A Walk Through the Bible – Jonah

Text for Sermon: Jonah 1:1-3, 17; 2:1-2, 9-10; 3:10; 4:1-1

Introduction.

The prophecy of Jonah is unique among the prophetic books for several reasons.  It’s the only prophecy directed toward the life of a prophet rather than his message.  It contains only one sentence of prophecy, the rest is narrative like we read about Elijah or Elisha.

It’s different from all the other Minor Prophets in that it’s completely autobiographical.  It tells the story of one prophet and his relationship with God.  And it’s not a flattering story, which once again argues for the authenticity of God’s Word.  It tells the truth and doesn’t whitewash reality.

The first great surprise in this little book is “But Jonah…”  Wait, what’s this?  God told a prophet to do something, and he fled from the presence of the Lord heading west instead of east.  Jonah is the only prophet of God in all of Scripture who directly disobeyed God’s Word.  But Jonah’s disobedience is not his only sin.  There is something underlying his disobedience, a disease of which this disobedience is a symptom.

The four chapters of Jonah divide neatly in half.  The first two chapters are about his first divine call to prophesy against Nineveh and the second two chapters are about his second divine call to prophesy against Nineveh.