Author

The prophet Jonah is author of the book named for him (1:1). He lived during the reign of Jereboam II of Israel (ca. 793-753 B.C.), contemporaneously with Amos and Hosea and shortly before Isaiah and Micah, and was from Gath He-pher, a village of Zebulun four miles northeast from what would later be Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

Historicity

Because Jonah was kept alive in the belly of a great fish three days and three nights (1:17), the book has been a special target for those who deny biblical miracles. The fact the |Lord accepted the account settles the matter for Christians (Matthew 12:39-41; Luke 11:29-30). It is folly to deny that God Who created the universe (Acts 17:24) cannot keep a man alive in the belly of a fish. Those who deny the historical accuracy of Jonah simply are infidels.

The book of Jonah is a short history of Jonah's mission to see the repentance of wicked Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian Empire (1:2).

Message

Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh, for he loathed the thought of God sparing the Assyrians. He tried unsuccessfully to flee from the Lord. When he preached to Nineveh and the people repented, he was angry that God had spared them. God used the narrow nationalism of the prophet to show His universal love. Jonah's message was fore-shadowing the universal gospel, and Jonah himself was a type of Christ, Who spent "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:39-41; Luke 11:29-30).

Outline

A. Jonah Runs Away from God - chapter 1
B. Jonah Runs To God - chapter 2
C. Jonah Runs With God - chapter 3
D. Jonah Runs Ahead of God - chapter 4