Jonah lived in the 8th century BC. He was born in the city of Gath-Hefer in Galilee. His age is unknown. Tradition, not without reason, considers him a disciple of the prophet Elisha. The Lord sends Jonah to preach in the pagan city of Nineveh, whose inhabitants lived wickedly. At the beginning of his ministry, Jonah shared the generally accepted Jewish opinion that all Gentiles were enemies of God and deserved only His wrath and punishment. Nevertheless, the Lord, boundless in His mercy, always desires salvation (White 7). The book of the prophet Jonah, which tells about his embassy to pagan Nineveh, is a revelation of God’s love, which appeals not only to the chosen people but to all people. This idea will become one of the main ones in the New Testament.
Jonah had yet to understand that although God had chosen the Jewish people and made a covenant with them, he was not abandoning other nations either. The prophet Jonah confessed to the One God – the Lord of the Universe: “I am a Jew; I honor the Lord God of heaven, who created the sea and the land” (ESV Bible, Jonah 1.9). The story of Jonah is indicative: there is a deep consciousness of his guilt before God and a sacrificial feat when the prophet asks the sailors to throw him into the sea during a strong storm (White 11). It is not the story of a single person but a kind of reflection on the historical fate of the entire Israeli people, to whom the truth about the One God was revealed. He was accustomed to perceiving God as his protection and was right in this – but this is not enough. The Israelites were to take the message of God to other peoples and tribes, even if they thought they were unworthy. Speaking of this prophet, who did everything in reverse, this book points out the same ideas as other prophetic books but does it in a vivid form, in the form of a parable. The moral of the book of Jonah is contained in the last verse-question of the Lord about not pitying the great city, where there are one hundred and twenty thousand foolish people and many cattle.
Jonah’s long and incredible journey can be a lesson in many ways for today’s Christians. First, it is never too late to believe in and serve God; prayers and true Christian love can lead to a miracle. Moreover, this book is an example of the fact that each of us is capable of making mistakes, but by no means despondency and pity are the ways to correct them. Death is not the only possible punishment when trying to escape from God; there is always an opportunity to return to the proper path. For me, the story of Jonah inspires me after life’s failures when it seems that everyone has turned their backs on me. Turning to God through prayers, I believe that only by being imbued with true Christian love for my neighbors will I see a miracle, just like Jonah was swallowed by a whale and saved from death. I try to perceive any failure as a lesson or experience that will give me new knowledge, which I will have to convey to my neighbors so that we can again find the strength to do the right thing.
Work Cited
The ESV Bible. Crossway, 2001.
White, Ellen G. Steps to Christ Youth Edition. Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2007.