Jonah

Jonah tells the remarkable story of a reluctant prophet who runs from God's call, only to discover that God's mercy extends even to Israel's enemies. God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, capital of the brutal Assyrian Empire, and preach against its wickedness. Instead, Jonah flees in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish. God sends a violent storm, and when sailors cast lots to determine who caused it, the lot falls on Jonah.

He confesses his flight from God and advises being thrown overboard. The reluctant sailors exhaust other options before complying, and the storm immediately ceases. God appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah, where he spends three days and nights—a period Jesus later uses as a sign of His death and resurrection. From the fish's belly, Jonah prays, acknowledging that salvation belongs to the Lord.

The fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. God's command comes again, and this time Jonah obeys, traveling to Nineveh and proclaiming that in forty days the city will be overthrown. Surprisingly, Nineveh responds with unprecedented repentance—from the king to the lowest citizen, even animals are covered with sackcloth. God sees their genuine repentance and relents from the disaster He planned.

Rather than rejoicing at this mercy, Jonah becomes angry, revealing his reason for fleeing initially—he knew God was gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and might spare Nineveh. Jonah's prejudice against Gentiles and his nationalistic desire for Israel's enemies to be destroyed conflicted with God's assignment. Sitting outside the city hoping to witness destruction, Jonah receives shade from a plant God provides, then becomes furious when the plant withers. God rebukes Jonah's misplaced compassion—concerned about a plant but not 120,000 people who don't know right from left, plus many animals.

The book ends with God's question hanging, challenging readers about God's universal compassion.