Interview with Dr. Mark Futato

The following linkis to an interview posted at Between Two Worlds. There Justin Taylor posts an interview by James Grant with Dr. Mark Futato. Dr. Futato wrote the study notes for the book of Jonah in the ESV Stuby Bible (ESVSB). He is an OT professor for Reformed THeological Seminary in Orlando Fl. Here are a couple of comments Dr. Futato made based upon an etire carerr of studying Jonah,

For me the greatest fascination with the book of Jonah is how paying careful attention to the literary features of the book yields tremendous theological insight. For example, a proper understanding of the structure of the book invites the reader to compare and contrast Jonah’s grateful prayer in 2:2-9 with Jonah’s angry prayer in 4:1-4. Such a comparison and contrast shows Jonah’s grateful prayer to be rather self-centered and hypocritical. Similar examples could be multiplied.

The primary reason for understanding the main theme as the boundless compassion of the Lord is the end of the book (4:5-11). The overall structure of the book leads us to see that this final scene is the culmination of the book. There are seven sections in the book, with the first three being paralleled by the second three. The seventh section (4:5-11) stands apart from this parallel structure, signaling that it is the goal toward which the whole story is driving…The story ends with the Lord asking Jonah for permission to have compassion on the Ninevites. At the heart of the message here is that God’s compassion is not just for “us” it is also for “them,” whoever “them” may be.

It seems to me that “Jonah” is alive and well in the church. The spirit that focuses on “us” without much concern for “them” is not hard to find. We need only ask ourselves how grateful we are for God’s grace to us and then honestly look at how begrudging we can be toward God extending his grace to “them.” For example, what is our fundamental attitude toward Islamic terrorists? They are quite the analog for the Assyrians of Jonah’s day. Is our fundamental attitude one that wishes for them God’s just judgment or his boundless compassion? That is indeed an important message for us.

Between Two Worlds: An Interview with Mark Futato, and the Entire ESVSB Notes on Jonah Online
The PDF file for the ESVSB on Jonah can be found here.