Survey of the book of Jonah

The Prophet Jonah and His Flight from God

Welcome to The Rapid Pull, daily edition, where we provide a quick biblical interpretations and applications. This is a ministry of striving for eternity.

The book of Jonah. Now, Jonah was a prophet that many people are aware of, because though he was a prophet to a Gentile nation, the nation of Nineveh, he was, well, known for a fish story. Jonah is the prophet who fled God and chose to try to disobey God and wanted to run from telling the Ninevites about the message that God had.

Why? Because, well, Jonah did not like the Ninevites. They were the enemies. And he ends up saying at the end of chapter 4 that the reason he did not want to go to Nineveh is because he knew God was a God of mercy.

Jonah’s Reluctance and God’s Mercy

In other words, Jonah knew that when he delivered the message to the Ninevites, they would repent and God would show mercy. He did not want them to have mercy. So you end up seeing in chapter 1, he's running from the will of God.

He ends up being thrown into the sea, being swallowed by a fish. God redirects him and that fish stays there for three days. He's praying. He realizes what he did wrong. God has the fish spit him out.

Nineveh’s Repentance and Jonah’s Anger

He goes to Nineveh. He preaches the message. The king and all the Ninevites, well, not all, every single individual, but enough of them that it says all of Nineveh repents. They repent and God shows mercy.

And you end up seeing Jonah up on a mountain waiting for the destruction. And it doesn't happen. He gets upset. Why? Because he wanted God's judgment on them.

But God is a God of mercy. This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org.