01 - God's Mission Rejected 02 - God's Messenger Corrected 03 - God's Mission Accepted 04 - God's Message Respected 05 - God's Messenger Dejected 06 - An Epilogue To Jonah

When a person hears the name Jonah usually the first thought that comes to mind is of Jonah’s experience within the belly of “the great fish”. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if that’s the extent of one’s knowledge about the prophet Jonah, what a shame. In the book of Jonah we’re also told of how God brought a disobedient and reluctant prophet to repentance and restoration to service. One of the main themes of this book is the sovereignty of God (His right to rule) over nature, animals and people, that is, over all that He has created. The greatest teaching, however, is the reminder of God’s compassion and mercy for all people, for Gentiles as well as for His chosen people Israel. God sent His prophet to a fierce, cruel, and pagan nation, and then withheld his judgment of them when they repented. What a great story, what a great God!