Here is my first draft but I will probably work on more tonight. So much more can be said but I doubt in one teaching I will even be able to get through this summary. I used 3 Study Bibles, a OT Survey book, and 2 commentaries. However the commentaries were quite deep and more meant for a pastor preaching verse by verse and not just someone doing a survey on a book.
If you see any spelling errors, grammar errors, or obvious issues please let me know. Thanks...
My formatting vanished when copy and pasting from Word 2011 Mac to this forum.
The Book of Jonah
Author- In Hebrew Jonah means dove and he is the author despite the textual critics that claim he was not. For more on this check out the book A Survey of OT Introduction by Gleason Archer. Jonah was one of four OT Prophets that Christ made a reference to (Mt 12:41, Lk 11:32). The others were Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah.
Date- The date of the book is not known for certain but some scholars place the book may have been written after the destruction of Nineveh in 612BC. But we know from history that Jonah preached during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753BC).
Historical Background of Nineveh- Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River about 550 miles from Samaria. An outer wall and an inner wall protected Nineveh and the city was some 30 miles. Prior to Jonah’s arrival two plagues had erupted there and a total eclipse of the sun occurred on June 15, 763. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire
Theological Themes (Source Crossway ESV SB)
MAJOR- God’s love for all the nations
1. God’s sovereign rule over events on earth
2. God’s Determination to get his message to the nations
3. The need for repentance from sin
4. The need for repentance from self-centeredness and hypocrisy
5. The full assurance that God will relent when people repent
Questions- Can you name the various miracles in the book of Jonah? Open for discussion.
Overview of the book
Book filled with miracles- Storm, the lot, the calmness of the sea after Jonah was thrown overboard, the great fish appearing at the right time, the preservation of Jonah in the fish, safe and sound on shore and able to go to Nineveh without permanent damage, the plant, the worm, the east wind, and the repentance of the entire city.
Jonah a Type of Israel- Mt 12:40. Typology is the Biblical comparisons made between persons, events, things, and institutions of the Biblical Period.
Chapter 1
Jonah gets a call from God to preach to Nineveh because Nineveh is a very wicked city with great evil (ESV). Jonah decides to run away from the Lord and disobey him because as he says in 4:2. Jonah only wanted the goodness of God to be shown to Israel and he did not like Gentiles. So in other words Jonah hated an enemy of Israel.
Q- Do such biases and hate flow in the church today? Perhaps you can’t afford to be a missionary, but do you hate and or are you indifferent towards the homeless person begging for food at your feet? If God called you to be a local evangelist would you do it, or would you disobey him?
Jonah disobeys God and God punishes him, and in his disobedience the lives of unbelievers are threated. But Jonah is cast into the sea and even the unbelievers become God fearers that day. NOTE- The Phoenician Mariners were most likely Pagans and they were pantheistic & pluralistic, and much easier to dialogue with than contemporary Humanists, Hedonists, relativists & Post Modernists whom do not believe in anything, and are closed to dialogue and stretching their mind. Jonah was cast into the sea and is swallowed by a great fish.
Chapter 2
Much speculation comes from what the fish/whale was that swallowed Jonah. Some argue a Whale Shark, others a Sperm Whale, and some biologists a Great White Shark or an ancestor of the beast, which seems more likely given the beast, is a fish and not a mammal. Also there is much speculation on whether or not Jonah actually died while in the beast. However looking at Mt 12:40 it is clear he was not dead. When Jonah was in the fish Jonah prays a psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance. Jonah knew his scripture and so should we. Jonah is repentant and the Lord commands the fish to spit him out onto dry land.
Chapters 3-4
Jonah obeys God and goes to Nineveh to preach REPENTENCE and the people respond to the message. Note- Various textual critics and liberal scholars doubt the authenticity of the book due to the quick repentance and simple message, but as God is the author of salvation (2:9) He can turn peoples hearts to Him and grant them faith and repentance. In response to this God relented from his judgment on Nineveh. Jonah becomes angry because God did not destroy those whom he hates and the Lord explains to Jonah that he has much compassion on the city primarily because of the 120,000 children, and also the men & women and the animals.
