THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: JONAH (1)

JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THE EARTH

The Book of Jonah

Introduction to the Book of Jonah in the Bible

Bible Survey

Hebrew Name - Yonah "Dove"

Greek Name - Ionas (Greek form of the Hebrew)

Author - Jonah (According to Tradition)

Date - 862 BC Approximately

Theme - God's Mercy on Nineveh

Types and Shadows - In Jonah Jesus is the One crying out

Quick Overview of Jonah. Jonah was the main character of the book, he was the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1), and a native of Gathhepher, which was a city of the tribe of Zebulun in the northern Galilee region. Jonah was a prophet of the Lord and he was called to deliver a message of repentance to the city of Nineveh which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were among the most wicked peoples of the ancient world, and they were well-known for their cruelty. Jonah refused to go and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, which at that time was the farthest part of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain.

· The men cast lots to see who had brought this punishment upon them (even though Jonah knew it was his fault). The lot fell upon Jonah. He confessed that he was a Hebrew and was running away from the Creator God. Jonah asked the men to throw him overboard. Instead they tried harder to bring the ship to land. Jonah finally convinced them that he was the one who had brought judgment from God. Perhaps Jonah thought that if he were dead then God would stop punishing the ones around him. The sailors agreed to throw him into the sea.

As soon as Jonah was tossed into the water the storm broke and everything was calm. The sailors probably had no idea what happened next….to be cont’d