Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. God's everlasting kingdom 145:8-16
  145:8-10 Verses 8 and 9 are a classic expression of praise for God's character. The same statement in Hebrew occurs in six other places in the Old Testament (Exod. 34:6; Neh. 9:7; Pss. 86:15; 103:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). God...
• The intensity and severity of the coming judgment 4:11-18
  4:11-12 The Lord also said that when this invasion would come it would descend like a violent wind from the north. It would be far more severe than an ordinary attack that the prophet compared to a gentle breeze that would wi...
• 1. An appeal for private repentance 2:12-14
  2:12-13a Speaking for the Lord, Joel urged his hearers even now--even though judgment was threatened--to repent. However, he clarified that their repentance needed to be wholehearted, not just external. Fasting, weeping, and ...
• The restoration of the Davidic kingdom 9:11-12
  The rest of the book is quite different from what has preceded because of its positive message. As is true of other eighth-century prophets to Israel and Judah, Amos included hope in his prophecy (cf. Isa. 40-66; Hos. 1:10-2:...
• Background
  Jonah is the fifth of the Minor Prophets (the Book of the Twelve) in our English Bibles. It is unique among the Latter Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) in that it is almost completely narrative similar to the histories of El...
• Message18
  The Book of Jonah does not contain the record of a prophet's message as much as the record of a prophet's experience. That feature makes Jonah distinctive among the prophetic books. This prophet's experiences are what we need...
• Outline
  I. The disobedience of the prophet chs. 1-2A. Jonah's attempt to flee from God 1:1-3B. Jonah's lack of compassion 1:4-6C. Jonah's failure to fear his sovereign God 1:7-10D. The sailors' compassion and fear of God 1:11-16D. Jo...
• A. Jonah's attempt to flee from God 1:1-3
  The story opens with God commissioning His prophet and Jonah rebelling against His will.1:1 The book and verse open with a conjunction (Heb. wa, Eng. "Now"). Several versions leave this word untranslated because it makes no s...
• B. Jonah's lack of compassion 1:4-6
  1:4 Jonah subjected himself to dangers that Israel and the entire ancient Near East viewed as directly under divine control when he launched out on the sea. The sea to them was the embodiment of the chaotic forces that humans...
• A. Jonah's proclamation to the Ninevites 3:1-4
  God gave Jonah a second chance to obey Him as He has many of His servants (e.g., Peter, John Mark, et al.).3:1 The writer did not clarify exactly when this second commission came to Jonah. It may have been immediately after J...
• B. The Ninevites' repentance 3:5-10
  Jonah's proclamation moved the Ninevites to humble themselves and seek divine mercy.3:5 The people believed in God because of the message from God that Jonah had brought to them. Fasting and wearing sackcloth were signs of se...
• C. Jonah's displeasure at God's mercy 4:1-4
  The reader might assume that the Lord's deliverance of the Ninevites from imminent doom is the climax of the story. This is not the case. The most important lesson of the book deals with God's people and specifically God's in...
• D. God's rebuke of Jonah for his attitude 4:5-9
  The Lord proceeded to teach Jonah His ways and to confront him with his attitude problem.4:5 We might have expected Jonah to leave what so angered him quickly, as Elijah had fled from Israel and sought refuge far from it to t...
• E. God's compassion for those under His judgment 4:10-11
  The story now reaches its climax. God revealed to Jonah how out of harmony with His own heart the prophet, though obedient, was. He contrasted Jonah's attitude with His own.Compassion (Heb. hus, concern [NIV], be sorry for [N...
• B. Yahweh's answer about Judah 1:5-11
  Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...