Daily Devotional

Who Was Jonah?

2 Kings 14:23–25|Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Recently my wife and I taught about Jonah in the kids’ Sunday school at my church. The story is a favorite for Sunday schools, vacation Bible schools, and even murals in church nurseries. But there’s so much more to it than just a guy who was swallowed by a whale. Who was Jonah?

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A Conversation with This Month's Author

Dr. Russell L. Meek teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at Moody Theological Seminary.

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Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk

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Some of the instruments a doctor uses look strange or even threatening to ordinary people. They may seem more suitable for destruction than healing. But in the hands of a skilled surgeon, these instruments are used for a positive result. God also sometimes uses strange tools. In the days of Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk, the Lord disciplined His people through unbelieving nations, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, causing His servants to ask hard questions: What is God doing (Jonah 4:5)? Will God leave the guilty unpunished (Nah. 1:3)? How long must we wait for God to act (Hab. 1:3)?

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Dr. Russell L. Meek teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at Moody Theological Seminary.

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