The book of Jonah is an autobiographical account of his mission to preach to Nineveh. Now, there is some debate about who wrote the book and whether or not its allegorical in nature or actual fact . Well, let s leave that argument for another time and accept mainstream thought that the book is true and was written by Jonah himself. The book is the story of the prophet who was sent to preach a message of hope (not destruction) to the non-Jews of Nineveh far-off in the eastern land of Assyria.
So in chapter one God commissions the prophet to go to Nineveh and preach to them about his imminent judgement that was to come upon them (forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned). But he didn't want to go. And he had his reasons. Moses was another one. He didn't want to go, and he too had his reasons. So before we shake our head in disapproval at such faithless actions, have a quick survey of your life and see how often you have said no God.
Granted, you we may have had our reasons, but reason or not, knowing what is right to do, knowing that a particular course of action would please God, and yet still we turn and go the opposite way. God did not approve of Jonah s defiance anymore than he approved of Moses, so let us not fool ourselves into thinking that God somehow approves of our defiance, for he does not. Don't think for a minute that when we fail God, our reasons are justified because they re not. Oh but God understands well of course he does, of course he does, for what kind of God and Father would he be if he did not understand? But let s not mistake understanding for approval, for they are not the same thing! Running From God: for whatever reason, is not right and no amount of oh but will make it right.
So in chapter 1 we see Jonah running from God. He admits to the sailors that he is the cause of the great t roubles that are upon them. Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will be become calm . They did, and it did. But Jonah, perhaps willing to die rather than face the mission, did not escape his responsibilities. No! God provided a great fish that swallowed him up and he lived inside it for three days and three nights.
So in chapter two, in a poetic psalm-like prayer he thanks God for saving him from the currents and the waves and the breakers and the deep! But when my life was ebbing away, I remembered you O Lord and my prayer rose to you Salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah is no longer running from God, but he s running to God. The repentant Jonah is then spewed from the mouth of the fish onto dry land. Whenever I read this story, or heard it read, my inclination was that Jonah was spewed onto the beach right by Nineveh; only that would be impossible. For Nineveh was way in the east, well inland. So it is likely that was spat onto the same coast close to his starting point, meaning that he had so start his mission all over again.
And so to chapter 3: God says, Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim the message I give to you. And so he does. He's gone from running from God, to running to God and now he s running with God. He goes to the city and proclaims the message given to him. News of Jonah's message reached the king and in response, removed his royal robes and dressed himself in sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." God, seeing what they did and how they repented of their evil ways, had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Mission accomplished! Jonah turns to God, throws his hands to heaven and praises God for his compassion and mercy; his slowness to anger and his abounding love! Only, that not what it says, for that is not what he did. In fact, his reaction to God s mercy was the very opposite. Jonah was raging mad at God s deliverance. He was disgusted! He didn't want one bit of this, not a bit of it. He pleaded with God to take his life, he wanted to be back in the ocean, sinking in its depths rather than see this! He wanted to see Nineveh and all who lived there brought to destruction. He even went outside of the city, took up a position at the east side and watched to see what would happen. He was till hoping that God would lay it to waste. Why was he so mad?
There are many paintings of Jonah, mostly depicting him in the belly of the fish, for that is the event that we most identify with oh his life. The focal point of his book isn't it? When someone mentions Jonah we immediately think of him in the belly of the great fish. Even Jesus referred to this event and something very significant was being played out here: the Jews asked for a sign and Jesus said, No, the only sign you will get is the sign of Jonah who was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three night; so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for the three days and three nights. (Makes it a true account). But we are not drawn to Jonah in the belly of the fish on account of that, we are so drawn because its such a vivid image, a fantastic thought. Try to imagine living in the belly of a fish for three days, what would that be like? To remember Jonah by virtue of his living in the belly of a fish for a few days, is all a bit of a shame.
There is one painting, one of few that does not depict Jonah in
the belly of the fish and the only one that tells the real story of Jonah: his feelings toward
Nineveh. He hated them, he wanted them dead, he wanted to watch them being obliterated. The
minute he received word from God to go preach to them, he ran away.
Not because he was lazy
not because he thought he wasn't qualified,
not because he thought it was someone else s turn
not because he to go to work, or to entertain friends/family
not because he didn't have time
not because of the kids
not because he had something more pressing to take care off
NOT because he was afraid.
The painting I was talking about, was done by GF Watts. Jonah is depicted as wild, thin figure with arms raised aloft against heaven. His head is titled back skyward,his mouth is wide like a bottomless pit and his eyes are white with rage. The background, blended in with all the coloring, is a collage of scenes in which the cruel Assyrians are brutalising and enslaving the peoples of the world. He didn't want to go, this is why he was so angry! He knew what God was like. He knew that God would forgive them. The Assyrians where the arch- rivals of Israel and others at this point in world-history; Jonah wanted to see them annihilated, not saved. So, whatever Jonah s limitations; it wasn't faithlessness, in fact it was because he knew that God would forgive and in a round about sort of way, that is commendable!
Jonah has run from God, then he ran to God, then he ran with God and now, now he s running into God! His ideas for Nineveh are at odds with God s ideas. And you know how it is in life: you get angry about something and you can't get a release, and though you might calm down a bit, it still their brewing under the surface waiting for the catalyst to bring it back to full-on rage. I think that is what happens here in the last part of the account: Jonah has calmed down a bit sitting by the city waiting to see what is going to happen, and God helps him with some shelter from the heat in the form of a plant. It grows up and brings him shade and in that moment he is happy. His rage is sinking a little below the surface However, God sends a worm, it eats the plant, the plant withers and dies and there s the catalyst ; his anger is rekindled. God asks if he thinks he has a right to be so angry, I Do exclaimed Jonah. God pointed out to Jonah never tended the vine nor made it grow, yet he was more concerned about that, than the 120,000 people in the city who didn't know their right hand from their left.
Modern application: Specific: One of the profound temptations of the elect (Old Testament or New) is to think they are elite and that the world begins and ends with us so we often hold our fellow human brothers and sisters in contempt. We might want to withhold salvation from others; our enemies Caught up by glory of the message we were given we sometimes act as if we had created it or we won it as a prize for our superior moral insight or integrity. Now we're in Jesus Christ, so are we to hold our former friends and neighbours in contempt? If that is so, repent now, for you are in a very bad place. But to be honest, I really don t think that we want that to happen to anyone. And we really shouldn't t be annoyed that God loves the lost and the wicked and the evil as much as us. In fact, this story brings us great hope: for Jonah teaches that: if God can pursue/love a people like Assyria who were national predators, then that tells us of his abounding love, his mercy, his grace. We can breathe a sign of relief, for surely in that, we see that salvation is open to all! God gave Jonah a vine to make him more comfortable. When that was taken away from him, he got angry. The point is: he was more concerned with the vine than he was about an entire race of people who were about to die. The plant to him was more important than the people, more important than members of the human family.
General: We all have plants that we love. Things that we tend, nurture and care about. We actually
get to the point that we think we own them. And often, we forget who gave us the plant in the first
instance! Jonah cared more about his plant than he did about human beings that were in line for
destruction. There are just some things that are more sacred and pressing than your plant. Do you
care more about the plants that God has given you, more than people, more than needs, needs that you
can bless by sharing your plant. You only have the blessing that you might bless others. And the
warning is that if we are so happy with our plants God might take them away if we view them more
highly than the one who gave us them. Last point: At the beginning we said that the book of Jonah had
come under scrutiny by some: its authorship and its contents are true recorded facts have been called
to question. This is a great shame, because if we reject Jonah as the author then we are rejecting his
admission of his sown short-comings, willing to admit his limitations.
This is a lovely thing.