A Teaching Outline for the Book of Jonah

Although the book of Jonah is among the better-known accounts in Scripture, its meaning is unfortunately not. To the secularist, it’s nothing more than a ridiculous story of an impossible event. To the very young, it’s nothing more than a small tale of a big fish. But to the born-again student of Scripture, it’s a miraculous account of a sovereign God.

Ministering during the reign of Jeroboam II, around 760 BC (just prior to the ministry of Amos), the prophet Jonah was commanded by God to preach a threat of judgment to the city of Nineveh: “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jon. 1:2). This Gentile city was among the most prominent of the nation of Assyria—a nation which had yet to rise to world dominance at the time of Jonah’s preaching. But rather than obeying, Jonah turned and literally went the other way (west across the Mediterranean Sea toward Tarshish). He was unwilling to preach to them out of a sinfully callous fear that they might actually repent of their sins and be saved from judgment (cf. Jon. 4:2).

As the account goes on to describe, God ruined Jonah’s plan of escape by sending a great storm to destroy the ship Jonah was aboard. Assuming they were under some form of judgment from a deity, the sailors on board cast lots and determined that Jonah was, in some way, responsible for their predicament (cf. Jon. 1:8). In a moment of honesty, Jonah confessed that he was on the run from Yahweh, and thus this one true God was behind the storm. Knowing he could not outrun judgment, Jonah agreed to be cast into the sea for the sake of the other passengers (cf. Jon. 1:14-15). As the rest of the book describes, God not only ruined Jonah’s dereliction of duty, He also rescued him from drowning using a large fish (the Hebrew word is generic for “fish,” rather than “whale”), re-commissioned him for the task of preaching to the Ninevites, and rebuked him for being disappointed when those in the city did end up repenting of their sins.

During the time Jonah spent in the belly of the fish, he made the astute comment that “salvation is from the Lord” (Jon. 2:9). Knowing that he contributed nothing to his watery rescue, he expressed the vital theological point that God works entirely on His own (monergistically) to save the undeserving. In a broader sense, rather than salvation being a result of man’s entitlement, merit, lineage, or supposedly free will, this powerful statement uttered by Jonah emphasizes the fact that God sovereignly determines all that occurs in His universe—salvation included (cf. John 1:13, Rom. 9:16). When God saves sinners from their sins, He not only grants them forgiveness through repentance and faith (cf. Luke 24:47, Eph. 2:8), He even grants them the very repentance and faith He requires (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25, Phil. 1:29). Everything in time and space is a product of God’s sovereign decree, and His plan can never be frustrated (cf. Job 38:3-5, Isa. 14:27, Psa. 115:3). In this case, God’s plan included the entire mission of Jonah—from his flight to Tarshish all the way to his faithfulness at Nineveh.

But that raises an important question: why would God have ordained Jonah’s disobedience, only to have Jonah end up obeying in the end anyway? As Scripture explains, all things are from, through, and to God for His ultimate glory (cf. Rom. 11:36). Thus, by ordaining Jonah’s disobedience, and subsequent rescue, the prophet became an instrument in God’s hand by which God displayed His supremacy over all false gods. When Yahweh sent the storm, He showed His sovereignty over the false god Baal—whom the sailors likely believed was in control of the weather (cf. Jon. 1:6). When Yahweh sent the large fish, He showed His sovereignty over the false goddess Nanshe (a water deity) and the false god Dagon (the half-man, half-fish god)—idols worshiped by the Ninevites, Philistines, and other nations. And when Yahweh sent the prophet Jonah, even overriding his rebellion and disobedience, He showed His sovereignty over the human will—an idol worshiped by many today. Indeed, Yahweh is King of kings, Lord of lords, and God of gods (cf. Deut. 10:17,1 Tim. 6:15). The entire account of Jonah’s disobedience, therefore, was the means by which the Lord made manifest His power and reign over and above all else. It’s no wonder then, that in Matthew 12:40, Jesus drew a direct comparison between Jonah’s time in the fish and His own time in the grave (confirming that the account is to be understood literally): Yahweh’s sovereignty is even manifested over and above the last enemy—death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26). Because of this sovereign Savior, there is hope for mankind!

With two climactic questions to end the book, God provides us with important points of application. First, God asked, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” (Jon. 4:9). Jonah was upset that grace was a matter of God’s sovereign choice. When God gave grace to the Ninevites, sparing them from destruction, Jonah was angry. And when God took grace away from Jonah, withering the plant over his head, Jonah was also angry. In both scenarios, then, it was the creature who was angry with his Creator over the issue of sovereign grace. Today, many still shake their fists at God because of His sovereign grace. God chooses whom to spare, and whom to destroy; He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires; He unconditionally predestines some men unto eternal life, and others unto eternal death (cf. Rom. 9:18, Acts 13:48, 1 Pet. 2:8, Eph. 1:4). As a potter working with clay, He does as He pleases, both with nations corporately and people individually (cf. Jer. 18:5-8, Rom. 9:21-24). To those who question or oppose this, God simply says, “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God?" (Rom. 9:20).

Second, God asked, “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” (Jon. 4:11). Jonah was more concerned about plants than people. Hoping to see Nineveh destroyed, Jonah had no love for the lost. He wished he had never preached to them, even admitting it: “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity” (Jon. 4:2). Today, many claim to love the lost, and yet never preach the Gospel to anyone. They don’t physically flee to a faraway country, but they just as quickly abandon their evangelistic responsibilities. They may not sit outside a city, waiting to see it destroyed, but they just as soon sit at home, waiting for God to judge the wicked world outside. In either case, it’s sin—whether sinful disobedience, or sinful indifference. Love for the lost manifests itself in evangelism.

Ultimately, God is sovereign. He decides whom to send. He decides whom to save. He decides whom to spare. He decides whom to scold. When Job learned that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, he responded in praise (cf. Job 1:21). But when Jonah learned that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, he responded in anger (cf. Jon. 4:4, 9). May your response to the Lord be guided by the account of this prophet’s failures, and may God sovereignly bless you as you deliver this book verse to verse to others. The following outline is offered to help.

Sovereign to Send (Jonah 1:1-17)

The Prophet (Jon. 1:1-3)

The Storm (Jon. 1:4-16)

The Fish (Jon. 1:17)

Sovereign to Save (Jonah 2:1-10)

Petition (Jon. 2:1-4)

Provision (Jon. 2:5-7)

Praise (Jon. 2:8-10)

Sovereign to Spare (Jonah 3:1-10)

Sent Again (Jon. 3:1-4)

Born Again (Jon. 3:5-9)

Gracious Again (Jon. 3:10)

Sovereign to Scold (Jonah 4:1-11)

Grace Given (Jon. 4:1-4)

Grace Taken (Jon. 4:5-9)

Grace Explained (Jon. 4:10-11)