Jonah
Summary[i]
The historical character of the
man Jonah is vouched for by Jesus Christ Mat_12:39-41
as also that his preservation in the great fish was a "sign" or type
of the Lord's own entombment and resurrection. Both are miraculous and both are
equally credible. 2Ki_14:25 records the
fulfilment of a prophecy by Jonah. The man himself was a bigoted Jew, unwilling
to testify to a Gentile city, and angry that God had spared it. Typically he
foreshadows the nation of Israel out of its own land; a trouble to the
Gentiles, yet witnessing to them; cast out by them, but miraculously preserved;
in their future deepest distress calling upon Jehovah-Saviour, and finding
deliverance, and then becoming missionaries to the Gentiles. Zec_8:7-23.
He typifies Christ as the Sent
One, raised from the dead, and carrying salvation to the Gentiles. The chapter
divisions indicate the analysis of Jonah.