A Bible Study in the Book of Jonah - Part I

Reading the Bible for All Its Worth
-Different genres (literary styles) of Scripture viz. letters, narrative, poetry, apocalyptic, wisdom etc. need to be read on their own terms
-Each have their own set of principles and rules that will help us get to what the human author, and thus God, intended to say
-Jonah is an example of a narrative

What are narratives ?
-A narrative is a true “story” that describes God at work in His creation and among His people.
-It glorifies Him, help us to understand and appreciate Him, and provides important illustrations of important life lessons

Old Testament: Genesis, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Jonah and Haggai

New Testament: Large portions of Gospels and Acts

Principles for Narratives
1. An OT narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine, but (usually) illustrates a doctrine/doctrines taught elsewhere – so we need to experience the text
2. What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us – frequently it is a negative example
3. A narrative is not an allegory filled with hidden meaning. We should focus on the clear and plain meaning of the text.
4. Not all details are given, what appears is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know
5. In the final analysis, God is the hero of all Biblical narratives

Jonah and his people…

-Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-28), in Israel, 782 to 753 BC
-It was a time of political prosperity
-Jeroboam “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 14:24), but still expanded Israel farther than his father did
-Jonah thus saw firsthand the restorative compassion of God extended to wayward people

Ninevah and its people...

-Ninevah, probably the capital of the ancient Assyrian empire
-Assyria often opposed Israel and eventually took the Israelites captive in 722-721 BC (see Nahum)
-But, Jonah prophesied during a period when Assyria was not an immediate threat to Israel and when Israel enjoyed peace and prosperity because of the compassion of God