Prophets for Our Time

An Exposition of Obadiah and Jonah

Waggoner

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781498274616
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The books of Obadiah and Jonah can be read in just ten minutes. Yet these two books, written nearly three thousand years ago by two very different Hebrew prophets, address attitudes and actions that we struggle with even today. The valuable lessons the ancient writers have for people of the twenty-first century truly make them prophets for our time.Prophets for Our Time strikes a balance between scholarly study and practical exposition to bring these two prophetic books alive for modern readers. The result is a practical, readable book that clearly explains the meaning of the biblical text. Maps, charts, and suggestions for personal application and further study enhance the value of the book, making it a very useful tool for personal and group study.

Exposition

of

Jonah

5

Introduction to Jonah

The story of Jonah is one of the best-known works in all of human literature. Even in this biblically illiterate era, there are few people who have not heard of this fascinating story. Sadly, however, most consider it no more than a fairy tale—an interesting, even humorous, tale of a man who was swallowed by a great fish and survived when he was spit out upon the dry land three days later. Sadder still is that many so-called biblical scholars have likewise relegated the book to the category of fable. It is not my purpose to defend the book of Jonah in all its details—that, I believe, has been adequately done by other Bible-believing scholars.1 Suffice it to say, I am in total agreement with those who affirm the historical accuracy and divine inspiration of Jonah. My purpose is to expound this wonderful book—to set forth its glorious message in some detail—so that its familiar events become not merely curious occurrences of long ago but divinely ordained events that have relevance to us today.

Behind every amazing event in the Bible, there is a principle or truth to be learned. Behind every miracle there is a message to be learned and applied. That is certainly true of the book of Jonah. While many people know something about Jonah, most know little of what the book of Jonah is all about. There are, in reality, a number of amazing events in the book of Jonah, not just the familiar fish story. And if we dig deeply enough, we will find some important lessons behind those events.

One sure sign that Jonah is an important book and has some important lessons for us is the fact that it has been the focus of so many satanic attacks! Perhaps more than any other book in the Bible, it has been attacked, ridiculed, and maligned. Surely, if there were nothing here of any relevance to us, Satan would not bother instigating such attacks. Yes, there are important lessons here. There are truths to learn and principles to apply.

The book of Jonah begins this way: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” These opening verses raise two questions that we need to answer at the outset. Number one: Who is Jonah? And number two: What is the significance of Nineveh, this city to which he is told to go and preach?

Who Is Jonah?

His Family and Prophetic Ministry

What do we know about Jonah aside from this book? The answer is, very little. Jonah is likely the author of this book since the information contained in it clearly must have come from him; and the book does reveal quite a bit about the prophet. But what do we know about his background? We are told that his name is Jonah, which means “dove,”2 but there does not seem to be anything significant about that. We are told he was the son of Amittai, but the Bible tells us nothing about Amittai. In fact, what little we know about Jonah’s background comes from one verse—2 Kings 14:25. Verses 23–24 set this verse in its context.

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.

This is the only Old Testament mention of Jonah outside the book that bears his name. We are told that he was from Gath-hepher in Israel, the northern kingdom. This town was just west of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee and only about three miles from a city we are familiar with—Nazareth. Jonah thus was from the Galilee area of Israel.

The only other thing we are told about Jonah here is this one prophecy he spoke. We know nothing of his original call to be a prophet as we do Isaiah, Jeremiah, and some others. We know only that he spoke this great prophecy of Israel’s expansion eastward during the reign of Jeroboam II. The way he is introduced here would seem to indicate that Jonah was well known and well respected. We probably can assume that was the case, especially after this prophecy was fulfilled. But this is the only prophecy of Jonah’s mentioned outside the book of Jonah. In fact, within the book of Jonah itself, there is only one prophecy—that in forty days the city of Nineveh would be overthrown—and that prophecy was never fulfilled. Although Jonah is included in the Minor Prophets, it is more a historical book than a prophetic one. There is just the one prophecy; the rest of the book is the historical record of what happened to Jonah.

The Bible does not paint a very flattering picture of this prophet. Indeed, he ran from God! He was a selfish, stubborn, disobedient man. Yet Jonah is one of only two writing prophets Jesus mentioned by name in the New Testament.

His Times

Jonah lived and prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, who ruled the northern kingdom from 793 to 753 B.C.3 We do not know the exact time the events recorded in the book of Jonah occurred. It seems likely the book was written shortly after the events, perhaps around 760 B.C. 4 To put that into perspective, the northern kingdom’s capital, Samaria, fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. So Jonah was prophesying about forty years before his own nation was conquered.

Jeroboam II was a wicked king, as were all of the northern kings. His reign, however, was a time of peace and prosperity, though it was a “fragile outward prosperity.”5 On the one hand, the wealthy lived lives of ease; on the other hand, there was much oppression of the poor. There was continuing and rampant idolatry and wickedness in the country, even as the nation prospered.6 In fact, the nation of Israel was able to expand its territory to the east during Jeroboam’s reign, as Jonah himself prophesied.

Two other prophets—Amos and Hosea—ministered during this period, probably shortly after Jonah. A couple of passages from these two prophets give us an idea of the times in which Jonah lived.

“I hate, I reject your festivals,

Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings

and your grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.Take away from Me the noise of your songs;

I will not even listen

to the sound of your harps.

But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings

in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?

You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images,

the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,”

says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:21–27)

Amos was saying that judgment was coming. Yes, the people seemed to have lives of ease. They enjoyed a prosperity they had never had before. There was peace all around, and the country was expanding. Everyone, at least those on the wealthy end of the spectrum, seemed to be getting along just fine. But inwardly this nation was corrupt, and judgment was coming.

Hosea said much the same thing; only he was more specific in one regard. Hosea 11 begins by recounting some of Israel’s history. The prophet said God had called Israel out of Egypt. They were not going to go back to Egypt, however; they were going to go somewhere else. Through his prophet the Lord declared,

They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria—he will be their king

Because they refused to return to Me.

The sword will whirl against their cities,

And will demolish their gate bars

And consume them because of their counsels. (vv. 5–6)

No, they would not go back to Egypt, from which God had graciously and mercifully delivered them. They would go to Assyria. And that, of course, is exactly what happened in 722 B.C. The Assyrians conquered and decimated the land of Israel, and that is important to keep in mind as we move on to the next question. In summary, we can say that Jonah lived and prophesied in a time of prosperity but also in a time of decay, idolatry, and wickedness.

What Is the Significance of Nineveh?

Why was God calling Jonah to go to Nineveh? Nineveh was located on the Tigris River. It was among the largest cities of the known world at that time and the principal city in the kingdom of Assyria. A generation after the time of Jonah, it was made the capital of Assyria by King Sennacherib.7 As we saw, Hosea prophesied that this same Assyria would conquer Israel.

We must go all the way back to Genesis 10 to find the first mention of Nineveh in the Bible. There we are told that Nimrod built the city of Nineveh (v. 11). Thus it had a very long history. Nineveh was about 550 miles from Israel, as the crow flies. Of course, one did not travel in a straight line from Israel to Nineveh because the Arabian Desert lay between the two places. Travelers had to follow the so-called Fertile Crescent, which arced north of the desert. This would make the trip closer to 700 miles. Jonah was an Israelite, and a loyal Israelite, no doubt. As such, Jonah was presented with quite an interesting situation. God called him...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• Exposition of Obadiah
• Exposition of Jonah
• Bibliography