A person named Jonah

In 2 Kings 14:25, information about Jonah is recorded: “He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.” From this passage, we can gather information about Jonah. (1) Jonah was from Gath-hepher in the territory of Zebulun, located in central Galilee. (2) The meaning of the name Jonah is “dove.” (3) His father was named Amittai, which means “truth.” (4) If he ministered during the reign of Jeroboam II, that would be from 793 to 753 BC. (5) During the time he was ministering as a prophet, the prophet Amos came from the southern kingdom of Judah and proclaimed prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel. The content of Amos’s prophecy was that the northern kingdom would be destroyed by Assyria – that is, Assyria would become the Lord’s instrument of judgment against the northern kingdom. Since Jonah already knew the content of Amos’s prophecy, he resisted going to Assyria to proclaim a message of repentance.

What the Book of Jonah teaches

Before we move into the main content, let us look at what we can learn about God from the Book of Jonah. (1) God’s universality. God rules over everything. He rules over everything, including the weather, the fish, the plants, the rational, and irrational. (2) God also seeks to save Gentiles. The Book of Jonah is a unique book in the Old Testament. In this book, there is a forerunner of Gentile evangelism, which becomes prominent in the New Testament. That is Jonah’s mission. (3) God does not immediately abandon those who believe. He disciplined Jonah when he became disobedient, but He did not abandon him. Once again, let us remember the character of the God we believe in. God disciplines those who believe. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are punished by Him; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He punishes every son whom He accepts” (Heb. 12:5-6).