1. Jonah 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

2. Knowing God’s Word
Jonah

3. Knowing God’s Word
Last week we studied Obadiah, which centered around the prophecy given to Edom of their downfall
This week we move on to the book of Jonah
The book of Jonah is the 32nd book of our OT; the 5th of the minor prophets

4. Knowing God’s Word
Jonah is the likely author of this book based upon the intimate knowledge of all that happened to him
Jonah is the Hebrew word Yonah meaning “dove”
He was the son of Amittai (1:1)

5. Knowing God’s Word Jonah is a bit of a different book of prophecy
The book itself does not contain actual prophecy, but rather a historical account of Jonah prophesying
Jonah is mentioned in II Kings 14:23-25, placing him in the reign of Jeroboam II ( BC)

6. Knowing God’s Word
Jonah would have been a contemporary of Amos and Hosea
He was from Gath Hepher, a city 4 miles NE of what was later Nazareth in Galilee
Nineveh, the subject of his preaching, was the capital of Assyria (found in modern day northern Iraq)

8. Knowing God’s Word
Jonah is the only prophet whom Jesus made comparison to regarding Himself (Matt. 12:39-41)
Jesus compared Jonah’s 3 days in the belly of the fish to His own death, burial and resurrection
Certainly Jesus’ point about Nineveh’s repentance was due to being Gentile

9. Knowing God’s Word
Jonah’s preaching and Nineveh’s reaction should have shamed Israel
Here, a Gentile pagan nation repented at the preaching of a stranger while Israel would not repent after its own prophets preached
Nineveh’s repentance wouldn’t last and the city was eventually overthrown

10. Knowing God’s Word There are some misconceptions about Jonah:
Some say that Jonah was not a real character
Some say that Jonah was swallowed by a whale (1:17 - great fish)
Some say that Jonah ran because he was afraid of the inhabitants of Nineveh (4:2)

11. Knowing God’s Word Key Verses in Jonah: 1:3 1:12 2:7-9 3:4-5 3:10 4:2
4:10-11

12. Knowing God’s Word Outline of Jonah: Running Away From God (1)
Running To God (2)
Running With God (3)
Running Ahead of God (4)