Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
Jonah's name is somewhat unusual in that it has no theophoric quality. It is simply the feminine noun dove and is often used for that bird in Scripture.
The OT mentions Jonah only one time outside his book (2 Kgs. 14:25). His father is mentioned at the opening of Jonah, and so his family probably had some importance. Jonah was from Gath-hepher in lower Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and thus a citizen of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
From 2 Kgs. 14:25, it is obvious that his prophetic ministry was broader than just his message to Nineveh. Prior to that eventful commission recorded in Jonah, he had prophesied the restoration of the original borders of Israel under the great military king, Jeroboam II (793-757). One receives the impression that Jonah was fiercely nationalistic and was delighted to give the prophecy regarding the victory of his nation over the Syrians, who had been conquering more and more of the northern part of Israel.
However, he was not at all delighted to go to Nineveh. It was not because he was afraid. His reason is given in 4:1-3. He knew if Nineveh repented, God in his mercy would spare the city; Jonah wanted it destroyed.
Though Nineveh and its suburbs had long been part of the Assyrian Empire, it did not become the official capital until Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) located the seat of government there. However, prior to that it had served as a residence for various Assyrian kings. Who was the king in power during Jonah's visit? There are five possibilities:
Many conservative scholars regard the first and third kings as the most likely possibilities. During either reign a congenial atmosphere for Jonah's message could have been found. Both fell during an inactive period from 824 to 745 in which there was no conflict with Israel. The book of Jonah was probably composed about 760 during the closing years of Jonah's life.
Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, p. 307, offers the following summary: God's mercy and compassion extend even to heathen nations on condition of repentance. It was therefore Israel's obligation to bear witness to the nations of the true faith (cf. Exod. 19:3-6: "a kingdom of priests").
Hebrew had no technical term for the animals we now call whales. The Hebrew term used in 1:17 is quite general, simply "great fish" or "big fish." However, since no known fish, as opposed to a marine mammal, has a stomach large enough to swallow a man whole, it is reasonable to accept the traditional interpretation that the "great fish" was a whale.
Also, the word "appointed" in 1:17 implies that God did not create an animal for this specific job. He miraculously used a whale.
Apparently, Jesus says Jonah is a type in two senses. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so Jesus will be three days and three nights in the grave (Matt. 12:40; Luke 11:29-30). However, in Matt. 12:41, 16:1-4, and Luke 11:32, Jonah was a type of Christ as a preacher of repentance to an evil generation. The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, but the generation of Jesus did not repent, though he was greater than Jonah. That is why the men of Nineveh in the great judgment will stand up and condemn that generation.
The last verse of the book of Jonah quotes the Lord speaking:
And 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?"
Although it is not certain, those "who do not know the difference between their right and left hand" probably refers to very young children, making the population of "Greater Nineveh" (1:2; 3:2-3) possibly as high as 600,000. Now God does not delight in the death of the wicked; he would rather have them repent and live (cf. Ezek. 18:23). Therefore, God was anxious to save Nineveh, the home of so many people.
However, what is most interesting is that God also had great reluctance to destroy the animals in the city. The animal creation has also been drawn into suffering for man's sin and wait for the same release from the bondage of sin's corruption. Their fate has always been intimately tied with ours. See Joel 1:18-20; Isa. 11:6-9; 35:1-10; Ps. 36:6; Rom. 8:19-25.
What we see in Jonah 4:11 is that while animals were not created in the image of God, he nevertheless loves the animals in his creation and has no desire to see them destroyed for man's sin.
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