Jonah is probably the most familiar Minor Prophet for most Christians today. The short book is a quick and easy read with the most memorable part being Jonah and the great fish who swallowed him whole. The reason the book of Jonah was preserved and treasured over the millennia has more to do the character of God than a big fish. What should God do with a prophet of His who not only rejected the call God gave him to deliver, but then made every attempt to run as far from God as he could? Shouldn’t that condemn the man?

What makes Jonah’s story so wonderful to me is to focus not on Jonah but on God. As you read and study, take in how tender and patient God was with a man who had every indication of carrying personal wounds that needed healing only God could provide. Jonah in his brokenness attempted to flee the very presence of God, refused to pray for those begging for God’s help, had to get to the very point of death before finally turning to God in prayer, and then called God evil for being merciful to an enemy people. Some see Jonah as a comical book. It sounds more like a journey some of us may know ourselves— a journey of rejecting God out of deep wounds felt while serving Him only to find God there in Christ waiting for us with open arms to return.