Why Study Jonah?
May 27, 2025
Does the Old Testament book of Jonah belong in the Bible? Did that whole thing with the whale really happen? Did Jonah actually die? These questions and more revolve around the tiny book some scholars call "the perfect little narrative."
Jonah is a prophet during the reign of King Jeroboam II—that’s after the prophet Elijah, but before Amos and Hosea. God calls Jonah to preach to the wicked people of Nineveh who have been cruel to Israel. Jonah doesn’t want to, so he runs in the opposite direction to Tarshish (near Spain). But God had another idea … because God is in the business of saving sinners.
“God didn’t ask you to love the lost before you go to them. He said, ‘I love the lost, and I want you to go to them.’ That is what He is saying to Jonah: ‘Jonah, I love the Ninevites.’”
–Dr. J. Vernon McGee
JESUS COMPARES HIMSELF TO JONAH
—saying just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, He also would be a sign to His generation in His resurrection from the dead.
(See Matthew 12:38-41.)
Lessons from Jonah
You can’t run away from God.
Disobedience will create turmoil in your life.
God’s mercy is a mystery.
With repentance comes obedience to God’s Word.
God’s plan to show grace won’t be frustrated.
