Jonah is a narrative that places two events under the microscope to exam the nature of God’s wrath and His compassion. In the first half of Jonah, God canceled his punishment of the prophet, saving him from death by drowning and the pagan sailors from shipwreck. In the second half of Jonah, God withdraws his judgement on Nineveh. In both cases, the reader feels God’s punishment on either Jonah or the Assyrians would be just. Jonah was the most disobedient prophet and Assyria was the most wicked of empires. It is not their punishment that surprises the audience, but their rescue.
