Scripture: One Book at a Time
The whole of Sacred Scripture is a single narrative that promises and points to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the World. It is an epic story, the greatest ever told, and told "one book at a time." Each book makes it contribution to the narrative as God reveals God's self to us and his desire that all be saved.
Lesson 35: Jonah
The Reluctant Prophet
The Book of Jonah is one of the Old Testament Minor Prophets whose story is well known… sort of. For most people, their exposure to the Jonah is via children’s books or videos. Jonah is almost secondary to the whale (large fish). In the four chapters of the book, the whale has played its part by the end of Chapter 1.
Unlike the other Minor Prophets, this book is not terribly prophetic. The only oracle is only 5 words long (in Hebrew) and simply warns the people of Nineveh that in 40 days they will be destroyed. The oracle does not say by whom, why, and if there are any measures that can be taken to prevent such a calamity. As a prophet, Jonah is reluctant at best and more like minimizes his efforts so that God will punish Nineveh. And why not? They are the mortal enemy of Israel – in fact, the mortal enemy of everyone. The world would be better off without them.
This book is not really about prophecy. It is about the prophet. It is about Israel in its prophetic role to the nations. It is about us and our prophetic role to our neighbors.
For those who would like to explore details of this book, please consider videos from Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” program. You can find the entire playlist here.