Review: Man Overboard!
The author views the Old Testament Book of Jonah ‘not as a book about a great fish’ (seriously, does anybody?), but about God and one man in particular. He sees it as a piece of biography. That poses a stumbling block for this reviewer, who reads Jonah as humorous fiction. Ferguson finally uses the word parable, but not until the final page (page 98 – it’s only a little book!). “You are Jonah; I am Jonah. We recognise ourselves in the story of this man’s life.” So it’s more than history.
I must surmount the stumbling block. The book contains many helpful reflections for our walk with the Lord. Jonah carries a message for the church as well as the individual, in our evangelistic task. Our prejudices need to be exposed, as Jonah’s were. ‘Do we care more about our own comforts than about the evangelism of the world?’ Good question!
This book won’t serve you as a commentary on Jonah. But it will give you food for thought.
This article was first published on GoodBookReviews.org.uk. The site has been closed as of March 2019.
Latest Articles
Biblical Mission Arises from Biblical Longing and Supplication 24 November 2025
This is the second of four posts from Peter Schild (translated by Michael T. Schmid) which together constitute his booklet The Church and Missions. ‘As they ministered to the Lord and fasted…’ — Acts 13:2 There is a real danger that a church becomes stagnant in self-satisfaction. The church at Antioch could have said, ‘We […]
Why Did the Pilgrims Really Go to America? 19 November 2025
On 21 November 1620[mfn]November 11, according to the Old Style calendar.[/mfn] the Mayflower made landfall in what is now Provincetown Harbour, Massachussetts. 37 of its 102 passengers were English ‘Pilgrims’ from the separatist church in Leiden, Holland. Their pioneering settlement of Plymouth Colony laid the foundations for the eventual formation of the United States of […]