Frequently in this series of essays on Jonah, I have stressed that it is a work of exquisite art. And it is. The artistic nature of the book not only makes it such an enjoyable read but also serves the interest of the kingdom of God.
The book of Jonah has four chapters with a total of forty-eight verses. These four chapters divide themselves into two parallel sections ... each mirroring the other showing once again the author's theological interest. I will attempt to show the mirror structure of Jonah below ...
Chapter One . . . . . . . . . . Chapter Three
Call (Arise, Go, Cry) {v.2} . . . . . . . Call (Arise, Go, Cry) {v 2}
Jonah arises - flees . . . . . . Jonah arises - goes
God acts - storm . . . . . . Jonah acts
Sailors call on gods . . . . . . Nineveh believes
Captain identifies 'elohim's power behind storm . . . King seeks 'elohim's will
Sailors seek YHWH's will
Sailors pray to YHWH (lest we perish) . . . . . Nineveh prays to 'elohim (lest we perish)
Storm evaporates . . . . . . God relents
Chapter Two . . . . . . . . . Chapter Four
Jonah saved . . . . . . . . . . Jonah angry
Jonah prays . . . . . . . . . . Jonah prays
God responds . . . . . . . . . . God Responds
The symmetry and structure of the book of Jonah help us see that the actions of the sailors and the Ninevites are practically the same often with the same language used. The actions of Jonah in chapter 1 helps us understand his action in chapter 4 too. And consistently the pagans are portrayed in a favorable light whereas Jonah is consistently portrayed in an darker hue.
The symmetry and structure of the book helps us see other literary tools used by our artistic minstrel. Irony and role reversals abound in the book. One of the most interesting is the question implied in Jonah's name! In 1.1 we read "The word of the LORD came to yonah son of 'amittay." The name 'amittay is constructed from 'emet. Here is delicious irony the author loves ... at the beginning of the book the Dove is identified as a Child of Truth or a Child of faithfulness!!! If Jonah/Dove also has representational value for the people of God then it is Israel that is designated the children of steadfastness or children of truth. With that in mind for the name: Jonah the Son of Truth/Jonah the Son of Faithfulness how do we come to see the Dove in the rest of the story?? Does the Dove behave in a truthful and faithful manner? Irony indeed.
As pointed out above the author consistently paints the "enemy" in an exemplary fashion. Who are the people of Truth? of Faithfulness? The Dove? or the Pagans who respond to God ... even when they don't know his name? This should remind us, if we are paying attention to the heartbeat of the biblical narrative, of a Story that Jesus told one day in which he used dramatic role reversals too. The author of Jonah uses the bitterly hated Assyrians as his foil to rudely snap the People of Truth from their blindness and Jesus uses the equally hated Samaritans to the same effect. Each story in some way forces us to ask the question: what are the boundaries of God's love and care and our own hedging of it.
The author of Jonah holds up the mirror in our face as the people of the Lord and forces us to ask what it means for us to be the sons and daughters of faithfulness, of truth. Is being the Dove a child of truth simply a matter of doctrinal precision? Jonah knows his bible and he knows his doctrine but he certainly comes off looking poorly against the hated pagans. So what about us?
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