The book of Jonah is mostly remembered for its oddity--a runaway prophet swallowed by a whale!

But there must be more to the book than that. And indeed there is. For one thing, it is a book artfully constructed, with one chapter devoted to a psalm. It is a book that will reward careful reading and meditation.

But more than that, in the drama of Jonah we find charted the course not just of this angular prophet but of Isreal's attitude toward its most despised neighbor in the Mediterranean world. Jonah refuses to answer God's call to go and proclaim judgement because he knows God is just the kind of God who respond in mercy and grace should the Assyrians repent. Jonah will have no part of it--until he is compelled. And even then he pitties himself.

The irony of this prophet's story is amusing--but it reaches out and touches us where we are today. Rosemary Nixon's exposition explores the book in its own right and helps us make the connections with our veiw of God and his world today.

About the Bible Speaks Today (BST) Series:

Edited by J.A. Motyer and the late John R. W. Stott, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are characterized by what Stott called a "threefold ideal . . . to expound the biblical text with accuracy, to relate it to contemporary life and to be readable." As such, each contributor in this series is both a noted scholar and a working pastor.

The BST series, now complete, covers all sixty-six books of the bible (Old and New Testaments) in fifty-five volumes. If you preach or teach from Scripture, the Bible Speaks Today series will help you apply the timeless biblical message to the everyday experiences of your listeners. And if you study the Bible on your own, these volumes will be a helpful resource focusing on the significance of God's Word for your own life and work.