Jonah (2 Kings 14:25 & Jonah1-4 NKJV)

Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel ( 2 Kings 14: 25 )

793 BCE

He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through HIS servant JONAH the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.

Jonah is identified as having lived during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel

788 BCE

In writing the book, Jonah was honest about his reluctant and even disobedient response to God’s commands to go Ninevah to warn them of judgment. Jonah did not want the wicked city of Ninevah to repent, but God’s mercy is magnified in His desire to bring revival and His grace is exalted when the whole city repents.

The People of Nineveh Believe (Ch 3 v4-5 plus v10)

774 BCE

(5)Jonah preached coming judgment and the whole city repented..... (10)Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Book of Jonah Chapter 1 (v 1-3)

773 BCE

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

The Storm at Sea (4-5)

773 BCE

4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten [b]the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

Jonah Thrown into the Sea (v10-15)

773 BCE

10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them......15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Chapter 1 Summary plus verse 17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

773 BCE

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach coming judgment. Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites and didn’t want God to spare them from judgment, so he fled in the opposite direction by boarding a ship heading to Tarshish. A storm arose and Jonah slept. The sailors cast lots and determined Jonah was the cause of the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard and they did so. Then they called out to the LORD. God prepared a great fish (whale?)

Chapter 2 Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

773 BCE

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
For You cast me into the deep
Into the heart of the seas But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.” (v10) So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah Preaches at Nineveh ( Chapter 3 v1-4)

772 BCE

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, [g]a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The People of Nineveh Believe Chapter 3 v5 & v10

772 BCE

(5)So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them...... (10) Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Chapter 4: God not only cared about saving Ninevah, He also cared about changing Jonah’s heart. So God taught Jonah about His love and compassion.

771 BCE

We are not really told whether Jonah fully understood God’s love and compassion, but we might think that he did. He authored this book and told the details of his disobedience as well as God’s grace and love for all people. The lessons from Jonah are even greater than the great fish event. And, it certainly seems the reluctant prophet was not reluctant when it came to preserving this historical record for all ages — so we might better understand our gracious and merciful God.

Final Thought: Jonah is the only book in the Bible that ends with a question.

768 BCE

And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which [k]came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”