1. Jonah is called to preach to Nineveh, but he runs away.
‘The books of Jonah and Micah radiate the same eternal message: the infinite mercy of the Lord will triumph in the end. The unnamed writer of the book of Jonah uses the experiences of the prophet to confirm the Lord’s universal love for His children of all nationalities and origins – like the populace of Nineveh, the great Assyrian capital city. just as Jonah had to grasp the all-embracing reach of the Lord’s grace and loving kindness, so are we directed to practice obedience, tolerance, and brotherly kindness in sharing the gospel with everyone.’ (Richard J Allen, Study Commentary of the Old Testament)
Jonah 1:3 Rose up to flee unto Tarshish
‘Jonah is portrayed as a man who had to learn how to be a prophet. Though called to Nineveh both times, Jonah went on two missions. The first mission is found in chapters 1-2 and the second in chapters 2-3. The Lord called Jonah to ‘arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me’ (Jonah 1:2.). Jonah promptly disobeyed the Lord and rather than going to preach to the much hated and feared Assyrians he ‘rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord’ (Jonah 1:3). Jonah boarded a boat in Joppa (just south of modern Tel Aviv) to flee across the Mediterranean Sea to Tarshish – which is symbolically at the opposite end of the world from Nineveh’. (Dana M Pike, Richrd N Kolzapfel, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament).
Jonah 1:1-17
‘Sometimes we don’t want to hear messages from God. For example, the word of the Lord called Jonah to go to Nineveh and declare repentance. But Jonah ignored the message and ran away to Joppa, where he boarded a ship to Tarshish to get away from the presence of the Lord. However, the Lord caused a mighty tempest to come upon the sea. The mariners were frightened, and in an effort to appease the Lord, they threw Jonah into the sea. A great fish swallowed Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prayed for forgiveness and deliverance, and the fish vomited him onto dry land. The second time the word of the Lord came to Jonah, he listened and went to call the people of Nineveh to repentance.‘ (James E Faust, General Conference, April 2004)
2. The people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message and repent.
Proverbs 3:1-9 The people of Nineveh believed God
‘Jonah got a second chance. The whole plan of God is one of second chances for all people, as Jonah was to find out. With his mission call extended anew, Jonah went immediately into the city. ‘Three days journey’ could be idiomatic, suggesting a very large city. The size may have reference to ‘greater Nineveh’, or the district of Nineveh.
This little book’s terse record reports only one essential warning given by Jonah, along with the miraculous response to his message. Jonah’s prophetic message is eight words in English and only five words in Hebrew.
Perhaps the greatest miracle of all was the Ninevites’ repentance. If not all of the people, at least enough of the people, including the king, listened to the warning voice and repented to spare the city for the time being. dressing in sackcloth and sitting in the dust are customary signs of repentance.’ (Andrew C Skinner, D Kelly Ogden, Verse by Verse, The Old Testament)
Jonah 3:10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way
“Prophets regularly announced judgment against Assyria, but the book of Jonah shows the nation in a very different light, as repenting and turning to the Lord. It is most unlike Nahum, which glories in the imminent demise of Assyria. Jonah presents a critique of the nationalism that was rampant in much of Judah, a nationalism that said God loved only the chosen people and not ‘the other.’ The book of Jonah challenges the exclusivity and intolerance toward foreign peoples that is found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. God can and does extend his mercy to all peoples. Sometimes this mercy seems to contradict God’s justice: the Assyrians had brutalized Judah, so where was the justice in God showing mercy to those who deserved death and destruction? But that is the point: sinners don’t always get what they deserve. If they repent and turn to God, then God’s love and mercy is available to them.” (Barry J. Beitzel, ed., Biblica: The Bible Atlas, [Australia: Global Book Publishing, 2006], 308-309)
Jonah 4:1–11. Jonah Was Displeased with the Lord
‘Here Jonah demonstrated a second weakness:he pouted because the people did repent and God turned His wrath away. Jonah was so upset that he wished he were dead. Though he had repented of his desire to escape the call of the Lord and went to Nineveh, Jonah had not substantially changed his attitude toward the Gentiles.
