Jonah is first spoken of in the book of II Kings. It is said that Jonah is a prophet and a servant of the Lord. He lived in Israel and he served God as his prophet - as his mouthpiece so to speak. A prophet serves as the spokesman between man and God. In fact, his very name indicates that. Jonah means "dove," which signifies a "messenger." It also mentions that Jonah is Son of Ammitai, which means son of "thruth." Jonah acts as the messenger of God's truth.

God sends Jonah to Nineveh, which was the capital city of Assyria. After hearing off this mission Jonah dileberately disobeys God. There are a variety of reasons why Jonah may have not wanted to proceed with God's mission. Perhaps Jonah was afraid for his life. Nineveh was the Assyrian capital and it was very violent and brutal. Jonah might have thought it was lost cause thinking what could one man do. He thought why would anyone of this great city ever listen to him. A city of unbelieving idol wors

Jonah just flees God's calls and goes to Tarshish in the West. Jonah was hoping to make it impossible for him to serve God as his prophet, as his servant called to serve in the East. After Jonah realizes what he has done, he knows he should die. Even though Jonah believed he should die for disobeying God's call, the lord saves him from death. God shows great mercy on Jonah's life. The fish that swallows him is not really relavant to the story. It could have been anything type of animal. The point is that when God could have been vengeful he showed compassion and mercy.

While in the belly of the fish, Jonah begins to pray. Jonah is starting to get it what God had intended for him and its importance. Jonah's prayer centers on the prophet's dilemma. His prayer is a psalm of Thanksgiving to the Lord. When Jonah gives the glory to God for his physical deliverance, God commands the fish to spit Jonah up on the beach. Jonah now knows he must follow God's command. He has been giving a second chance and he must fulfill his duties as a prophet.

There are two major themes in this story. The first is that God is compassionate and merciful. Because God is gracious and compassionate, people can repent their evil ways and still live a good life. If the people of Nineveh can repent their ways then anyone can be forgiven for their sins. So by saying God is copassionate and gracious then in turn, people in general must be co

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Approximate Word count = 973
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)