Mixed prophets, mixed messages: Jonah, Micah, Nahum and Habakkuk
The previous post covered the first four of the minor prophets; today I look at the middle four: Jonah, Micah, Nahum and Habakkuk. Obadiah, the last of yesterday’s selection, offered the most narrowly tribal take on God’s justice. Jonah Today, the author of Jonah gives us a very expansive view of God’s internationalism. Unlike all the other books in this twelve book collection, the writer is not interested in the content of Jonah’s message, but in telling a story about a reluctant prophet. Jonah and the Big Fish – a painting by Pieter Lastman ( via Wikimedia ) Jonah is not easily turned into lectionary material, 1 as it is a complete short story, a prophetic parable which really needs to be read as a whole. It is richly comic. God calls, and Jonah runs. God sends him to Nineveh, and he sets off in the opposite direction. God sends a storm over the boat he’s fleeing on, and the pagan sailors try hard to save him at risk to themselves, before throwing him overboard. He...