In brief
Jonah, son of Amittai, is a prophet whom God orders to go to Nineveh. He flees toward Tarshish, but a storm breaks out, he is thrown into the sea and a great fish swallows him. After three days, Jonah prays, then obeys and announces the city’s destruction. Nineveh repents and God does not strike. Jonah resents this compassion, and God answers with the lesson of the plant. He is remembered as an imperfect prophet and a God full of mercy.
What does the name Jonah mean?
The name Jonah corresponds to the Hebrew Yonah, which means “dove.” The Bible gives no explanation of the name. It only specifies that Jonah is the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1), and 2 Kings 14:25 mentions a prophet of that name.
The story of Jonah
God’s Command and the Flight
Jonah 1:1-3The word of Yahweh comes to Jonah: he is to get up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, because its wickedness has come up before God. But Jonah gets up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh. He goes down to Joppa, finds a ship, pays his fare and boards with the passengers.
The Storm and the Great Fish
Jonah 1:4-17Yahweh hurls a great wind on the sea. The sailors are afraid, but Jonah is fast asleep below deck. The lot falls on him. The sailors throw him into the sea, which grows calm, and they fear Yahweh. God then prepares a great fish to swallow Jonah, who stays in its belly three days and three nights.
The Prayer From the Depths
Jonah 2:1-10In the belly of the fish, Jonah prays to Yahweh his God. He tells of his distress and the waters that surrounded him, and recalls that he cried out and God heard his voice. He says that God brought him up alive from the pit. His prayer ends with a promise to offer sacrifices, and God commands the fish to spit him out onto dry land.
Nineveh Repents
Jonah 3:1-10God speaks to Jonah a second time, and he gets up and goes to Nineveh, an exceedingly great city. There he cries out, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” The people believe God, fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least, and the king does the same. God sees that they turn from their evil way and relents from striking them.
Jonah’s Anger and the Plant
Jonah 4:1-11This displeases Jonah greatly, and he becomes angry. He admits he fled because he knows God is gracious and merciful. God makes a plant grow to shade him, then a worm withers it, and Jonah wishes to die. God asks whether he does well to be angry, then asks about his pity for the plant and his own for Nineveh and its hundred twenty thousand people.
What Jonah teaches us
- Running from God’s call does not take us away from him: Jonah cannot leave Yahweh’s presence, despite his ship.
- God uses imperfect servants: Jonah finally obeys, and his preaching reaches the whole city.
- The God of the Bible is full of compassion for all peoples, including those we judge unworthy of forgiveness.
- God hears prayer even from the depths, and sincere repentance opens the door to his mercy.
- Our anger can reveal our preferences: God corrects Jonah with a question, patiently.
Key verses
“Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jesus will connect this sign with his own burial in Matthew 12:40.
“I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me.” From the depths, Jonah turns to God. Sincere prayer is heard, even when disobedience has led to distress.
God sees that the people of Nineveh turn from their evil way, and he relents from the disaster he had planned. Repentance changes the course of events, because God is merciful.
Sermons about Jonah
- Jonah 1: You Can't Outrun the Face of GodA reading of Jonah 1: three times the text repeats “away from the presence of Yahweh,” and fleeing God means cutting yourself off from the only place where anything good can rise.
- The Book of Jonah: Waking Up to God's GraceA journey through the book of Jonah as an awakening to God’s grace.
- Jonah: When God Uses an Imperfect ServantA message on Jonah, an imperfect servant whom God uses all the same.
- Jonah 4: God's Mercy Disturbs Your PreferencesA reading of Jonah 4: God’s mercy disturbs our preferences.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Jonah flee from Nineveh?
The text gives the reason in Jonah 4:2: Jonah knew that God is compassionate and slow to anger, and he did not want the city to be spared. So he tried to flee to Tarshish, the opposite direction from Nineveh, rather than deliver a warning that might lead to forgiveness.
What does the name Jonah mean?
Jonah corresponds to the Hebrew Yonah, which means “dove.” The Bible gives no explanation of this name. It only indicates that Jonah is the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1). A prophet of the same name is also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, in the time of King Jeroboam II.
Where can I find Jonah’s story in the Bible?
It fills the whole book of Jonah, which has four short chapters: the flight and the storm in chapter 1, the prayer in chapter 2, Nineveh in chapter 3 and the plant in chapter 4. Jesus speaks of it as the sign of Jonah in Matthew 12:39-41.