Jonah 1:1-3

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. [PERSONAL MEMORY] When is the first time you remember reading or hearing the story of

Jonah? What do you remember being the point of the book then?

2. [HISTORY] How does the brutal context of Nineveh/the Assyrian Empire

influence our view of Jonah’s disobedience? (Should it?)

3. [BIBLICAL CONTEXT] Jonah prophesied on behalf of King Jeroboam II for his

political expansion of Israel and God’s faithfulness (2Kgs 14:23-25, while Amos

prophesied against him and Israel for their unfaithfulness and injustice (Amos

6). How do you think this prior prophetic calling prepares us for the character

of Jonah in his own narrative?

4. [GENRE] Contrary to the book of Esther, where the Lord’s name is not

mentioned, here He is introduced in verse 1. It is His word that initiates the

narrative, and Jonah, a prophet of God, immediately rejects it. What

expectations is the author setting for the rest of the book through this absurd

response?

5. [GOD’S WORD] Where in your life have you heard God speak but find it difficult

to obey?

6. [ENEMIES and MERCY] In your life, who is “Nineveh”-like? Kyle used these

descriptors: someone you fear, your enemy, someone whose existence offends

you. How would you feel about God’s mercy extending to them?

7. [SIN] Sin naturally draws us to isolation and further down into sin. How do we

see that imaged in the book of Jonah, and have you experienced this

gravitational pull of sin before?

8. [HOPE] Where is there a foreshadowing of the Gospel in both God’s pursuit of

Nineveh and His pursuit of Jonah? How can God’s type of love (1Cor 13:6-7),

displayed in these mercies, be encouraging to you in your journey of faith?