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He reestablished Israel’s border from Lebo-hamath to the Dead Sea. This was in agreement with the word that the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke through his servant the prophet Jonah, Amittai’s son, who was from Gath-hepher.
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Commissioning of a reluctant prophet
The Lord’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son:
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So Jonah got up—to flee to Tarshish from the Lord! He went down to Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.
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The sailors were terrified, and each one cried out to his god. They hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to make it lighter. Now Jonah had gone down into the hold of the vessel to lie down and was deep in sleep.
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Meanwhile, the sailors said to each other, “Come on, let’s cast lots so that we might learn who is to blame for this evil that’s happening to us.” They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
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Then the men were terrified and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men knew that Jonah was fleeing from the Lord, because he had told them.)
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Then they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased its raging.
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No escape for the prophet
Meanwhile, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
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Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:
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Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.
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Nineveh hears God’s word
The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time:
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And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.)
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Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!”
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Jonah balks at God’s mercy
But Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry.
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But Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city. There he made himself a hut and sat under it, in the shade, to see what would happen to the city.
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Then the Lord God provided a shrub, and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub.
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Then as the sun rose God provided a dry east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”
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God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?” Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”
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But he replied, “An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign, but it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign.
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Just as Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights , so the Human One will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
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The citizens of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it as guilty, because they changed their hearts and lives in response to Jonah’s preaching. And look, someone greater than Jonah is here.
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An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign. But it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign.” Then he left them and went away.
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Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you.
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When the crowds grew, Jesus said, “This generation is an evil generation. It looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except Jonah’s sign.
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Just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Human One will be a sign to this generation.
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