Leslie M. John
JONAH’S DISOBEDIENCE
“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six
score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their
left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11) That was a question from God to
Jonah.
There are times when God questioned men. One of them was Job who was
questioned by God for having been questioned by him when Job was in pathetic
condition. Here in Jonah 4:11 it is a question God asked Jonah. This question
from God was not posed to Jonah just to test him but it was to ask him whether
or not God had freedom to choose to redeem some people who repented. God asked
this question because Jonah was not pleased with God for saving the people in
Nineveh of whose destruction he preached. True, the preaching was in obedience
to God’s instructions, but then Jonah’s real desire was to just preach for the
sake of preaching; not for the sake of salvation of the people of the city of
Nineveh. His sole purpose of preaching was to see that his prophetical preaching
comes true.
It all started with God asking Jonah to go to a city called “Nineveh” and preach
exactly the words of God.
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went
down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare
thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence
of the LORD”. (Jonah 1:3)
Jonah’s disobedience of God’s commandment resulted in his being thrown out of
the ship, of course at his own behest, because mariners traveling in the ship
thought some evil came upon them. They cast lots to know for whose sake they had
to face the tempest and the lot fell on Jonah’s name. Jonah was thrown out of
the ship. Mariners were amazed to see that tempest ceased and there was calm in
the sea. The mariners feared the LORD and offered sacrifices to Him and made
vows.
Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish prepared by God. Now, it may sound
unbelievable that a man was swallowed by a huge fish prepared by God, but that
is what exactly happened.
“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in
the belly of the fish three days and three nights”. (Jonah 1:17)
JONAH’S PRAYER
“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly” (Jonah 2:1)
Jonah’s prayer is noteworthy. Jonah Chapter 2 verse 1 says that Jonah prayed unto the LORD and He heard Jonah's prayer. Jonah would have felt so much of discomfort in the belly of the huge fish. Subsequent verses up to verse 9 show us that he already prayed and was expressing thanks to God for hearing his prayer. The description appears to some as prayer but the words of Jonah are full of thanksgiviging.
Jonah testifies that he prayed to the LORD by reason of his
affliction and the LORD answered his prayer. Jonah compares the belly of the
great fish as a part of hell where he spent three days and three nights. Jonah’s experience was great testimony. He says that he was cast deep into the sea and felt the floods and waves passing over him, he went down to the bottom of the mountains and the earth with her bars was above him for ever. It was then that he realized that he was cast out of the sight of the LORD. He repented and said that he will look again toward the holy temple of the LORD. The LORD saved him from the destruction of his soul and Jonah offered sacrifice unto the LORD and vowed that he will pay his sacrifice with thanksgiving. His Testimony that Salvation is of the LORD was great. (Jonah 2:2-9)
God’s purpose of sending huge fish to swallow Jonah was surely not for his
punishment, but to chastise him for his disobedience and it was a reflection of
God’s mercy. God sent a fish big enough to swallow Jonah whole. God prepared the
fish to swallow Jonah whole and God kept Jonah alive and safe in the belly of
that fish for three days and three nights. God showed mercy on Jonah and saved
him from death.
“And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land”.
(Jonah 2:10)
JONAH’S PREACHING
God commanded Jonah second time that he should go to Nineveh and preach exactly
what God wanted him to preach. Jonah journeyed for three days and reached that
exceedingly great city Nineveh and he preached saying “Yet forty days, and
Nineveh shall be overthrown”.
And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said,
Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (Jonah 3:4)
The first mention of the city of Nineveh was in Genesis 10:11 where it says:
“Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth,
and Calah”.
History records that Nineveh was a great city. Sennacherib thought of waging war
against Hezekiah, but Hezekiah prayed to God and Sennacherib was killed. The
people of Nineveh are said to have raided the cities around it and tortured
people in the adjacent cities. One thing is sure that Jonah wanted the city to
be destroyed.
