Jonah's Place in History

What you need: your list of Old Testament events. the "Times of the Prophets" sheet or a timeline that shows where each prophet fits in Old Testament history

Here's the order of those events:
Adam and Eve
Noah's Flood
The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Israel in Egypt
40 Years in the Wilderness
Into the Promised Land with Joshua
Period of the Judges, ending with Samuel
The United Kingdom--Saul, David, and Solomon
The Kingdom Divides--Israel and Judah
Assyria Conquers Israel
Babylon Conquers Judah
Exile in Babylon
Return of the Exiles and Rebuilding Jerusalem's Temple and Wall

Where does Jonah fit?
He lived during the time of the divided kingdom.
What was his occupation?
He was a prophet. The word prophet means "to speak out." They spoke out against injustice, immorality, idolatry, and anything else God told them to speak out about. They warned the people about their actions and the punishment that God would send if they didn't change their ways. They also foretold the time when God would save a remnant of His people. Through this remnant all the nations of the world would be blessed.

Turn to the table of contents in your Bible. Then look at the chronological order of the prophets on a timeline. Are the books of the prophets in chronological order?
Looking at your timeline, find out who the king of Israel was when Jonah lived.
Who was king of Judah when Jonah lived?
Does the text of Jonah 1 give you any clue as to which of these two kingdoms Jonah was sent by God?
Does your Bible have cross references? If so, are there any OT references for verse 1:1? Mine has 2 Kings 14:25. Turn to it to see what you can learn about Jonah. Since this verse seems to bring us into the middle of some information, let's backtrack and read more, starting with verse 23 and going through verse 27.

Whom does God send to Jeroboam with a message?
Of which kingdom is Jeroboam king?
In what city in Israel does Jeroboam live? Can you find it on a map?
How long did Jeroboam reign?
What kind of king was he?
Whom does it say he followed after in his manner of sinning? Can you find this king on the timeline? This is why this Jeroboam is often referred to as Jeroboam II.