This book tells the story of the prophet Jonah and a mission from God Jonah desperately wanted to avoid. God commissioned him to preach to the people of Nineveh, an evil, hated, and feared enemy of Israel. Jonah was commanded to preach a message of repentance, calling the people to turn from their sins and avoid the destruction that would come if they did not. Jonah himself preferred they be destroyed, and so he didn't want to bring the warning. In fact, since Nineveh was to the northeast, Jonah ran west and headed to Tarshish, the farthest known western point in the known world of Jonah's day.
While in route on a sailing ship to Tarshish, God produced a violent storm to stop Jonah's escape. Jonah ends up in the belly of a fish and back on the land, reluctantly ready to do what God said. Much to his disappointment, Nineveh listened to his message and repented. Nineveh will not be destroyed. And Jonah was taught a lesson about God's grace to all the nations.
