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About Jonah
Johan 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of YHWH”
Jonah’s Hebrew name is Yona H3124 – yônâ, which means Dove, from the same root word H3123 – yônâ. The first time we see a dove mentioned is with Noah, sending a dove to check for land in Genesis 8:8, “Also he sent forth a dove H3123 from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;”
Here we have YHWH sending a “Dove” to many people, yet Jonah flees and ends up in the stormy waters. It is not often that we get to learn about what the prophet thinks and experiences, and it is not always noble. Elijah fled from Jezebel and asked YHWH to end his life, Moses also said the burden was too heavy for him, and both Jeremiah and Job cursed the day they were born. Even for Yeshua, it was not easy as we see in Matthew 26:39, “”Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Nineveh
Jonah 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”
Nineveh was on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. As a matter of fact, it was the largest city in the world at its time. The Hebrew word for Nineveh is H5210 – nînvê, which means “place of Ninus”. In the Assyrian texts, Ninus is compared alot with Nimrod. Why would YHWH be interested in warning and saving the hundreds of thousands of people of Nineveh? YHWH does tell Jonah in the end, it is to save all those people. But, YHWH knew that Israel was going to be captured and taken to Nineveh. Perhaps YHWH was preparing a place for Israel. Jonah didn’t know this, and he just wanted to run in the opposite direction, literally. Jonah lived during the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, which spanned from 786 to 746 BC. Israel was exiled in 733 BC! Here in Assyria is where the 10 tribes of Israel got “lost” and never fully returned to Israel.
Even though Nineveh did turn their hearts and ways towards YHWH after Jonah warned them, Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC when a coalition of Babylonian, Median, and Scythian forces besieged and conquered the city, marking the end of the Assyrian Empire.
In the Book of Nahum, the prophet, he made a prophecy about the destruction of Nineveh, which is written to comfort the people of Judah by affirming that YHWH would not allow the wicked Assyrian Empire to go unpunished. Nahum’s prophecies vividly describe the city’s fall, the chaos, and the plunder.
Yeshua
Jonah 1:17 “Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights”
When the people asked Yeshua for a sign, He said no sign will be given except for this prophecy in Matthew 12:40-41 “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”
Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2 would sound a lot like something Yeshua probably prayed and felt.. “out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep.. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple….But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of YHWH.” Salvation in Hebrew is Yeshua H3444 – yᵊšûʿâ… so that verse says Yeshua YHWH.
Fasting
Jonah 3:7-8 “let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto YHWH”
In verse 6 it mentions the king even sat in ashes. Even though we don’t have any rules on fasting (see our previous post..), a common theme for fasting in Scripture is putting on sackcloth, sitting in ashes, drinking nothing and eating no food, and crying and praying unto YHWH for help!
Sackcloth – Hebrew word is H8242 – śaq, meaning bag. The root word H8264 – šāqaq means to run and be thirsty, the urgently seek relief.
Ashes – Hebrew word H665 – ‘ēp̄er, meaning something worthless, or distress or sorrow.
Fasting – Hebrew word H6685 – ṣôm, to abstain from eating or drinking. See our post yesterday on Joel and Fasting.
Prayer – See our previous topics on Prayer (click here for more)
Teshuvah & Mercy
Jonah 4:11 “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand”
Jonah’s anger and frustration almost reminds one of the story of the lost son, when he returns and the brother is angry. YHWH sees the lost sheep, all the souls – yet for those saved it is so easy to forget that they are living under YHWH’s mercy every day.
In Jonah 3:10 we read about their repentance, not just in words and promises, but in Deeds and Works! “And YHWH saw their works, that they turned from their evil way”. This was proof that YHWH saw that they were serious about changing. Repentance is not just feeling sorry and saying “sorry”, or a repentance prayer. The Hebrew word is Suv H7725 – šûḇ, from the Hebrew word Teshuvah. See our post on Psalm 51 and explanation on Repentance/Teshuvah.
