The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy

Tim Keller is my favorite author. This book on Jonah is one of the reason's I like his books so much. He is great at giving slants on information you thought you understood before. "I never realized that," is a common reaction I have to his writing. The story of Jonah now makes me laugh after reading Tim Keller's explanations. You'll enjoy this book I am quite certain.

Book Review: The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God's MercyAuthor: Timothy KellerFormat: SoftbackTopic: The Book of JonahScope: A biblical exposition of the book of Jonah for application contemporary life.Purpose: To encourage Christians to understand grace more fully and apply it more deeply to their lives.Structure: This book contains an introduction, 12 chapters, and an epilogue. Although the book is not explicitly broken up this way, I'd argue the chapters make up two different sections. The first 9 chapters dive deep into the book of Jonah and make a lot of theological and statements. Every verse of the short book if covered at least a little. Chapters 10-12 switch gears by taking some of the major themes and applying them in deep and impactful ways to contemporary society (specifically Western Americanized Christian).What it does well: *Keller is a translator. He takes deep and often complicated subjects from the Bible or more scholarly authors and translates them for more popular audiences. He is a master of reaching the heart and head of his reader.*Any reader that has not truly immersed herself in the biblical book of Jonah will come away with a much deeper knowledge of the book. Keller covers the entire book in ways that will make many people go, "Oh."*The last three chapters are worth the price of the book, IMO (although I enjoyed the rest of the book as well.) Keller's scalpel on some of the idols of the current Western church (both liberal and conservative) is exacting and incisive. There were quite a few times when I would catch myself thinking, "Yeah, that's just like [insert person or church here]" only to realize in just a couple sentences that he has described me as well.*Keller knows the human heart. He is very helpful at describing how we rebel against God and the antidote.*Although there is much more done well, my favorite part of this book (as is my favorite part of Keller as an author) is how well it describes grace and what Jesus has done for us. This book, although about Jonah, is really about Jesus and his work to see us come to him.What it lacks: *This is not a commentary. It is not meant to be. This is not a criticism, but instead informative.*One thing I was a little disappointed about was the lack of mention of abortion in a section entitled "Christians and Politics" (163-170). As I mentioned above, Keller attacks many sacred cows of both liberals and conservatives (we are not only to be for the poor but also to contend that sex is only for marriage). His biggest attack is to say that Christians cannot abstain from politics, nor can they buy wholesale into any particular party's platform. He says we must contend for those who are most vulnerable and alludes to many disenfranchised groups. This would have been a particularly good time to mention abortion which attacks our most vulnerable. He seems to mention some other important things but shies away here. To be fair to him, it seems as though many of the points he makes will logically lead to the belief that we should contend against abortion when followed to the end. So, as much as I was a little disappointed, the implications of these points will be clear to those who listen.Some quick highlights: "Jonah concluded that because he could not see any good reasons for God's command, there could be any. Jonah doubted the goodness, wisdom, and justice of God."-15"God shows him here that he is the God of all people and Jonah needs to see himself as being part of the whole human community, not only a member of a faith community."-37"To deny God's wrath upon sin not only robs us of a full view of God's holiness and justice but also can diminish our wonder, love, and praise at what it was that Jesus bore for us."-65"To work against social injustice and to call people to repentance before God interlock theologically."-94"Then God says, in essence, "You weep over plants, but my compassion is for people."-118"Sin always begins with the character assassination of God."-138"We sneer at people more liberal than us as social justice warriors; we disdain those more conservative than us as hateful bigots."-171"Religious people often invite nonbelievers to convert by calling them to adopt new sets of behaviors and new ritual practices, and the while redoubling their efforts to live a virtuous life. That, however, is to load more burdens on people.... While the gospel must lead to a changed life, is is not those changes that save you."-207Recommendation: This is a good book. It is easy and accessible. I recommend it for anyone who wants to go deeper into the book of Jonah or anyone who may be teaching this little book. I would also highly recommend it to anyone who is seeking to understand some of the nuances of Christianity. I found my heart moved multiple times.

He is one of my favorite authors. It’s clear he has been called to preach and is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. His wisdom and insights are powerful and helpful. He reveals historical and cultural facts that I’d never heard before not w. It helped bring out every aspect of important points that we can glean from the book of Jonah. Great audiobook!

I read this in preparation to preach through it (for the third time in my life). It’s my favorite book of the Bible and I’ve read just about every commentary on it I could get my hands on.Keller has also read the best of them (he quotes the extensively) and weaves them together well. His own insights on Jonah are generally helpful and, in a few spots, really superb.His perspective is not mine - lots of emphasis on racial inequality, the “us vs. them narrative,” as well as a more radical view than mine of what it takes for God to save an individual. Sometimes these perspectives are annoying but reasonable to the text. Sometimes they’re quite a stretch, in my opinion. But in all cases, it’s good for someone like me to be challenged to consider them, since I wouldn’t have done that without his prompting.Sinclair Ferguson’s “Man Overboard” will still be my go-to Jonah recommendation for laymen, but this volume was worth the (short) read.

I always enjoy his writing and his balanced biblical approach. It Truly had some profound nuggets. I Can’t wait to meet you in the kingdom.

En esta sencilla exposición del libro de Jonás, se encuentra una brillante exposición de la gracia, en comparación con la religión.No hay manera de entender la necesidad de otros sino a través de la nuestra y cómo está ha encontrado satisfacción en Dios únicamente por medio de su gracia.

I have read this Biblical account many times as a child and as an adult. Heard it preached many times.Never have I heard this explained in such depth and clarity.The Mercy of God truly past finding out.It's a reassurance that God does care for humanity.

Outstanding book by Tim Keller.

Intensely timely and lifts a childhood story out of a simplistic understanding to crystallise how we are all ultimately Jonah.Keller is always very readable and keenly intelligent. Every sentence hits home.

The author takes on tge journey with Jonah.