The Zone Gathering

Background

Most people hear the name Jonah and think of a man who lived in the belly of a big fish for three days and three nights. And while this certainly is a critical element of the story of Jonah, it is not the primary focus of this short Old Testament book of prophecy. The focus of Jonah is not on a man trapped in the belly of a great fish; rather, the focus is on a people engraved on the heart of God.

Jonah was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II (northern kingdom of Israel). We don’t know much about Jonah, other than the fact that he was the son of Amittai and a native of the Gath-hepher. He prophesied from approximately 784 to 772 B.C. The book of Jonah, which the prophet himself is thought to have written, is a warning to the people of Nineveh, the “great city” of Assyria, which was characterized by wickedness and violence.

Even though He knew the nation of Assyria would eventually conquer the northern kingdom of Israel, God’s heart burned for the Ninevites as He sent His prophet, Jonah, to warn them of their destruction if they would not turn from their wicked ways. Let’s look at how the story unfolds and what we can learn about God’s compassionate heart for those who repent from evil and turn to Him.

Synopsis

God’s Mercy on Jonah (chapters 1 and 2)

Jonah is commissioned by the Lord to “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me” (1:2). Jonah disobeys God, flees from His presence, and sets out for Tarshish on a ship. While en route, the Lord sends a fierce storm that threatens the ship’s destruction (1:3-4). After taking desperate measures to save themselves, the other sailors cast lots to determine who is responsible for their predicament: it is Jonah (1:5-7).

Jonah takes responsibility and tells the sailors to throw him into the sea, promising the Lord would spare them. They do so, and when the storm ceases, the sailors come to fear and worship God (1:8-16). But Jonah does not drown – the Lord appoints a “great fish” to swallow Jonah, and he remains in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (1:17).

While in the belly of the fish, Jonah cries out to the Lord, praising Him with psalms ( see Psalms 3:8; 31:22; 42:7; 69:1). Using the opportunity to be in God’s presence, Jonah offers thanksgiving for his deliverance from drowning (2:1-8). When he acknowledges that “salvation is from the Lord” (2:9), he indicates his willingness to obey God. The Lord commands the fish to vomit Jonah up (ew!) onto dry land (2:10).

God’s Mercy on the Ninevites (chapters 3 and 4)

Jonah receives his second instruction from the Lord, and this time he obeys the command to go to Nineveh (3:1-3). He proclaims that Nineveh will be overthrown in 40 days (3:4), which causes the people to put their faith in God and fast under the king’s command (3:5-8). The king urges the Ninevites to “call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?” (3:8-9). God is indeed moved by their repentance and chooses not to bring calamity on Nineveh (3:10).

Jonah becomes angry at the Lord’s decision to show mercy to the people of Nineveh, despite having been a personal recipient of God’s grace a few days before. He admits he originally disobeyed God because he knew that God would be moved to show mercy to the wicked Ninevites and asks God to take his life (4:2-3). The Lord questions Jonah’s anger (4:4) and the prophet goes out to the east of the city and makes a shelter from where he can watch what happens to Nineveh (4:5).

God appoints a plant to grow and shade Jonah, for which he is thankful (4:6). But the next day, God has a worm attack the plant and cause it to wither. A scorching wind and blazing sun make the situation unbearable for Jonah, who again repeats his wish to die: “death is better to me than life” (4:8). The Lord again questions whether Jonah has reason to be angry about the plant to which Jonah replies that he does (4:9). The book ends with the Lord imparting a lesson about compassion to Jonah:

Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work, and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right hand and left hand, as well as many animals? (4:10-11)

Special Consideration

Many have argued that the story of Jonah is a myth, a sort-of fantastical fairy tale. And yet — Jesus Christ Himself referred to Jonah when He chastised the crowds for demanding a miraculous sign: “And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, ‘This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation” (Luke 11:29-30). In the corresponding passage in Matthew, Jesus compared His own impending burial (three days) to Jonah being trapped in the belly of the fish (Matt. 12:38-41). Would Jesus have used Jonah as an example if the story had not actually happened?

Relevance

Over the years, we have trivialized the story of Jonah to simply a “whale of a tale” about a big fish. But the most important theme of this story is God’s desire to see Nineveh’s repentance and His grace and compassion on those who turn from sin. God is sovereign and He alone is righteous to judge – Jonah, rather than being moved by God’s mercy on repentant sinners, chose to be angry despite having received God’s grace himself. The Lord accomplished His pursuit of the Ninevites by using a man who did not want to go and who was blinded by God’s compassion for the people.

I believe that this story illuminates three important truths for us today:

(1) God is sovereign and will accomplish His purposes, even if it means using someone who doesn’t want to be used by Him.
(2) God is compassionate and desires all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
(3) As those who have been shown God’s great mercy, we should not be angry when He chooses to forgive and extend grace to others.

Food For Thought

Do I obey God’s commands willingly the first time, or do I flee from Him and stick to my own sense of what is best?

Have I ever expressed anger or frustration at God extending mercy to others after gratefully receiving it myself?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 at 9:15 am and is filed under Bible Drills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.