I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. … The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” [Jonah 4:2,4 (NLT)]
The first thing to clear up when writing about the Book of Jonah is whether it was a fish or a whale. Both the Hebrew word (dahg) and the Greek word (ketos) in later translations were used to describe this sea creature. In 785 BC, at the time of this story’s writing, neither language had a word that could identify the exact species so it could have been a fish, shark, whale or some other now extinct large sea creature. For those who choose to use this discrepancy to attack the Bible’s veracity, it’s probably wise to remember that Linnaeus’ classification of living things occurred in the 18th century and not 2,800 years ago when Jonah was swallowed by something huge in the sea. When learning the story in Sunday school, most of us were told it was a whale. Having seen Disney’s Pinocchio with Geppetto living in a whale’s belly, it was easy to picture Jonah doing the same.
When God told Jonah to prophesy God’s judgment to the people of Nineveh, a powerful and wicked city in Assyria, the prophet immediately set sail in the opposite direction to Tarshish. God sent a great storm that threatened his ship and everyone else on it. Knowing the storm was his fault, the prophet told the crew to save themselves by throwing him into the sea. Once done, the storm immediately ceased and Jonah was swallowed by a great nameless sea creature. Unlike Geppetto, Jonah didn’t build a fire to escape. Instead, he prayed to God, repented his disobedience, and miraculously was delivered onto the beach. My Sunday school lesson ended at that point with the message that there is no hiding from God. There is, however, far more to the story.
Although Nineveh was a powerful and wicked city, Jonah didn’t run away because he was afraid for his own safety or that his message would be rejected. He was afraid that the people of Nineveh actually might listen to God’s word, repent and be saved! His contemporaries were the prophets Amos and Hosea—men who prophesized that Israel would be conquered, exiled, and forced to serve Assyria. Why would Jonah want to save the very people who eventually would defeat his nation?
Once safely on the beach, God again told Jonah to deliver His message to Nineveh and this time Jonah reluctantly obeyed. After being told that within forty days their city would be destroyed, the Ninevites immediately repented of their wicked ways but, instead of being pleased about their salvation, Jonah was angry. He threw himself a pity-party because God would not destroy the city. Although God mercifully gave Jonah a second chance when he repented, Jonah didn’t want to share God’s mercy and forgiveness with his enemies.
With one more lesson for Jonah to learn, God planted a leafy plant above his head to shade the despondent prophet as he waited to see what would happen to the once sinful city. Grateful for the shade, Jonah became upset when God caused a worm to destroy the tree and a scorching east wind to blow. God pointed out that Jonah was angry about the death of a tree he never planted and then asked a question. “Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness…Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” [4:11]
Jonah begrudged God’s mercy shown to a hostile pagan nation. Sometimes we are like Jonah—although we want to be saved, we want to see our enemies suffer and be punished. While we want God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion, we’re not willing to share it with the people who have hurt us. This story was a lesson for Israel—that their purpose was to be a blessing to all nations by sharing God’s message—and later a lesson for the church—that Jesus’ came to save Jew and Gentile alike. Let’s remember that Jesus isn’t our own private savior; He’s meant to be shared. We all belong to Him and His mercy is a gift for everyone and anyone who repents and believes.
Last month, there were sentencing hearings for two politicians in a northern state. One pled guilty to bribery and the other pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Even though both men abused their positions and betrayed the public’s trust, both of their lawyers argued that their clients’ crimes really weren’t that bad so they didn’t deserve time in jail. In direct reference to the crimes of a former governor of their state, one lawyer argued that wire fraud and money laundering were insignificant when compared to bribing government officials to get lucrative contracts, trying to buy a Senate seat, or shaking down hospitals to get campaign contributions. After the other lawyer pointed out how little money his client actually pocketed from his crime, he called his client’s bribery “a brief dalliance with corruption,” cast the blame on another corrupt official who encouraged him, and assured the court that his client wasn’t a bad person but just a “good person who made a mistake in judgment.”
When we spotted some Sandhill Cranes last week, I recalled the cranes we frequently saw when we lived in rural Illinois. In the fall, flocks of them could be found eating the crop residue remaining from the recently harvested fields. As they gleaned the corn fields, I thought of the words in Deuteronomy and Leviticus directing the Israelites to deliberately leave some produce behind for those less fortunate—the people who wouldn’t have land of their own from which to harvest. Allowing the poor to maintain their dignity as they labored in the fields, rather than a handout, the gleaning was considered a rightful opportunity to improve their lives. The command to leave left-overs from the harvest for the poor was not to be taken lightly. In fact, if nothing remained in his fields following harvest, a landowner could be punished.
Having frequently been told by her elders, “If you get your reward on earth, you won’t get it in heaven!” a friend said it still remains difficult for her to accept praise or compliments. Her experience reminded me of my college roommate Marilyn who, like my friend, received large doses of guilt, shame, hellfire, and brimstone in her strict Christian upbringing. She reminded me of The Nun’s Story and Sister Luke who tried so hard to be a perfect nun who flawlessly kept her vows. But, even when Luke succeeded at following a rule of cloistered life, she repented of the pride she felt at her success. So afraid of inadvertently sinning, the nun even felt guilty when she caught a glimpse of her face reflected in a window! Like her, Marilyn kept taking her spiritual temperature and searching for some hidden transgression for which she should repent. If something was fun or entertaining, Marilyn was sure a hidden sin lurked in it. Both the fictional nun and coed became so focused on their real and imagined spiritual faults that they missed out on the joy of the Lord.
Devotions of the Heart 