There are many who dismiss the book of Jonah as fiction. The reason they do is because the book mentions “a great fish” swallowing Jonah, and no reasonable thinker would believe that could ever happen in reality. But we can know the book of Jonah is in fact true for two reasons. First, because we know that Jonah was a real, living person. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 as a real, living person at the time of King Jerobaom II during 793-753 B.C. In addition, we can know he is real because even Jesus referred to Jonah as a real, historical person in Matthew 12:39-41. Secondly, because it did happen in June 2021. A man by the name of Michael Packard was swallowed by a whale while lobster diving on the shores of Massachusetts. So, if can happen to this person then, surely it can happen to Jonah right? Of course! Having a laid a foundation that the book of Jonah can be believed, I want to give you 6 things we can learn from the book of Jonah.
- We learn no one can flee from the presence of God, especially those whom God has called to his purpose.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:7-15, there is nowhere we can run to or hide that allows us to escape the presence of God; Jonah discovered that the hard way. The book of Jonah opens with God telling Jonah to “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me” (1:2). But we see in verse 3 Jonah fleeing to Tarshish, “from the presence of the LORD”, by paying a fare and boarding a ship. I assume, Jonah was thinking by fleeing to a different town and escaping onto a boat in the vast ocean God would be unable to reach him there. But Jonah discovered quickly, there is nowhere he could go that he could escape the presence of God nor the call of God on his life; not on a ship in vast ocean or in the belly of a whale.
2. We learn that God is sovereign.
What do I mean by that? I mean that the book of Jonah shows us the supreme power and authority God has over all living things. For example, we see that God is sovereign over the weather. While Jonah was fleeing God on a ship, God “hurled a great wind on the sea”, which in turn caused the sea to become rough. So rough in fact, that the ship Jonah was on threatened to break apart. Later, in Jonah 4:8, we read that “God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.” We also see that God is sovereign over the fish of the sea. As the winds increased and the ship continued to threaten to break apart, the crew came to Jonah, they knew he was fleeing God, and asked what they should do. Jonah told them to throw him into the sea and the sea would cease to rage. While they hesitated to do that, eventually they did. That’s where we discover that “the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” In Jonah 2:10, we read “the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land.” We see that God is sovereign over vegetation. After Jonah preached his message the the great city, Jonah 4:6 tells us “the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah…” We also see that God is sovereign over the insect. Jonah 4:7 tells us, “God appointed a worm that attached the plant, so it withered.” We even learn that God is sovereign over our free will. Jonah, in his free will, resisted the call of God on his life – to preach repentance to Nineveh – therefore he fled. But God, being sovereign, placed Jonah exactly where God wanted him. The Bible tells us in Psalm 138:8, “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me”. This means God will accomplish the plans he has for us one way or the other. There is nothing God does not have supreme power and authority over.
3. We see a glimpse of God’s resurrection plan.
In Jonah 1:17, we learn that Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” In Matthew 12:38, some scribes and Pharisees approached Jesus and demanded to see a sign from Jesus to prove that he was who he claimed to be. In response, Jesus told them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39-40). What we see happening to Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of the great fish and was then vomited out at the command of God, is a foretelling of what would happen to Jesus. Jesus would be crucified, placed in a tomb, and after three days would be raised from death to life.
4. We learn that God is merciful towards sinners.
We see in Jonah 1:2 that God sees this city as evil. We know from other books of the Bible such as Nahum that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God, exploiting the helpless, cruelty in war, idolatry, prostitution, and witchcraft. When Jonah finally does preach the message of repentance we see in Jonah 3:5-9, the people of this great city, even the king, humbling themselves and repenting from their evil. In response, Jonah 3:10 tells us “when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” This shows us, as Jonah said in Jonah 2:9, that “salvation belongs to the LORD!” If a sinner humbles himself or herself, and repents, God shall mercifully relent from executing his judgment on them, especially on the Day of Judgment, when we all stand before Christ.
5. We learn that God wants us to be as compassionate as he is.
Why did Jonah flee from God in the first place? The answer, as we discover in Jonah 4:2, is that Jonah knew God would forgive them. After God forgave the city of Nineveh, Jonah said, “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah would rather have Nineveh destroyed instead of forgiven. It’s easy for any of us to look at the world and all of its ungodliness, and wish for its destruction. The lesson that Jonah learned that day is the lesson every follower of Jesus needs to learn: God extends his mercy and grace to all who will repent and believe. It is not for us to say who salvation belongs to, that is God’s business; remember, salvation belongs to God (Jonah 2:9). He can save whom he chooses to save. As for us, Jesus teaches that we should be as merciful as God is (Luke 6:36).
6. We learn that God’s message to us is a message of repentance.
The message God gave to Jonah was to call out the city for the evil it was doing and call them to repent, or they would face God’s wrath. Today that message would be considered intolerant, unloving, and narrow-minded. So many preachers today refuse to preach about sin. They refuse to talk about God’s wrath. They refuse to speak of everlasting torment, which we call hell. They refuse to call out evil for evil. They refuse to address the wickedness of the flesh. But that has been God’s message to human beings for so long, and it has not changed today. God sent Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners! If sin is not preached about, if it is not called out, how will one know they are a sinner in need of a Savior? How will they know they need to repent? They will not. The most loving and merciful thing we can do is preach the message of Jesus Christ to everyone, which is a message of repentance. A message that calls out sin for sin, evil for evil, and wickedness for wickedness. When God sent Jonah to preach the message God had given him, a message of repentance and wrath, it was out of love and mercy. What I mean is this – God sent Jonah to that great city, to give that city a chance to repent and escape God’s coming wrath. It was Jonah who was acting merciless. He did not want to preach repentance, he did not want to warn them of God’s coming wrath against them, so that God could destroy them. Therefore, I say again, God’s message to all human beings is a message of repentance; and that is a message given to us from love and mercy, so that we can escape God’s wrath to come and enjoy eternity in the presence of Christ.