The Bible from 30,000 Feet by Skip Heitzig

Author:Skip Heitzig
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736970303
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

JONAH

FLIGHT PLAN

Facts

Author

The author of the book of Jonah is unknown, but it was probably either someone familiar with the history of Jonah or Jonah himself. The only Old Testament reference to Jonah, other than in this book, is found in 2 Kings 14:25, which mentions “Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher,” a small town near Nazareth. Jesus Himself referenced the events in the book of Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41), giving strong support to the historical validity of the story.

Date Written

The book of Jonah was written during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel, sometime between 793 and 753 BC.

Landmarks

Our current flight carries us out over the deep blue sea of the book of Jonah. Jonah’s story is a classic example of what God can do not only through the words of a prophet but also in the life of a prophet. God told Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh, but Jonah was disobedient and fled to Tarshish instead. In spite of his defiance, God redirected his path and brought him to repentance in a unique place: the stomach of a fish. In a complete 180-degree turn, Jonah went and preached to the people of Nineveh, who repented of their sins and glorified God.

Itinerary

• Running from God (Jonah 1)

• Running to God (Jonah 2)

• Running with God (Jonah 3)

• Run-in with God (Jonah 4)

Gospel

Jesus used Jonah’s adventure in the belly of the fish as a sign of His own burial and resurrection: “For 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” (Matthew 12:40). Jesus physically died and physically rose again; thus, to call the story of Jonah a myth would imply that Christ’s death and resurrection was a myth too. Of course, some people would use that very reason to challenge the veracity of both stories. But within the context of the Bible, a literal interpretation best fits the story of Jonah, given the historical record of Jonah’s existence provided by 2 Kings 14:25 and the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, and Jesus’s view of the not-so-tall tale.

The book of Jonah also shows the great lengths to which God will go to reach the lost and offer them forgiveness. Despite Jonah’s unwilling and reluctant heart, God still used him to get a message of mercy to an unrepentant people. Hundreds of years later, Jesus Christ would go to even greater lengths to offer salvation to the entire world.

History

Jonah lived during the rule of King Jeroboam II (793–753 BC). This was a time of wealth, territorial expansion, and peace for the northern kingdom of Israel. But the nation was rebelling against the Lord, treating its own people poorly and playing with the practices of foreign religions. Because of this, God allowed the Assyrians to conquer and take Israel captive in 722 BC. It was to these very same Assyrians—to their capital city of Nineveh—that God called Jonah to preach the repentance of sin.

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