Of all the minor prophets, Jonah is likely the most well-known. Many know the story of how Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and spit back up onto dry land. The message of Jonah, however, is more than Jonah’s encounter with the great fish. Jonah teaches us about the righteousness of God and gives us a glimpse of the sometimes complicated individuals in whom God finds value.
Jonah serves as God’s prophet not to God’s chosen people but to a foreign nation. God calls Jonah to go and “cry out against” Ninevah (Jonah 1:2, NKJV). Jonah’s message for those in Ninevah was a mere eight words: “Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). God’s message proclaimed by Jonah found good and honest hearts in the wicked city as they were moved to repentance. “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). God’s concern is with justice and righteousness, but God is also a merciful and a forgiving God. The repentance of those in Ninevah was true, and God, in His mercy, forgives those in the city of their wickedness. As a result, God’s righteousness causes Him to relent from the destruction He was going to bring upon them before their repentance.
The message of God’s righteousness is only one lesson we might learn from Jonah. Jonah himself shows us that God uses complicated people to carry out His mission. As one writer notes, Jonah is “The Vacillating Prophet.”[1] One day Jonah seems to be all about the work of the LORD and the next day he seems to be as far away from God as he can be. The book begins with a picture of Jonah running away from God (Jonah 1) before we find him running back to and alongside God (Jonah 2-3). The book ends, however, with the prophet being angry with God (Jonah 4). While we might expect Jonah to be thrilled that God would relent from destroying Ninevah, Jonah instead grows “greatly displeased” with God (Jonah 4:1, NASB). Jonah grows angry with God because of His righteousness; he can hardly believe that God would actually forgive the Ninevites.
Perhaps Jonah is one of the most well-known prophets because of how well we as humans can relate to the book. We often find ourselves acting much like Jonah. One day we might be all in, and the next day we might be all out. Perhaps we find ourselves at times sharing God’s word with others, but once they come to obey the truth, it is hard for us to believe that God has actually forgiven them. We would do well to learn from Jonah about God’s righteousness and to see how, despite our own shortcomings and complications, God can still use us to share His word.
[1] James E. Smith, The Minor Prophets (Joplin, MO: College Press, 2009), 37.
By: Preston McElyea