonah is extremely stubborn and unlike many of the prophets before him he is scared to take upon the responsibilities that come
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
has given us the ability to make each possibility a reality. The God of possibility, one that can know all things and still provide freedom, that is my kind of God. Citations Boyd, Gregory A. The God of the Possible. Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. 2000
(4:6) After Jonah has sat down outside the city to see whether God would destroy it, God “appoints” מָנָהָ a plant to grow up over Jonah and his shelter to deliver him from רָָעָה. Many translate this as “trouble” or “distress,” but it seems most prudent to allow terms to remain consistent in meaning throughout the text.10 The best translation for the author‟s purpose seems to be “evil.” The author utilizes the repetition of the verbal root רָָעָה for an express reason, especially in Jonah 4. Though
The Book of Nahum is a prophetic book concerned with pronouncing judgment upon the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and with detailing its coming destruction at the hands of Yahweh. In light of this concern, it is not surprising that the primary image and expression of Yahweh in this piece is one of a vengeful and wrathful deity, expressing judgment in the form of destruction and desolation. These images combine to portray the character of Yahweh within the book of Nahum as a angry and judgmental God
The partner I chose for the Careful Conversation exercise is a practicing Seventh-day Adventist. In order to protect the privacy and anonymity of my colleague, I would like to call them by the pseudonym, Jimin Park. During and after the conversation, I gained much insight on their worldviews, even if what they believe differs slightly from their practice. Additionally, I acquired positive commentary about the love they have for their religion, and I, being non-religious, realized that many of our
meaning of the storm and other elements that God used to setup the great moment of Jonah accepting his calling. That is where we will take off this week and expound on; Jonah and the huge fish. We will cover Jonah 1.17-2.10. Literary Markers We pick back up in Jonah at the point where the sailors have, by Jonah’s instruction, thrown him overboard to calm the storm. Verse seventeen provides readers information on where Jonah actually is after he is thrown into the water and for how long he is there. So