Survey of Jonah (NIV)
By
Chris J. Kuntz
1. General Materials: Book of Prophecy with the themes of vengeance, obedience, compassion, and forgiveness.
2. Specific materials (Chapter Titles)
Chapter 1 – Jonahs plan for vengeance
Chapter 2 – Correction and repentance
Chapter 3 - Obedient servant
Chapter 4 – Compassion and forgiveness
3. Main Units and Subunits (Outline)
Prescript (1:1-2)
Part 1: God’s mission ignored (1:3 – 2:10)
Vengeance cast on people of Nineveh by Jonah (1:3)
Jonah the bad omen (1:4-16)
Jonah’s rescue (1:17)
Jonah’s recognizes his predicament (2:1- 6a)
Jonah’s repentance (2:6b-9)
Jonah delivered (2:10)
Part 2: God’s mission completed 3:1 – 4:11)
Prescript (3:1-2)
Jonah obeys (3:3)
The message delivered (3:4-5)
4. Major Structural Relationships and Questions:
A. Preparation/Realization: the Prescript in 1:1 sets up what happens in the following chapters by telling the reader that
God is speaking, and to whom He is speaking. Jonah, son of Amittai.
Questions:
Definitional: How does this statement prepare the reader for what follows in the book?
Rational: Why is it important that we know who Jonah’s father was?
Implicational: What if Jonah was not of Israeli background?
B. Causation: Nineveh’s wickedness causes God to bring a word of judgment through Jonah. (1:2) Also Jonah decided to
ignore the word of the Lord and flee to Tarshish, which led to the events at sea. (1:3-17)
Questions:
Definitional: Why is it important that we know where Jonah tried to flee? What does the author mean by “come before me”
when speaking about the wickedness of Nineveh?
Rational: Why does the author give so much detail in chapter two about the events on the boat, such as; where Jonah went
to sleep, and throwing cargo off to lighten the ship?
Implicational: Verse 5 indicates that the sailors were of various backgrounds as it states that “…each cried out to his own
god.” What would have happened if all the sailors would have been of Israel background and all claimed the One
True God as their own? How would have that changed how they reacted to Jonah’s running away?
C. Recurrence: It is mentioned that Jonah is fleeing the Lord in several different verses. 1:3a & 3b, 1:5b (I think that Jonah
going below deck during the great storm was another way of Jonah trying to ignore God and flee from Him.) 1:12
(Jonah asks to be thrown overboard into the raging sea, no doubt that was an attempt at suicide, yet another attempt
to avoid God.) 4:3 (Again Jonah tries to escape God’s plan by asking God to kill him.)
Questions:
Definitional: What is it that causes Jonah to want to get out of this assignment so badly that he would be willing to take
his own life?
Rational: What is the message about fleeing that the author is trying to relay through the book?
Implicational: What if Jonah had not suggested to the sailors that he be thrown over board, would they have come to that
conclusion on their own? What if Jonah had not called out to God to save him after being thrown into the water,
would God have saved him anyway? And what does that tell us about God’s mercy and compassion?
D. Cruciality / Climax with Inclusio: There is a major shift of direction in chapter 2. Chapter 1 Jonah is fleeing from the Lord
attending to his own plans of not preaching to the people of Nineveh, so much so that he is willing to die before
going there. After he is thrown into the sea, he repents of his sin and pledges to fulfill what he vowed to do. This is
where I believe the climax happens in this section. Jonah states in 2:7 “When my life was ebbing away, I
remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you in your holy temple” Strong’s definition of the word “remember”
is “to remember, recall…to make a memorial, make remembrance” The word “remembered” is a turning point in
the mind of Jonah as he contemplates God and what he had done in Jonahs life. This small word is the climax
and axis point of the story, where it pertains to Jonah and his relationship with God. The inclusio happens in 2:1 and
again in 2:10 with the mention of the fish.
Questions:
Definitional: What does Jonah intend to sacrifice as he states in 4:9?
Rational: Why does the author use inclusio in this section of scripture?
Implicational: How does Jonah’s repentance of his own sin, relate to the repentance of Nineveh’s, and how might this story
be different if God would have used a log for Jonah to float on instead of being swallowed by the fish? With the
view of the sea that many had in that day, how did that effect Jonah’s thankfulness for being swallowed by the
fish?
5. Strategic Areas:
1:1 Preparation/Realization: the Prescript in 1:1 sets up what happens in the following chapters by telling the reader that
God is speaking, and to whom He is speaking. Jonah, son of Amittai.
1:1-17 Causation: Nineveh’s wickedness causes God to bring a word of judgment through Jonah. (1:2) Also Jonah
decided to ignore the word of the Lord and flee to Tarshish, which led to the events at sea. (1:3-17)
Recurrence: It is mentioned that Jonah is fleeing the Lord in several different verses. 1:3a & 3b, 1:5b, 1:12, 4:3
Chapter 2 Cruciality / Climax with Inclusio – This is a major shift in the story
6. Major impressions
Jonah is set on running away, then repents of his sin and does what he is commanded to do, but then turns again and is
angry at God for doing what he knew God would do. His memory seems to be short on the forgiveness and mercy just
afforded him in the sea.
God’s sovereignty and compassion/Mercy seem to be a reoccurring theme in this book
The biggest impression for me what just how quickly we tend to forget God’s mercy in our lives. Jonah forgets fairly
quickly, and after his experience, one would think that you would be changed forever. This event was written
approximately 785-760 B.C. and Nineveh is eventually destroyed in 612 B.C. so their memory and act of repentance must
have been short as well.
