Trans World Radio - India

In examining the Book of Jonah, we find that it contains the personal record of an experience which Jonah had, and he evidently was the writer. Properly speaking, the brief brochure is not a prophecy and seems to be out of step among the Minor Prophets. It contains no prophecy, although Jonah was a prophet. It is the personal account of a major event in the life of Jonah. As the narrator, he told of his experience which was a sign of the greatest event in the history of the world — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Jonah is not a fish story that disturbs a gainsaying world, but it is a throne in the midst of which “stood a Lamb as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). This Lamb is a resurrected Lamb, and a Christ-rejecting world will someday cry out, “Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).

There is another salient point to keep before us as we study this book: The fish is not the hero of the story, neither is it the villain.

The book is not even about a fish. The chief difficulty is in keeping a correct perspective. The fish is among the props and does not occupy the star’s dressing room. Let us distinguish between the essentials and the incidentals. The incidentals are the fish, the gourd, the east wind, the boat, and Nineveh. The essentials are Jehovah and Jonah — God and man.

1. This is the one book of the Old Testament which sets forth the Resurrection. Those who assert that the resurrection is not found in the Old Testament surely are not versed in the magnificent message of Jonah. When a wicked and adulterous generation was seeking after a sign, Jesus referred them to the Book of Jonah for the message: “As Jonah…so Jesus” is the fine comparison made by our Lord.

2. Salvation is not by works . Salvation is by faith, which leads to repentance. The Book of Jonah is read by the Orthodox Jews on the Great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). One great self-evident truth from the ritual of this day is that the way to God was not by “works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5), but by the blood of a substitutionary sacrifice provided by God. The most significant statement in the Book of Jonah is in 2:9 — “Salvation is of the LORD.”

3. God’s purpose of grace cannot be frustrated. If Jonah had refused to go to Nineveh the second time, would God have destroyed the city? God would not have been limited by Jonah’s refusal. He would have raised up another instrument, or, more likely, He would have had another fish ready to give Jonah the green light toward Nineveh. The book shows God’s determination to get His message of salvation to a people who will hear and accept it.

4. God will not cast us aside for faithlessness. When Jonah failed the first time, God did not give him up. The most encouraging words that a faltering and failing child of God can hear are, “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1).