Sometimes, we read scriptures and are convicted that something in our lives doesn’t fit the picture of a Christian. God does have the right to expect us to conform to the image of His Son since He bought us with His blood and saving power. We should be a testimony and a witness to others that Jesus is truth and life everlasting. Sometimes it is easier to get the point if we look at the actions of someone else.
How about a man called Jonah? He was a Jew by nationality and would have known the Jewish customs, the ten commandments, and the rituals of clean and unclean, and as it turns out he was arrogant and prideful. When God asked him to go to Nineveh to preach to an evil city of Assyrians so that they might repent from all their evil ways, he looked down on them as being unclean and not worthy of his time. They were not Jews, why should he associate with them? From his perspective, they didn’t deserve to know God. They were a sinful and unclean city.
What would have happened if Jonah had obeyed God and gone directly to the Ninevites? God would have given him the words to speak so that the Ninevites might turn from their wicked ways to know the true and living God. The bonus to Jonah would have been peace with God and blessings beyond measure. We forget sometimes that serving God always brings blessings and rewards.
The scriptures tell us that Jonah ran away from God as if that were possible. He chose the opposite direction God asked him to go and ended up on a ship on the way to Tarshish. He went to the bottom of the boat and fell fast asleep. Meantime, a storm was brewing and tossing the boat so much that the mariners threw many of the ship’s contents overboard to try and make the ship more manageable.
That didn’t seem to help, and the storm continued to get worse, so they called to their gods to save them. When nothing happened, they went to the bottom of the ship where Jonah was sleeping and asked him to wake up and pray to his God. They had concluded that Jonah’s God had caused this storm.
They inquired of him as to what they could do to appease his god so that the storm would stop. Even they realized that Jonah’s God had more power than their god. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. He didn’t seem to be willing to ask God or even repent even though he knew his God was in charge of the storm.
The men didn’t want to throw him overboard, so they rowed even harder to try and make it to shore. Finally, exhausted, they threw Jonah out into the ocean. The Bible records that immediately the storm ceased. The men were so amazed that they feared God, made a sacrifice and made a vow to Jonah’s God.
I think it is amazing that even in Jonah’s rebellious attitude, God used the situation to make people aware that He is God, and no other God has the power to calm a storm. God wasn’t finished with Jonah because He still had work for Jonah to do.
I find this story to be a great illustration of how God calls us to the task of reaching all people with the knowledge of God and His desire that all should be saved. He has the plan, the provisions, and the results but we put our foot down and walk in the other direction. His results will come about whether we walk in the direction or not. What happens to us if we don’t respond to God’s leading??? We miss the peace in our hearts, the oneness with God, and the blessings and rewards He has in store for us.
After Jonah was thrown into the sea and the storm calmed, God provided a large fish to swallow Jonah, thus saving him. Was God done with Jonah? No, He gave him another chance to follow His instructions. Did Jonah recognize this was God’s hand? Yes, Jonah prayed to God recognizing all of this was God’s doing. Jonah 2:7 “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord and my prayer came to You into Your holy temple.”
For me, I pray God helps me recognize quicker His instructions and direction for my life and I respond before the big fish has to come!
The Bible says: “The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” Once again, the Lord tells Jonah to go to speak at Nineveh and even tells him that He, God, will tell him what to say. These are the words that Jonah spoke as he walked through the city: “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” That wasn’t much of a message to a large city of wicked and evil people. However, the people heard what he proclaimed as well as the king. The king even went so far as to make a proclamation to the people to cover with sackcloth, put ashes on their heads, and turn from their evil and violent ways. This is an old Hebrew custom to show humility, mourning, and penitence before God. The king must have known this Jewish custom because the king declared that if the people would do this that maybe God would turn and relent from His anger and that none would perish.
Now we are talking about a godless city. Don’t you wish that it was that simple? All we had to do was walk through a town and tell the people the eight words God gave Jonah. It is that simple. If God makes a way and asks us to walk that way, then He will bring about the result. It is up to you and me to be obedient to all we know about God and He will do all the rest.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Was Jonah happy and blessed with the results? No, he said that he knew God would accept the repentance of the people because God was a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster. Wow, look at the character of God as recognized by Jonah. He knew all of this about God and yet he was unhappy that God didn’t do away with the Ninevites. Do we ever express jealousy that God blesses someone else in our presence?
Jonah was so jealous and disgusted that he went out of the city and sat down in the shade of a booth he made. God caused a large plant to grow to cover him in more shade for Jonah’s comfort. This made Jonah happy, but the next day a worm ate the plant and there was no more shade. Not only did the plant die, but God sent a scorching wind from the east which would have meant more heat from the desert. Jonah was so angry and mad that the plant had died that he wanted to die.
God said to Jonah: “So you have pity for the plant that you did not labor for or grow, which came to you one night and perished the next night, but you have no pity for the great city with more than 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left?
It is easy to see the mistakes and actions of Jonah because we have all been there at one time or another. I am grateful for this story because it gives me insight into the character of God. He is truly a merciful and loving God who bestows His love on us daily.
Paul said: “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:15
Are your feet beautiful and are they going towards the lost people who do not know their right and hand from their left?