The story of Jonah is unique. It is bundled with the so-called "minor prophets," but instead of containing a series of prophetic words from the Lord, it tells a story. The story of Jonah addresses the issue of exclusivity among God's people, who thought they were the only ones favored by God. It was a problem for ancient Israel, and it was a problem for the early church in its struggle to allow Gentiles in. It's a struggle for the church today, as we see divisions of social class, race, and gender in the church. It may also be a problem for kids in your group who have already experienced rejection by friends at daycare or preschool.

As the story begins, God told Jonah, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me" (1:2). You might think Jonah would jump at the opportunity, for Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, a brutal conqueror constantly at war with its neighbors. Jonah might have been intrigued with the idea that God was now going to bring down on them the judgment they deserved.

But something nagged at Jonah, as we will discover as the story unfolds. The same God who declares judgment also turns toward people in mercy when they repent. Jonah, however, wanted no part of that. It offended his sense of God's exclusive covenant with Israel. To Jonah's way of thinking, God and Israel went together well, but God and Israel and Nineveh together? That was an outrage.

So Jonah ran from God's call. He boarded a ship that would take him to Tarshish, a city on the other end of the Mediterranean. But God was after Jonah. A great storm arose and, ironically, the pagan sailors sensed that this was a judgment of some god against someone on the ship. They finally cast lots to see who the culprit was, and the lot fell on Jonah. Still, the pagan sailors did all they could to save his life, rather than casting him immediately overboard. Jonah the "insider" was the recipient of the mercy of the "outsiders."

Finally, Jonah himself confessed his disobedience and told the sailors to cast him overboard to save the rest of the crew. Still, they prayed to Jonah's God to save him along with all of them. Finally, in desperation, they threw him overboard.

But God wasn't finished with Jonah. Instead of judgment, Jonah found mercy. God appointed a "huge fish" to swallow Jonah and, finally, to spit him out on the shore, scared and smelly, but alive! There, in the belly of the fish, Jonah had time to contemplate God's claim on his life and God's mercy in spite of his disobedience. Jonah 2 is written in the familiar poetic form of the psalms, expressing thanksgiving to God for salvation.

Jesus referred to the story of Jonah in Matthew 12:38-41. There Jesus upbraided his enemies who were always looking for a sign, and pointed them to the "sign of the prophet Jonah," who was three days in the belly of the fish. He then went on to declare that one "greater than Jonah" had come, and that the "men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it."

Unlike Jonah, who was guilty, the sinless Son of God takes our sin to the cross and spends three days in the belly of death, to rise again for the redemption of all who trust in him.