Jonah was a prophet called by God to preach repentance to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Jonah 1:2 records God’s command: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it.” Instead of obeying, Jonah fled in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish.
His disobedience brought a great storm. The sailors, desperate to save themselves, cast lots and discovered Jonah was the cause. He admitted his rebellion and said, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea” (Jonah 1:12). After they did, God prepared a great fish to swallow him. Jonah was in its belly three days and three nights, foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Christ (Matthew 12:40).
From inside the fish, Jonah prayed, and God delivered him. Jonah 2:10 says, “So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Then God called him a second time, and this time he obeyed.
Jonah preached to Nineveh, saying, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). The people believed God, fasted, and repented. God saw their repentance and relented from bringing judgment.
Rather than rejoicing, Jonah became angry. Jonah 4:2 reveals his heart—he knew God was “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness.” He didn’t want Nineveh spared.
God used a plant to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion, asking, “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city?” (Jonah 4:11). The book ends with that question, leaving the reader to consider God’s mercy toward sinners.
Jonah’s life displays the struggle between divine compassion and human prejudice, showing that God’s mercy reaches even the most undeserving when they repent.
