The Message of Jonah

The story of Jonah is very well known. What is striking is that, in Jewish tradition, the book of Jonah is closely connected with the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The reason for this requires some further explanation.
We know virtually nothing about the prophet Jonah himself. We encounter his name once more in the Book of Kings, which makes it possible to determine the period in which he lived. And that is all we know. It is striking that the book of Jonah is placed among the prophetic books, even though it is not actually a prophecy. It is much more a description of the story of a prophet.

The book of Jonah consists of seven sections, which are easy to recognize.

It begins with God calling Jonah. He is to go to Nineveh to announce God’s judgment. Nineveh was a great city in Assyria. At that time, Nineveh was not yet the capital of the empire, although it would become so later. Assyria was Israel’s arch-enemy. Jonah, however, refuses. And the reason is clear. He knows God, and he is afraid that if the Assyrians repent, they will escape the consequences of their wickedness. That they will get away with it unpunished. So he flees. One might wonder why Jonah does not simply refuse and remain where he is. This becomes clear from the Hebrew text. It says that Jonah leaves from the presence of God, as the text literally puts it. As a prophet, he served in the presence of God. And now he wants to get away from that presence. In other words, he resigns. He no longer wants to be a prophet. And Jonah goes in exactly the opposite direction: toward Tarshish. This most likely refers to a place in southern Spain, with which there were trading connections. If you look at a map of the Middle East, it becomes clear that Jonah is heading in exactly the wrong direction.

In the second section, we read that a storm breaks out and the ship is in danger of sinking. It becomes clear that this is a punishment for Jonah’s disobedience. Jonah explains to the sailors that he serves God, the One who made heaven and earth. We then see two things happen. Remarkably, these fourteen words are enough to bring the sailors to repentance. They worship God. The second thing is that Jonah offers to let the sailors throw him overboard, and after considerable hesitation, they do so.

Then comes the third section. Jonah does not drown but is rescued by a great fish. After three days, he prays to God. He has come to his senses and begins to turn back to God. And Jonah returns to dry land because the fish spits him out.
Then we read a continuation that is largely a repetition of the first half of the book. Once again, God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this time he does go. Although we get the strong impression that he does not do so willingly. The city is, as the text says, three days’ journey across, and Jonah goes only one day’s journey into the city to proclaim God’s judgment. This fourth section of the story therefore runs parallel to the first, since both sections describe God’s calling to go to Nineveh.

Then we come to the next section. Just as the sailors repented on the basis of Jonah’s very brief sermon, we now read that the inhabitants of Nineveh repent. From the greatest to the least, all the way to the king himself, everyone shows remorse. Thus, we see that this fifth section runs parallel to the second.

In the third section, we read that Jonah offers a prayer to God. He does the same in the sixth section. God decides not to bring His judgment upon the city of Nineveh, and Jonah becomes angry. He then prays to God and says that he wants to die. We see the contrast with the corresponding section in the first half of the story. Then it seemed that Jonah was going to die because of his own disobedience. He survived through God’s intervention. But now he wants to die prematurely because God has decided to spare the city of Nineveh. He prays to God, asking that he might die.

We therefore see that the first three sections run parallel to sections four through six. However, there is still a seventh section. Jonah had gone somewhere to sit and watch to see how Nineveh would be punished. And God provided a plant to give him shade. This was Ricinus communis, a plant that is still common today and that can grow very quickly. The plant has remarkably large leaves. Jonah is happy about the shade. But just as quickly as the plant appears, it dies. And once again Jonah becomes very angry with God. But God explains the lesson He wants to teach Jonah through this. The plant was of great value to Jonah, and he would rather die than continue living without it. So would God not care deeply about saving the great city of Nineveh with its large number of inhabitants?

The lesson of Jonah echoes in synagogues on the Day of Atonement when rabbis read this book under the motto, “We are Jonah.” In two ways, a connection is drawn between this story and themselves. First, there is the calling of Israel to proclaim the good news to all nations. Israel was called to be a blessing to all peoples. And in this, Israel clearly fell far short. But the story of Jonah teaches another lesson as well. No matter how far one has strayed from God, there is always a way back. And God is willing to forgive when people show repentance. When Jonah becomes angry because God decides not to destroy Nineveh, we hear Jonah say:
“Ah, LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I tried to flee to Tarshish. I knew it! I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and willing to relent from sending disaster.”
This is a remarkable passage. After the sin involving the golden calf, Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai. And then God reveals Himself as follows:
“A God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands of generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.”
It is this text that Jonah is referring to. It was only because of God’s grace and forgiveness that He was willing to lead His people to the Promised Land despite their sins. And that same grace is also available to the inhabitants of Nineveh.

I have already indicated that this story is structured in seven sections. The first half of the book consists of three sections. These three sections run parallel to the first three sections of the second half, sections four through six. But then there is a seventh section in which God engages in a conversation with Jonah. This too is striking. In the first half of the book, Jonah is disobedient and unwilling to listen. We see God’s hand in the storm and in the rescue by the great fish, but there is no communication between God and Jonah. Jonah does offer a prayer to God, but nowhere do we read that God answers him.
Then a new situation arises. Jonah now does obey. Perhaps not willingly. And he is certainly not happy with the outcome. But he does obey. And now we see that God does communicate with Jonah. Thus, the structure of the book of Jonah also gives us something to think about. When we are disobedient, God may seem far away. But when we are obedient, we may not understand God’s ways, yet God is willing to enter into a conversation with us.

Bas Krins