How the Story of Jonah Works - A Writer Explains the Story of Jonah
8How the Story of Jonah Works - A Writer Explains the #Story of #Jonah
Many get this story WRONG. Why? The story of Jonah isn't about a prophet of God getting swallowed by a "whale." It's a scathing critique of humanity and our shared human experience. I'll explain the story of Jonah from a writer's perspective to showcase how the story of Jonah works. How it's meant to be understood, and the deep Truth the story of Jonah has for you and me.
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JAY'S ORIGINAL STORIES (CO-WRITTEN BY NATHAN SCHECK):
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- Timeslingers (YA serial adventure story): https://www.amazon.com/Timeslingers/d...
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REFERENCES:
- Book of Jonah (#Bible): https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Jonah&version=NKJV
- Jewish Scholars and Jonah: https://youtu.be/IAIiLSMOg3Q
- "Whale" Translation: https://bibleask.org/did-jonah-stay-3-days-in-the-belly-of-a-fish-or-a-whale/
- Most Read Book - the Bible: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-10-most-read-books-in-the-world-infographic-2012-12
The Art of Dramatic Writing: https://amzn.to/3rM7MjZ
- Vice's Black Market: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ_hwG6UuEJbYLDgBYBevZa4AeetdsExF
- Joe Rogan Experience (reference to Jonah): https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LYsYoR8WhNsHpxXK9kc9i?si=8rucaj9dTrOMGhERnyPwuw
TRANSCRIPT:
How the Story of Jonah Works - A #Writer Explains the Story of Jonah
The story of Jonah-from the Bible-is not about a man who gets swallowed by a "whale."
The story of Jonah has a deeper and far more important message that resonates with many of us in the modern day. How does the story of Jonah work? Let's break it down.
SETUP: ACT I - JONAH'S QUEST
Jonah 1: 1-3
Act I-the setup-is short and sweet. The story begins with God giving Jonah a directive-basically a quest... God gives Jonah a directive and Jonah immediately bails. That's Act I, a brief setup for the story of Jonah.
CONFLICT: ACT II, PART 1 - JONAH THE FUGITIVE
Jonah 1:4-16
Act II starts with Jonah fleeing the presence of God, but as an audience, we don't know why… yet.
Jonah claims to fear God, but is openly disobedient to Him. The sailors throw Jonah overboard in obedience to God. Now here comes the sea monster.
CONFLICT: ACT II, PART 2 - JONAH THE CAPTIVE
Jonah 2:1 - 2:10
The first half of Act II ends in verse 16, and the second half of Act II begins when the sailors throw Jonah overboard: A giant sea monster swallows Jonah whole.
The sea monster vomits Jonah onto dry ground and God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh.
THE RESOLUTION: ACT III: JONAH GOES TO NINEVEH
Jonah 3:1 - 4:11
Act III takes the story straight to #Nineveh.
And the people listen. They believe Jonah. They all acknowledge and turn away from their wickedness. The people of Nineveh repent and #God upholds His promise. He does not overthrow the city.
In most modern movies, that would be the resolution. In a #Hollywood blockbuster, this story would be about Jonah's fear. He would need to overcome his fear in order to do the right thing.
And if the actual story of Jonah-the one we find in the Bible-ended here, it could be about Jonah overcoming his fear. If the story ended here, then the popular narrative about God sustaining Jonah while he was in the "whale" might be justified.
But here's the thing: The story of Jonah is not over.
Because after the people of Nineveh repent and declare they're going to change, Jonah… is enraged!
Why didn't Jonah go to Nineveh the first time? Because he wanted God to overthrow Nineveh! God asks Jonah a simple question: "Is it right for you to be angry?"
Let's break it all down to showcase how this ending is actually quite complete and how powerful the story of Jonah truly is in explaining the human condition.
JONAH EXPLAINED - THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF THE STORY OF JONAH
The meaning of the story of Jonah revolves around God's simple but powerful question, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
I would suggest that the story of Jonah showcases that: Self-righteous indignation ignores its own hypocrisy to produce bitterness and outrage.
Jonah wanted violence. Jonah wanted to withhold mercy. God wanted restored relationship.
And here's the really important aspect of why Jonah is wrong and why God is right: Jonah isn't worthy of God's mercy either. Thus, the premise of the story of Jonah rings true centuries later.
#HowStoriesWork #JaySherer