The Lord taught Jonah in a way that he could understand that all things are in His hand—the gourd, the worm, even life itself. First, the Lord sent the dreaded east wind, which was very destructive, for it blew off the hot, dry Arabian Desert. Then the Lord caused the sun to beat upon Jonah, making him so uncomfortable that he wished for death. Once Jonah was in that position, the Lord was able to teach him the worth of souls in Nineveh. Because the thousands who lived in Nineveh were ignorant of the saving gospel principles, they could not fully “discern between their right hand and their left hand” (Jonah 4:11). Surely the Lord felt more pity for them than Jonah felt for the gourd (see Alma 26:27, 37). By means of this simple plant, the Lord taught Jonah about the way in which God loves all of His children.’ (Old Testament Institute Manual)
3. Micah prophesies of the mission of latter-day Israel.
‘In his writings, Micah echoes the recurrent theme of all the prophets: the Lord will bring judgement upon evildoers, while showing mercy and forgiveness to those who repent and follow his covenants.’ (Richard J Allen, Study Commentary of the Old Testament)
Micah 2:12–13. The Future Gathering of Israel Promised
‘After he castigated the false prophets for telling the people all was well, Micah prophesied salvation. This prophecy concerns a people who had been scourged because of iniquity, and only a remnant remained of the once mighty house of Israel. Micah foretold a miraculous growth as the people were gathered. He used the illustration of the sheep-rich area of Bozrah to illustrate how the people will become mighty. He compared their scattered condition to a form of imprisonment and foretold a Savior and Redeemer who would break the prison walls and lead the people to the promised land.’ (Old Testament Institute Manual)
Micah 4:8–13. If Jerusalem Is Overthrown and Her People Scattered, How Will She Then Become Great?
‘Micah used the figure of travail or childbirth to illustrate that Judah would bring upon herself the pain out of which would eventually come a new life in the Lord. Shortly she would be driven from her city and find herself a captive of Babylon. This prophecy is amazing because Assyria was mistress of the world in Micah’s day, Babylon being only a province of Assyria. This part of Micah’s vision projected nearly 130 years into the future, but time is nothing to a prophet. Then, looking several millennia into the future, Micah saw Israel return in the strength of God. Using the symbol of horns like iron and hooves like brass, he predicted that Israel would trample her enemies as easily as an ox threshes grain.
This passage has great significance for Latter-day Saints because Jesus referred to it when He visited the Nephites. After speaking of the gathering of Israel in the latter days, Jesus used Micah’s prophecy to depict the kind of destruction that awaited the Gentiles of that period if they did not repent (see 3 Nephi 20:17–21).’ (Institute Old Testament Manual)
Micah 5:2-3 Bethlehem
“All of the prophets wrote and prophesied of the Messiah (Jacob 7:11; Mosiah 13:33), but in the biblical writings of none but Micah do we have preserved the specific prediction of his birthplace: ‘But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting’ (Micah 5:2). There can be no mistaking: there is only one Bethlehem in Judah and there is only one ruler in Israel whose origins are from eternity. Even the chief priests and scribes understood clearly the prophecy when they quoted it upon Herod’s inquiring where the Messiah should be born, and Herod was obviously convinced of the possibility, because he proceeded to issue his infamous order to exterminate the children around Bethlehem: ‘And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule [Greek, “shepherd,” “tend,” “nurture”] my people Israel’ (Matt. 2:4-6).” (Kent P. Jackson, ed., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 4: 1 Kings to Malachi [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1993], 74)
Micah 5:5–15. Will Israel Become Powerful?
‘Still looking into the far distant future, Micah prophesied of the great last battles through which Israel, under Christ, will at last triumph over all enemies. “In this relation the Messiah is called the Prince of peace in [Isaiah 9:5], as securing peace for Israel in a higher and more perfect sense than Solomon. But in what manner? This is explained more fully in what follows: viz. (1) by defending Israel against the attacks of the imperial power (vers. 5 b, 6); (2) by exalting it into a power able to overcome the nations (vers. 7–9); and (3) by exterminating all the materials of war, and everything of an idolatrous nature, and so preventing the possibility of war (vers. 10–15). Asshur is a type [symbol] of the nations of the world by which the people of the Lord are attacked, because in the time of the prophet this power was the imperial power by which Israel was endangered. Against this enemy Israel will set up seven, yea eight princes, who, under the chief command of the Messiah, i.e. as His subordinates, will drive it back, and press victoriously into its land. … Seven is mentioned as the number of the works proceeding from God, so that seven shepherds, i.e.princes, would be quite sufficient; and this number is surpassed by the eight, to express the thought that there might be even more than were required.’ (C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament,10:1:486–87.)
Latter-day Bloke 