REPENTANCE
Indeed God’s message through Jonah was very powerful that made the people of Nineveh believe in the preaching. Greatest of them to the least of them put on sackcloth and proclaimed a fast which is a sign of repentance. The king of Nineveh rose from the throne, laid aside his robe from him and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. The king by decree ordered every one in the city of Nineveh to fast, and put on sackcloth and cry out to God mightily. The king desired that every one in the city turn away from evil way and from violence realizing that such repentance may please God and he turn away his wrath against the city.
GOD's FORGIVENESS
Indeed, God answered their prayers and he promised that he would not do that which he wanted to do. That is to say the city of Nineveh would not be overthrown. (Jonah 3:5-10)
JONAH'S CURIOUS WATCHNG
The repentance of this sinful city headed by a sinful king was greater than that
of God’s servant. Jonah’s anger towards God shows he desired the destruction of
Nineveh.
In Jonah chapter 4 we read, with a great deal of uneasiness, concerning the sin
of Jonah. As there is joy in heaven and earth for the conversion of sinners so
is there grief over the follies and infirmities of saints. We hardly see anyone
in Bible so fickle minded saint as Jonah was. He was very much out of temper
proving that he was peevish and provoking. In the first chapter we saw how he
fled from God’s commandment, now in fourth chapter we see how he was trying to
flee from the face of God. Jonah prayed to God asking him if it was not because
he knew that God was “merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” that he
escaped to Tarshish? Now, Jonah finds excuses for himself and blames God for not
punishing Nineveh.
What grieves us is that, there we saw an account of his repentance and return to
God; but here, though he repented, yet he desired the destruction of Nineveh.
But while we read with wonder of his perverseness, we read with no less wonder
of God’s tenderness towards him, by which it appeared that he had not cast him
off.
GOD's DEALING WITH JONAH
Jonah traveled to the other side of Nineveh and sulked in a booth and sat down under shadow to watch from there what would happen to Nineveh. God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah for a shadow over his head in order to deliver him from his sorrow. Jonah was very glad that the gourd gave him shadow. In the meanwhile God prepared a worm that struck the gourd and it withered. In addition to this God prepared a strong east wind to hit him and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head. He desperately cried out to God to take his life and said “It is better for me to die than to live”. Then, God said to Jonah as to why he was angry for destroying the gourd inasmuch as he did not labor for growing it up but perished in a night. Jonah sympathized the withering of Gourd, but did not understand the love of God. God asked him a question if Jonah as a man, had compassion towards the Gourd which neither he planted nor watered, why God, the creator of this world, should not have mercy towards a city with king and the people of that city repenting over their sins. God taught Jonah a lesson here that if Jonah was sympathetic to Gourd there is no reason why Jonah should be angry over God’s sympathy towards the city of Nineveh with one hundred and twenty thousand people who repented. (Jonah 4:6-11)
OBSERVATIONS
See here, how unjustly Jonah quarreled with God for showing his mercy to Nineveh, upon their repentance. This gives us occasion to suspect that Jonah had only delivered the message of wrath against the Ninevites, and had not at all helped or encouraged them in their repentance.
Points to consider
1. Stop questioning God. His ways are higher than ours.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts". Isaiah 55:8-9
Points to consider
2. The Lord is gracious and close to those who repent.
"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit". Psalm 34:18
Points to consider
1. Notice that Jonah avoided going to Nineveh, but the word of the Lord came second time to him to go to Nineveh
2. It is believed from History records that Jonah’s family was harassed by Ninevites and, therefore, Jonah never wanted Nineveh to be saved from destruction
3. In spite of all the atrocities Ninevites commited they repented and God had mercy on them
4. In spite of Jonah backsliding he was not cast off, but was brought back to God
Jesus is “the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Jonah didn’t love the people he came to save, but Jesus had compassion for sinners and proved His love by dying for them on the cross (Rom. 5:6–8).
We all seem to face those tough times when we make serious mistakes that lead us to question God’s love. Does His love really extend as far as He says it does. After all, none of us gets through life without disobeying, and surely the sin of disobedience earns us chastisement from the Lord. The mercy of God extends beyond it and he forgives us. He gives salvation to everyone who repents of one’s sins.