Disclaimer The insights of this presentation is prepared by the

author after detailed research of Biblical Scriptures (The Holy Bible) as well as that of Hebrew texts Rabbinic Literature Pseudo Ephiphanius writings Book of Tobias (Apocrypha/ Orthodox Biblical Canon) Third book of Machabees (Apocrypha)

The Presentation will help the viewer To have a better understanding on Biblical History To have a clear idea about the book of Jonah

The story of Jonah Jonah was a Prophet in a little town of Joppa

( present day Jaffa) in Philistine.

God called him and asked him to go to a place called Nineveh, capital of Assyria and prophecy against them.

But Jonah disobeyed God and boarded a ship sailing through the Mediterranean sea and headed to a place called Tarshish (Tarsus) [Spain]

The story of Jonah Raging storms broke loose and the sailors found that

it was God’s anger that has caused the storm. Jonah was thrown into the sea.

He was gulped by a sea fish [Whale]. Jonah repented and prayed inside the tummy of the fish. The fish vomited Jonah upon the dry land

Jonah went and prophesied to Nineveh and the people of Nineveh repented of their sins

To have a better understanding of the places mentioned here, please take a look at the map in the next slide

Historical Setting Jonah becomes a prophet during the reign of

Jeroboam II (Israel’s most powerful King) 793 BC Jonah Prophesied between 793 BC – 753 BC Jonah Preceded Amos Jonah was a little boy during the time of the two

miracle working prophets -Elijah and Elisha Shalmaneser III was the King of Assyria when

Jonah prophesied to Nineveh Joppa was an Israeli Territory during that time

Who is this Jonah? Jonah (Yunus in Arabic) means Dove [peace] He is the son of Amittai who is from Gath-Hepher (Few miles

north of Nazareth) Amittai means Truth in Hebrew ( אמת) [emet] Jonah is the 5th minor prophet in the Old testament order He is mentioned twice in the Old testament

2 Kings 14:25 – Jonah’s prophecy on Israel’s territory restoration is fulfilled

Book of Jonah In New Testament , he is again referred twice by Jesus himself

Mt 12:38-41 , Luke 11:29-32 (When the Pharisees tried to corner Jesus by asking him to show a sign, He made a reference to Jonah. Jonah's restoration after three days inside the great whale prefigured the Resurrection of Jesus Christ after three days.

Jonah – Additional Information According to Judaism, Jonah was the boy who was brought

back to life by Elijah (The son of the widow from Zarepath) [1Kings 17:17-24]

This Young boy became one of the disciples of Elijah and was trained by Elijah

Jonah was one among the 50 prophets who stood at the banks of River Jordan when Elijah was taken up into the heavens (2 Kings 2:7)

Later Jonah became a disciple of Elisha and he was asked by Elisha to anoint King Jehu (2 Kings 9 :1-13) . He was a shy prophet and Jehu’s friends called him a mad fellow/false prophet.( This could be one of the factors for Jonah’s disobedience in going to Nineveh)

Now let us enter into the Book of Jonah

Jonah – Book Formation The book of Jonah was written by an unknown

author

There are four chapters in the book of Jonah

Each chapter in the book of Jonah conveys a definite message

There is a relationship between the even chapters and the odd chapters ( we will explore that after understanding the four chapters)

Jonah - 1 God gives an Instruction to Jonah (Go to Nineveh) Jonah disobeys God ( Travels to Tarshish) God creates a storm and makes the sailors to

understand that the storm was a result of Jonah’s disobedience.

Jonah is thrown inside the sea. To make matters worse, a big fish swallows Jonah

Moral : If we disobey God, God will Punish us.

Jonah - 2 Jonah understands his mistake and prays inside

the tummy of the fish He submits himself to God and asks for repentance God forgives him and makes he fish to vomit Jonah

upon the dry land

Moral : If we accept our mistakes and repent, God will forgive us and save us.

In Jonah’s case, God used the fish as a submarine.

Jonah - 3 Jonah goes to Nineveh and preaches to the

people of Nineveh. The people of Nineveh repent (From King to

Livestock) God forgives them

Moral : God is a Gracious God. He will forgive and forget our past sins if we really repent and submit

ourselves to him

Jonah - 4 When God showed mercy to Nineveh, Jonah gets angry

because his prophesy was not fulfilled Jonah became grumpy and waited to see the destruction of

Nineveh. Moreover the burns in his body (acidic burns because of staying inside the fish’s belly) irritated him

God made a gourd to grow and cover up Jonah. Jonah was glad. Then God made a worm to eat the gourd. Now when Jonah felt the heat of the sun, he fainted and wished to die. God did this to make Jonah understand that he was a merciful God.

Moral : God’s plans, thoughts and ways are not ours. If we hold on to him, we would understand his plans.

Relationship between chapters 1 and 3

The same verses in the two chapters have similarities Verse 1 – God’s command to Jonah Verse 3 – Jonah’s response to God’s command Verse 5 – Reaction of people around Jonah

Relationship between chapters 2 and 4 The 2nd chapter and 4th chapter shows

Jonah’s contrasting behavioral response Verse 1 – Jonah’s prayer/ Jonah’s anger Verse 7,8 – Jonah’s soul fainted / Physically

fainted

End note The book of Jonah ends with a question posed by

God.

We never know whether Jonah became calm or whether he continued to be grumpy

But we know one thing from the book of Jonah – God is a merciful God and he gives us one more chance to repent and ask for forgiveness. Are we ready to submit ourselves?

About the author The author[ Prason] comes from a very small town in the southern

most part of India.

He had a good education and he was brought up in Christian faith. But he went with the ways of the world in his late teens and fell for all the vices.

Still God chose him; broke him and molded him and has made him to be a steward for his sheep.

Now the Lord is imparting him with his wisdom and is training him to be an Apostle with a Prophetic Calling .

Praise God! for his Yoke is easy and his burden is light  

If you want to share anything regarding this presentation, please write to the author [Prason] at prason@chronicwriter.com