Jonah is the only book within “The Book of the Twelve” that is not
within the prophetic genre. The familiar narrative depicts the prophet Jonah
avoiding his duty to warn another nation of impending judgment, and once he
does, he is upset that God does not destroy them. The book may be written
around the time of the Assyrian Empire, perhaps, sometime after the deportation
of Northern Israel, although many scholars place it’s origin during the exilic
or immediate postexilic period, and it would carry a greater significance if
the later date is given, as the “great fish” may represent the exile. The book is best understood as parabolic of Israel and its failure to understand its mission to the world.
Theology: In order to understand the theology of Jonah, one must first
understand the suzerain vassal treaty made between God and Israel, and the best
relationship that demonstrates this treaty is that of marriage in the ancient
Near East and the Old Testament. The larger nation in this treaty made a
covenant with the smaller, weaker nation that it would protect the smaller
nation from its enemies if it agreed to pay tribute to the larger nation. In
marriage, this treaty is one between a husband who functions as the stronger
nation and the wife who functions as the weaker who is in need of protection
from the hostile world around her. The man agrees to protect her if she will
“pay tribute” to him in terms bearing and raising his children. The tribute,
unlike that of a prostitute, who only offers a trade of sex without children
(and usually only temporarily for temporary supplies), the wife’s tribute is
sex with the hope of children. This is why Augustine called women who used
birth control “prostitutes” and their husbands “pimps.”
The reason why this is important to understand is because YHWH has
made this same deal with Israel. They were not merely to worship Him for the
sake of worshiping Him, but instead, they were to worship Him for the sake of
being a light to the nations, a kingdom of priests who represented Him to the
nations. This relationship, like that of marriage, was to bear children for
Him. Instead, because Israel rebelled continually against God, and reflected
the character of the nations than it did the holiness of YHWH, they were
breaking the covenant God made with them, and thus, invited His wrath instead
of His blessing and protection.
The Book of Jonah is meant to rebuke Israel for this crime by
representing Israel as a single prophet sent to a capital city in what would
have been considered the worst of the nations. Jonah’s attitude reflects the
attitude of an Israel that has abandoned the covenant they have made with God
to be priests to the world. As a result, God throws Jonah into the abyss, which
represents chaos, and is only delivered when he repents. He fulfills his
mission but is still angry with God, reflecting an attitude of ignorance toward
the purpose for which God made a covenant with Israel in the first place. The
book ends by telling the reader that God’s purpose through Israel is to display
His care for those within the nations.
Ethics: The ethics in the book are implied. It invites those who have been
shunning their role as priests in the world to repent, since God’s desire for
those He warns is for them to repent. God has made a covenant with His people,
and He expects children from it. In word and deed, His people are to be a light
to the nations, and the Church does this through its unification with the light
of the world, Jesus Christ. In joining with Him, we become the light of the
world with Him, and hence, our covenanted mission, our tribute, is to represent
God in message and deed, to speak a holy gospel and to be holy as He is holy
for the purpose of producing children from the nations.
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