April 10, 2011 (Jonah 1-4)

Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, and the Assyrian kings were cruel and ruthless. So when God told Jonah to go preach to the city of Nineveh, he went the opposite direction. He didn't want them to experience God's grace and forgiveness, as he could not forgive them for the atrocities they had committed.

Most know the story - he sailed in the opposite direction. A great storm came up. Finally he admitted he was the cause and they threw him overboard. God had arranged for a great fish to come and swallow Jonah.

When the folks on board saw that the storm stopped immediately after they threw him overboard, it says "The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him." Another instance of God using everything for His glory.

Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days - alone and left to his thoughts. And he came to his senses and realized that only God could help him:

 2:5 “I sank beneath the waves,
      and the waters closed over me.
      Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
 ⁶ I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
      I was imprisoned in the earth,
      whose gates lock shut forever.
   But you, O Lord my God,
      snatched me from the jaws of death!
 ⁷ As my life was slipping away,
      I remembered the Lord.
   And my earnest prayer went out to you
      in your holy Temple.
 ⁸ Those who worship false gods
      turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
 ⁹ But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
      and I will fulfill all my vows.
      For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

So when he had learned his lesson, God commanded the fish to spit him out. And then God told him again to go to Nineveh and preach. And this time he did. And as he preached, the people believed him and repented. What does repentance mean? A changing of their ways. Repentance requires action in the opposite direction:

^3:10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

God's ways are not our ways. Jonah was angry with God because he wanted the people destroyed because of what they had done. But God has a heart of mercy for His creation. He wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Jonah ends with this verse, as spoken by God:

 ^4:11 "But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”