If you see any spelling errors, grammar errors, or obvious issues please let me know. Thanks...
My formatting vanished when copy and pasting from Word 2011 Mac to this forum.
The Book of Jonah
Author- In Hebrew Jonah means dove and he is the author despite the textual critics that claim he was not. For more on this check out the book A Survey of OT Introduction by Gleason Archer. Jonah was one of four OT Prophets that Christ made a reference to (Mt 12:41, Lk 11:32). The others were Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah.
Date- The date of the book is not known for certain but some scholars place the book may have been written after the destruction of Nineveh in 612BC. But we know from history that Jonah preached during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753BC).
Historical Background of Nineveh- Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River about 550 miles from Samaria. An outer wall and an inner wall protected Nineveh and the city was some 30 miles. Prior to Jonah’s arrival two plagues had erupted there and a total eclipse of the sun occurred on June 15, 763. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire
Theological Themes (Source Crossway ESV SB)
MAJOR- God’s love for all the nations
1. God’s sovereign rule over events on earth
2. God’s Determination to get his message to the nations
3. The need for repentance from sin
4. The need for repentance from self-centeredness and hypocrisy
5. The full assurance that God will relent when people repent
Questions- Can you name the various miracles in the book of Jonah? Open for discussion.
Overview of the book
Book filled with miracles- Storm, the lot, the calmness of the sea after Jonah was thrown overboard, the great fish appearing at the right time, the preservation of Jonah in the fish, safe and sound on shore and able to go to Nineveh without permanent damage, the plant, the worm, the east wind, and the repentance of the entire city.
Jonah a Type of Israel- Mt 12:40. Typology is the Biblical comparisons made between persons, events, things, and institutions of the Biblical Period.
Chapter 1
Jonah gets a call from God to preach to Nineveh because Nineveh is a very wicked city with great evil (ESV). Jonah decides to run away from the Lord and disobey him because as he says in 4:2. Jonah only wanted the goodness of God to be shown to Israel and he did not like Gentiles. So in other words Jonah hated an enemy of Israel.
Q- Do such biases and hate flow in the church today? Perhaps you can’t afford to be a missionary, but do you hate and or are you indifferent towards the homeless person begging for food at your feet? If God called you to be a local evangelist would you do it, or would you disobey him?
Jonah disobeys God and God punishes him, and in his disobedience the lives of unbelievers are threated. But Jonah is cast into the sea and even the unbelievers become God fearers that day. NOTE- The Phoenician Mariners were most likely Pagans and they were pantheistic & pluralistic, and much easier to dialogue with than contemporary Humanists, Hedonists, relativists & Post Modernists whom do not believe in anything, and are closed to dialogue and stretching their mind. Jonah was cast into the sea and is swallowed by a great fish.
Chapter 2
Much speculation comes from what the fish/whale was that swallowed Jonah. Some argue a Whale Shark, others a Sperm Whale, and some biologists a Great White Shark or an ancestor of the beast, which seems more likely given the beast, is a fish and not a mammal. Also there is much speculation on whether or not Jonah actually died while in the beast. However looking at Mt 12:40 it is clear he was not dead. When Jonah was in the fish Jonah prays a psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance. Jonah knew his scripture and so should we. Jonah is repentant and the Lord commands the fish to spit him out onto dry land.
Chapters 3-4
Jonah obeys God and goes to Nineveh to preach REPENTENCE and the people respond to the message. Note- Various textual critics and liberal scholars doubt the authenticity of the book due to the quick repentance and simple message, but as God is the author of salvation (2:9) He can turn peoples hearts to Him and grant them faith and repentance. In response to this God relented from his judgment on Nineveh. Jonah becomes angry because God did not destroy those whom he hates and the Lord explains to Jonah that he has much compassion on the city primarily because of the 120,000 children, and also the men & women and the animals.
Last edited by a moderator:
