Studying Jonah 3
Below is the Studying Jonah Bible Study for Jonah 3.
Our hope and desire is that as you use this Bible Study you will begin to learn how to study the Bible on your own. Throughout the study, we’ll be using questions from the CHARA Bible Study Guide, which will show you how to get the most out of studying the book of Jonah, by discovering what questions to ask and how to stay focused on the original intended meaning of the text. You’ll notice these CHARA questions are BOLDED throughout this Bible Study, so you can easily see where and how this study method can help you discover more of the Bible for yourself.
Also, don’t miss the video that accompanies this Bible Study (below) as the Chara Project team talks about what we can learn from studying Jonah 3 (also available as a podcast!).
In Jonah chapters 1-2 we saw that there’s no place God can’t go to turn hearts back to Him. In chapter 3, as we turn from Jonah’s repentance to the Assyrians repentance, we see there’s no heart that God cannot reach.
READ: JONAH 3
1. AUTHOR - Purpose/Point: What was the author's purpose?
The author of the book of Jonah is unknown, although tradition has ascribed it to the prophet himself. Regardless of who authored the book, the purpose is clear. In the book of Jonah, God called his servant on a single prophetic mission.
What instruction did God give Jonah in Jonah 3:1-2? How does this compare to His first instruction in Jonah 1:2?
In Jonah 3:2 what message was Jonah supposed to deliver to Nineveh?
Prophets were called by God to deliver whatever message He gave them to whomever He told them to. The message was never their own. God would give Jonah the words to say when the time was right. Although Jonah may not have known the entirety of the message, he knew what direction to go.
After fleeing down to Joppa to board a ship to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3), retreating down to the bottom of the ship during the storm (Jonah 1:5), and sinking down to the depths of the sea (Jonah 2:6a), we finally see Jonah moving in the opposite direction at the beginning of chapter 3.
“Get up! Go,” the Lord told Jonah (Jonah 1:2, CSB). So Jonah “got up and went” (Jonah 3:3, CSB) over 500 miles to Nineveh (assuming the fish dropped him off back near Joppa). This journey would’ve taken at least a month, giving Jonah plenty of time to reflect on his actions and meditate on the Lord.
2. APPLY - Express: What fears or concerns do you have about applying what you’ve learned?
When God asks us for obedience it often involves action. Yet we rarely know the whole plan - the entirety of what we should say or do, where to go, or how others will respond! God often provides what we need at the time that we need it - nothing more, nothing less.
What fears or concerns have you faced if you’ve ever stepped out in faith without knowing all the details or how things would work out
Bible scholar and author, Warren Wiersbe in The Bible Exposition Commentary states, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God can’t keep you and the power of God can’t use you.”
How has God come through for you as you’ve stepped out in obedience?
3. AUTHOR - Patterns: What is highlighted through the use of repetition?
How is Nineveh described twice in Jonah 3:2-3?
Have you seen that description repeated anywhere else? (Hint: Jonah 1:2, 4:11)?
Depending on the Bible translation, Nineveh is referred to as a “great city” four times throughout the book. Some translations of Jonah 3:3, such as the NIV or NASB, help us see that it’s the great size of the city that is being emphasized.
4. HISTORY - Where does the narrative take place? What can you learn about their town and travel?
The size of Nineveh was second only to Babylon in its day. We can learn from Bible commentaries and Study Bibles, such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary and the NIV Study Bible, that archaeological evidence indicates the inner wall surrounding Nineveh was 50 feet wide, 100 feet high and about 8 miles in circumference. There was also an outer wall that included smaller towns and fields. Greater Nineveh had a 60 mile perimeter. Additional archaeological evidence for Nineveh can also be found on credible online resources.
Why do you think Nineveh is repeatedly referred to as a great city and other details throughout the book emphasize its size (a three-day walk in Jonah 3:3, and more than 120,000 people in Jonah 4:11)?
The size of Nineveh makes what’s about to take place even more significant and even more miraculous - highlighting the real hero of the story!
5. AUTHOR - Structure: What is emphasized by the amount of space devoted to a subject (person, theme or circumstance)?
If the people of Nineveh “believed God” as a result of hearing Jonah’s message, one might assume there was more to Jonah’s preaching than “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4-5, NIV). Then again, that may be all the Lord told him to say! No matter what, a prophet’s job was to deliver the Lord’s message exactly as communicated (Deuteronomy 18:18-20), not to change a person’s worldview or thinking. And, as we’ll discover in chapter 4, it seems out of character for Jonah to even hint that God might relent if they repented and changed their ways. Regardless of how much Jonah did or did not communicate, the author doesn’t elaborate on Jonah’s proclamation.
What does the author spend the majority of space talking about in Jonah chapter 3?
Why do you think the author devoted more space to Nineveh’s repentance than to the message Jonah delivered?
6. HISTORY - Who was it written about? How does the Bible describe them?
Considering the size of Nineveh and Jonah’s rather brief proclamation, Nineveh’s response is astonishing!:
How did the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:5)?
What did the king do in response to Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:6-7)?
Who all fasted and dressed in sackcloth (Jonah 3:5, 7-8a)?
What else were the Ninevites to do in response to Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:8b)? What does the king tell his people to turn from?
7. HISTORY - What was their understanding of God at that time?
The ancient world was largely polytheistic, allowing for hundreds of gods that could deliver good or bad fortune. We already saw this worldview present with the sailors in chapter 1. In Jonah 3:5 it’s likely that the people of Nineveh “believed God” would follow through with his threat of punishment, not necessarily that they stopped believing in all their other gods to worship the Hebrew God.
How does the king of Nineveh's reasoning in Jonah 3:9 compare to the ship captain’s thinking in Jonah 1:6?
Neither the king nor the captain would have known much about the Hebrew God, but appeasing angry deities would have fit into their worldviews. According to the IVP Bible Background Commentary, this typically would’ve included performing certain rituals such as sacrifices, libations or incantations. For the Israelites, repentance and mourning were commonly expressed by fasting and dressing in sackcloth (for people, not animals). Therefore, the Ninevites may have wisely asked Jonah what to do (much like the sailors did in Jonah 1:11) and tried an Israelite approach to appeasing the Hebrew God. And since they believed animals could also offend the gods, they were included in the rituals as well.
8. RESEARCH - Resources: What insights do you learn from Biblical scholars provided in Study Bibles, commentaries, and credible online resources?
Knowing that placating the gods was a part of their culture helps us understand Nineveh’s repentance at some level, but it still seems remarkable that the entire city of Nineveh believed Jonah and acted immediately. Once again, Bible commentaries give us further historical insight into the ancient world.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary states, “The prophet may have found the city psychologically prepared for his message by two foreboding famines (in 765 and 759) and a total solar eclipse on June 15, 763. People in those days often took such events as indicators of divine wrath.”
The IVP Bible Background Commentary states that Jonah’s message would have been considered an omen. “Omens were observations made in the natural world that were believed to be related to what the gods were doing in the historical realm… If omens had been unfavorable for a few days or weeks prior to Jonah's proclamation, the people would have readily accepted the truth of his message.” In addition, “The fact that he (Jonah) was a foreigner would have served as evidence of the truth of his message, for why would someone have traveled all this distance unless impelled by deity?”
How might the Assyrians worldview surrounding famines, a solar eclipse, and even omens have affected the way they heard Jonah’s proclamation?
How does your culture and worldview affect the way you view God? And how might that differ from others you know from different backgrounds and experiences?
9. CONTEXT - Bible: Does the text quote or allude to another passage in the Bible and what understanding does that give?
Nineveh’s city-wide repentance happened so quickly that many have wondered if their repentance could have been genuine. The Assyrians were ruthless and merciless people who surely didn’t shy away from the threat of danger. Yet in Jonah 3:10 God responds to Nineveh’s repentance and God doesn’t generally respond well to hypocrisy had their repentance been superficial. In Matthew 12:38-41, a passage we visited earlier, Jesus shames the hypocrisy and disbelief of the religious leaders of His day with a rather shocking example (Matthew 12:41).
What insight does Matthew 12:38-41 give into whether or not Nineveh's repentance was genuine?
The biblical text doesn’t always give us all the answers that we want, like Jonah’s full proclamation (if there was any more to it), or the reasoning for Nineveh’s repentance. The Bible is first and foremost a book about God and Jonah is no exception. God is far from passive in this story and the only One who could lead the people of Nineveh to repentance. The same One who led Jonah to repentance.
10. APPLY - Reflect: What specific questions do you have upon further reflection of the passage?
The book of Jonah serves as a powerful reminder that God can soften even the hardest of hearts and that we don’t always know what’s going on in the lives of those around us.
How does this encourage or challenge you as you engage in relationships and faith conversations with those around you - even those that seem unmalleable or unreachable?
11. APPLY - Ask: What do you learn about God - His character, attributes, or desires?
God sent one of His prophets to warn Nineveh. He gave them 40 days - a number often associated with a period of testing or judgment in the Bible. And that’s not all.
Why do you think the Lord gave Nineveh forty days before the city would be destroyed (Jonah 3:4)? (Hint: see also 2 Peter 3:9)
What was God’s response to Nineveh’s repentance (Jonah 3:10)?
12. CONTEXT - Bible: Does the text quote or allude to another passage in the Bible and what understanding does that give?
True to His character, God is both just and merciful. God spared Jonah and He spared Nineveh. He will spare you too when you turn to Him and seek forgiveness, regardless of your past sin (1 John 1:9).
Read Luke 15:20-24. In the Parable of the Prodigal son how did the father, who represents God, respond when his youngest son returned home?
Nineveh did not receive the judgment they deserved. Neither did the younger brother in Jesus’ parable. But what is absolutely stunning is not only does God want to show us mercy, He wants to envelop us in relationship with Him. We see that in the father’s response to his youngest son and we’ll see that with Jonah in the final chapter.
13. APPLY - Reflect: What specific questions do you have upon further reflection of the passage?
Just as God’s mercy is undeserved, God’s grace is unearned (Ephesians 2:8-9). Being the recipient of God’s mercy and grace brings unfathomable joy. But what about when undeserving people receive that same free gift? We’ll explore Jonah’s response to God’s mercy in chapter 4, but for the moment, put yourself in Jonah’s place.
How might you respond if God decided not to punish your enemy?
At the close of chapter 3, Jonah had completed his mission and the Ninevites repented. This is where the story seems to have a natural end. And yet we still have one more chapter left in the book of Jonah. The transition to chapter 4 highlights the second upside down and ironic encounter in this book - when the pagans turned to God and the prophet’s heart was far from Him.
Join the Chara Project team as they talk about what we can learn from studying Jonah 3 (also available as a podcast!).
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Podcast: How to Study Jonah
An Overview of Studying the Book of Jonah