Old Testament · 1 min read
Jonah and the Great Fish: running from God (Jonah 1–4)
God sends Jonah to warn the great city of Nineveh, but Jonah boards a ship heading the other way. A storm breaks, Jonah is thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. After three days he is cast onto dry land, goes to Nineveh, and the whole city turns from its evil — and God shows mercy.
Read Jonah 1Key verses
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Jonah 3:10
King James Version
Jonah is the only prophet whose most famous moment is running away.
The other direction
God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry out against its wickedness. Jonah goes down to Joppa and pays for a ship to Tarshish, as far from Nineveh as he can get.
The storm
A great wind strikes the sea and the ship is about to break apart. The sailors cry out to their gods while Jonah sleeps below. When the lots fall on him, he tells them the truth and asks them to throw him into the sea. The sea grows calm, and the Lord prepares a great fish to swallow him. For three days and nights Jonah prays from inside it, until it brings him up onto dry land.
A second chance
God speaks to Jonah a second time, and this time he goes. He walks through Nineveh announcing that it will be overthrown in forty days. To his surprise, the people believe God, from the king to the poorest, and turn from their ways. God sees it and spares the city.
The question at the end
Jonah is angry at God’s mercy. The book ends with God asking him a question that is left open for the reader: should I not care about this great city?
Read the chapter
Read Jonah 1 and the whole book — it is only four short chapters.