Less Than Perfect—Broken Men & Women Of The BibleSýnishorn

Jonah

Go to Nineveh. Go to Nineveh. Preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. The words come in a whisper but fall like a hammer. As he tries not to listen, Jonah feels a steady ache building between his temples.

Why would God ask him to preach to Israel’s sworn enemy? Because he would sooner preach to pigs than to any city in Assyria, Jonah boards a boat in Joppa that will sail far away from Nineveh.

By the time the ship sets sail, the sun is shining in a clear blue sky. But soon a storm overtakes it. Afraid they will sink, the crew tosses the cargo overboard. But the storm rages on.

Meanwhile, Jonah is fast asleep below deck, no doubt weary from the effort of running away from God.

Desperate to find out who may have offended one of the gods, the captain wakes him, and Jonah confesses that, indeed his is running from his God. 

“What have you done!” the crew cries out. “Tell us now what we should do to you to make the sea calm down?”

“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” Jonah replies, “and it will become calm. It is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

So the sailors toss him overboard and he is soon swallowed by a huge sea creature. When after three days it vomits him onto the land, Jonah hightails it to Ninevah, where he preaches this cheery message: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned. Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 

When the city repents of its wicked ways, God responds with forgiveness. Instead of reacting with surprise and delight, Jonah stamps his feet and shakes his fist.

“O, Lord,” he shouts, “isn’t this exactly what I said, when I was still at home? That’s why I tried to flee to Tarshish. I know that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

“Is it right for you to be angry?” Yahweh replies.

Jonah’s tale ends with another question we must all answer for ourselves. If God has compassion for people who are far from him, what should our own attitude be toward such people? Furthermore, if the people of a wicked city like Nineveh can repent and turn to God, why can’t we  humble ourselves by turning away from our sins and trusting in his mercy?