The Prodigal Prophet by Timothy Keller: Book #3 for 2019
Most people are familiar with the Biblical story of Jonah, and how he was swallowed by the whale after fleeing from his duty to go to evangelise Ninevah.
Fewer people know about the final chapter of Jonah, and when I first read it I was a bit startled by what happened. So, Jonah repented and went to Ninevah to preach to them, resulting in everyone in Ninevah repenting of their sin, then God spared them. However, instead of being happy, Jonah got angry at God because of the mercy he had on the Ninevites.
Timothy Keller's book focuses largely on the final chapter, but draws some striking parallels between the first and second halves of the book of Jonah that I had not thought of before. I also was struck by how the book compared Jonah's attitude to both sons in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, which I'd never thought of before.
The most significant chapters of this book are towards the end when the reader is told how to apply the book of Jonah to our own lives.
I enjoyed this book a lot; it was easy to read, and got me thinking about a lot of things that hadn't occurred to me before, including a few comments on Jonah's own motives. A recommended read.