Jonah

'I am a Hebrew,' he replied. 'I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.' (Jonah 1.9)

⁵The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head ⁶at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God. (Jonah 2.5–6)

¹⁰Then the Lord said, 'You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night.

 ¹¹And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?' (Jonah 4.10–11)

The tricky element of this book is how to read it. It has various features that feel like a fairy tale: a miraculous storm; a fish large enough to swallow someone but keep them alive; a miraculous plant that grows and dies in a night. At the same time the story has a lot of elements that ring true, especially Jonah’s reluctance to do what God asks and his anger that God didn’t smite the people of Nineveh.

No one knows

What do we know about him?

Nothing

No one can even agree when Jonah was written. Some think it is early (around the time of the eighth century BC); others that it is much later (in the fifth century BC, so after the return from exile). If the later fifth century date is right (which it may not be), the added wrinkle is that Nineveh was destroyed in the seventh century BC, in other words, two centuries earlier. This would add another spin to the story.

What were people feeling?

Hard to say as it is hard to work out when it was either set or written.

Prophecy with a twist. This is a story about a prophet (a bit like those found in 1 and 2 Kings). The twist is that Jonah was a terrible prophet – reluctant, grumpy and easily upset. In contrast, the people (all non-Israelites) with whom he engaged behave impeccably, from the sailors on the ship to Tarshish, to the cows in Nineveh. As such it throws up multiple questions for us to reflect on.

1.1–17 Jonah’s call and flight
2.1–10 Jonah’s prayer from the belly of a fish
3.1–10 Jonah’s reluctant message of repentance
4.1–11 Jonah’s lesson about the goodness of God

There will be some names you may not know; don’t worry if you can’t place them all. The key ones are given below.

Place

Nineveh, Tarshish

Other words

Idols, Sheol

What God told Jonah to say and what he actually said.

The multiple moments of comedy throughout the book.

The deep questions about mercy and forgiveness beneath the entertaining exterior.

One of the themes of Jonah is what happens when we disagree with God, especially when God is merciful and we would like him not to be. Reflect on who you would find it hard for God to forgive.

• Were there any parts of the book that you particularly liked or that inspired you?
• Were there any parts of the book that you disliked or that troubled you?
• What did you think the book was about?
• Does it matter if it's read as history or more as a parable? 
• Jonah comes across as grumpy from beginning to end. Have a go at defending him and see if you succeed.
• The thought of speaking to the people of Nineveh – let alone forgiving them – clearly made Jonah’s stomach churn. Who would you feel like that about if God asked you to go to them with a message? 
• The real heart of the message of Jonah is in chapter 4 and the conversation between God and Jonah about God’s mercy. The whole book ends with a question. Do you imagine that Jonah ended up agreeing with God or not in the end?
• Did you read anything in the book that touched you, expanded your faith or made you think more deeply about your life and how you live it?