JONAH CHAPTERS 2-3: THE SAME STANDARD 

CHAPTER 2 

Jonah chapter 2 finds the disobedient prophet praying to the Lord with all his heart (in retrospect).  He is in distress (verse 2) and in that very dangerous situation, he called out to God.  Jonah is not so far gone in his disobedience that he shifts his allegiance.  He is in trouble of his own making, and he prays to God Who hears him. 

Beginning in verse 7, Jonah has a ‘come to God moment’ in the belly of the huge fish and realizes that God is his only option for salvation (concluding in verse 9).   Jonah’s disobedience to God got him into the digestive tract under the sea and only God’s steadfast love and grace would get him out.  He prays.  God answers.   

Many times, we think too ‘black and white’ about faith or doubt.  Jonah had an understandable emotional reaction to having to minister to the Ninevites.  He disobeys, but he does not shift his allegiance from YHWH.  He is in the belly of chaos and he knows that is where he belongs because he disobeyed.  He knows he won’t get out.  There is no escape.  He must rely on God. 

The standard that Nineveh was under was the same standard that Jonah was under.  He understood that.  Fully.  God gave him over to chaos and Jonah called to Him in the midst of it.  He had to deny himself to receive God’s mercy.  He had to place his emotions in check (distaste for the Ninevites) to receive grace.  

Verse 10 shares with us that the fish vomited Jonah up onto land.  The Hebrew word in verse 10 means what you think it means.    

CHAPTER 3 

Jonah chapter 3 finds Jonah trodding along to his prophetic assignment after God tells him a second time (verse 1) what to do and where to go and what to say.  Jonah’s sermon was only one sentence long.  The key verse, a surprise to be sure, is that the Ninevites “believed God” (verse 5) and they repented. 

SIDE NOTE: When Jonah speaks and thinks about God and speaks to God, the word YHWH is used (verses 1, 3).  When the king of Nineveh and the Ninevites refer to this divine being… the word Elohim is used (verses 5, 8. 9).    

What does this mean? 

How much of this has to do with YHWH is not their recognized God? 

Does this indicate the closeness of the relationship? 

Verse 10 in chapter 3 shows us the great and awesome character of God.  He responds to the repentance of the undeserving sinful Ninevites with grace and relents of the disaster He had considered.  God relented at their repentance.  God changed His direction when they changed their direction.  This is exactly what He did for Jonah! 

We see the message of Jonah is very simple, but in review and with all of Scripture in mind, the Holy Spirit was in his words.  God was flavoring the words of the prophet who had just received the grace of God.  Jonah just received what he was dealing out.  God was in the words overshadowing Jonah. 

Jonah understood the entire time about the standard of God.  God’s standard of behavior and grace and judgment and repentance was present before 1:1 and was present during Jonah’s rebelliousness and is present for the Ninevites.  God’s standard was the same for Jonah (a believer) as it was for the Ninevites (non-believers).   

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