Jonah: Who, When, Why And How Can We Know?

Feature 1 – October 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Jonah: Who, When, Why And How Can We Know?

Who Wrote The Book And When?
“Jonah the son of Amittai” (Jon. 1:1 NKJV ) was an 8th century BC prophet who is generally credited with having written the book that bears his name. Unfortunately, this account has been the subject of some debate; a number of people asking, “Did it really happen?” Modern critics oppose the book mainly because of the supernatural occurrences recorded in it:

The great fish (v.17)The repentance of all Nineveh (3:5-10)The plant (4:6)The worm (v.7)

Liberal opponents refuse to accept God’s sovereign acts which supersede the natural order He put into creation. These people deny the statements noted in the account, such as Jonah 1:4, 1:17, 2:10 and others. Ultimately, they do not want to believe in God.

Conservative scholars believe Jonah wrote the book. Others feel that Jonah could not have been the author because the book does not claim he wrote it, and the book refers to the prophet in the third person. To refute the first point, one may note that the book of Jonah starts like Hosea, Joel, Micah and Zephaniah, of whose authorship there is no debate. Regarding the second argument, writing in the third person was a common practice and can also be seen in works attributed to Moses and Isaiah.2

There are some who feel that the book of Jonah was actually anonymously recorded sometime in the 5th or 4th century BC.1 If it was written down by someone 300 years after the fact, this would suggest that the account Jonah related was passed on verbally until someone was ordained by God to write it down and preserve it for future generations – for us! Romans 15:4 tells us, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” What we do know is that the Lord saw to it that it was included in the Jewish Torah and subsequently in the Christian Bible. His word is truth (Jn. 17:17).

Why Was The Book Written?
The Lord Jesus authenticated the historical legitimacy of this book and referred to two important lessons from the Jonah account:

• “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” (Mt. 12:40).
• “For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation … The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here” (Lk. 11:30,32).

The Lord’s use of this book to teach about Himself is one of the more important reasons why the book had to be written! Furthermore, the book of Jonah was penned through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21) for it carried a prophetic message about the Son of Man. We know that “All Scripture” – including the book of Jonah – “is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). There are practical things we may learn from reading this interesting book and applying its lessons to our lives today!

Why Would Jonah Tell His Story?
It is unheard of in modern literature that an individual would produce a record about himself that is extensively unattractive. Nevertheless, Jonah admitted to a number of flaws and rebellious actions, including his:

• Prejudice against the Ninevites
• Rebellion against the command of God
• Sleeping inconsiderately of the sailors who feared for their lives
• Anger at God for the loss of the shade-providing plant
• Thinking that things, such as the plant, were more important than people

It is very likely that Jonah had to tell his story! He knew that God was “a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jon. 4:2). The prophet understood this when it came to God’s grace in forgiving others. However, he needed to learn how this applied to him personally. For example, the Lord had not punished Jonah for his rebellion. He had forgiven the prophet, preserved him by the big fish and provided a second opportunity to obey His command. It was possibly not until the end that Jonah learned this lesson.

Have we learned that same lesson? Yes, He loves even me and provided for me the forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of God’s beloved Son. Even now as a believer, we need to come to Him daily to deal with our sins and guilt, for 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Only with the clean slate of confession and forgiveness can we be used to serve Him appropriately.

How Can We Know If Jonah Answered The Question?
God asked Jonah, “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left – and much livestock?” (Jon. 4:11). It is most likely that the prophet did learn that life is much more important than things. Jonah’s own admittance to his sins and shortcomings became a public document as recorded in the Bible. This may suggest that he had learned the lesson. Having this story in the Scriptures suggests that God knows we need to learn the same thing: people are much more important that things!

ENDNOTES
1. See BibleGateway.com – Encyclopedia Of The Bible, The Book Of Jonah
2. Wikipedia.org – Mills, Watson E; Bullard, Roger Aubrey (1990).

By Stephen Campbell

The only way to escape eternal condemnation is by recognizing oneself as a sinner and by accepting the Lord Jesus as Savior. The warning of judgment is part of the gospel: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27 KJV). This “once” could happen in an instant for you, unconverted reader. How can you know if you will have the benefit of even 40 days’ warning (Lk. 12:20)? “Therefore be ye also ready,” says the Lord Jesus (Mt. 24:44). Yes, now is the day of salvation. —Jean Koechlin, Day By Day, Volume 5 (adapted)