This book is about four things. Firstly, a prophetic mission by Jonah, son of Amittai, a prophet of Israel sent to preach to the sinful city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Secondly, it is about the Book of Jonah which describes Jonah’s efforts to refuse this divine mission and how God forced him to complete it. Thirdly, it is about the real prophetic lesson the Book of Jonah had for Israel, not for Assyria. Fourthly, it is a modern prophetic lesson for the Church as the Kingdom of God on Earth today, which is falling away just like ancient Israel once did.
This is a hefty book; so why did the author need 570 pages to adequately explain four pages of scripture? Well, not only did he need to explain the story of the book and why God sent Jonah five-hundred miles from Israel to preach a metaphorical sermon that Israel ultimately needed to hear, but he had to correct 1500 years of confusion that previous Bible commentators have consciously or unconsciously employed, which tended to obscure the real message of the book. Jewish commentators have long presented the book of Jonah as a parable, which allows them somehow to escape taking its message seriously. If it is just an extended figure of speech, we don’t have to struggle with it like the more explicit message of that dreadful prophet Amos, do we?
Many Christian commentators take Jonah as a parable as well; however, Jesus employed it as a simile of His three days and nights to be spent in Hades, as being like Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. If Jesus spoke of Jonah’s story as an historical event, then should not Christians, who claim to believe His message, as well? There are parables in the OT; they are identified by an introduction like the prophet Nathan’s parable to King David, “Two men there were…,” or “A man there was…,” then giving his name but not the name of his father, since he was not a real person. Further, any OT narrative representing history begins with a waw consecutive; this Hebrew “And then” connects it to the rest of the history the Bible is carefully relating. The Book of Jonah does not have the literary signature of an OT parable, but rather is presented as actual history introducing Jonah as the son of Amittai; Jesus also strongly indicated that it was, by using it as an historical simile of his own tribulation.
If you do not believe that God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and transport him back to the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean after being thrown overboard at sea, then you may not enjoy reading this book; however, if you claim to be a Christian and have those doubts, then you really should read it!
Upon reading his Jonah, I have now read all of Robert Balaicius Bible commentaries. His scholarship is flawless and he doesn’t just footnote his sources, he often quotes them at length, which is a great benefit if you are not the owner of a vast theological library like his. He cleaves very closely to scripture and faithfully represents Reformation theology. I can recommend him very highly.
