JONAH PROFILE: ‘MY TEMPER TANTRUMS ON THE WAY TO NINEVEH( ANCIENT CITY OF ASSYRIA)’

My name is Jonah and I am from Gath-Hepher, a town northeast of Nazareth. All I can say of my God is that He is a very compassionate God! Even though I am an Israelite and know He loves Israel, I found at one point during my ministry how much He cares for all the Gentile nations! Even Nineveh, where He sent me to preach to its people in order that they might repent and the whole nation might be spared. And they did repent and God spared them from a much deserved punishment in my opinion! I myself was only too happy to be the prophet of doom to that cruel power Nineveh, who had constantly threatened my nation Israel. That’s how I know that my God loves our enemies: I myself thought that such an enemy of ours shouldn’t be forgiven!

I have to tell you now the story of what happened during the time of my call to go to Nineveh up to the time of their turning to God by repenting. I myself suffered many ups and downs during this time, many times wanting to escape my God. I’ll share them with you as I tell the story. It started by God calling me to go preach to Nineveh: of course I was anointed by the Spirit in my calling as a prophet. But I tried to flee His presence because I knew their doom was contingent upon the people’s reaction. I went to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. But as I was on the way, with a bunch of pagan sailors, the Lord hurled a great wind and the sea started roaring. I fell asleep while all these sailors were crying out to their gods. They woke me up and told me to cry out to my god. They were spiritually sensitive as they realized that it was on my account that the ship threatened to break up. They were really afraid so I told them to throw me into the sea so that it might quiet down. After they prayed to the Lord that He might not hold them guilty for my death, they threw me into the sea. I think they got saved! Thank you Lord! (Read Jonah 1).

As I was thrown into the sea the Lord provided for me a great fish, and I was there three days and three nights. I could only thank God for saving me from death by drowning. After the third day, the Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited me out into dry land. I knew I had to heed the Lord’s call for me. So I went to Nineveh telling them that in forty days it would be overthrown. And they all believed the God of Israel and repented after they had called for a fast and after they had put on sackcloth. Even their cattle joined in and also repented. So God forgave them.

I became depressed and angry toward God: that’s why I had tried to escape in the first place. Because I knew Him to be a very compassionate God. And I threw a temper tantrum asking Him to take my life! And you know what was His answer? “Do you do well to be angry?” He is so kind and graceful! And as I went out of the city, I made a booth to sit on, and waited to see what would become of the city. It was so hot and I felt discomforted. And you know what the Lord did for me? As I told you, He is a very sweet God! He made one of His creations help me again: a plant grew up over me and I was so glad because it would give me shade from the scorching sun. Of course God wanted to teach me a lesson: the next day at dawn a worm sent by the Lord attacked the plant and it withered and the scorching sun, sent by God of course, beat down on my head, so that I became faint. I told the Lord it was better to die than to live. I was throwing another temper tantrum. Then God asked me again: “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And I told Him that yes, I did deserve to be angry. I was just feeling so down in the dumps. (Read Jonah 4).

Then the Lord told me if like I was pitying the plant which I didn’t labor for, nor did I make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished at next dawn, if He shouldn’t have pity on Nineveh, in which there were 120,000 people who were blinded by sin? And that’s the end of my story regarding Nineveh then! I learned there is no way to escape God. He is the God of Israel, the God of Nineveh, and the God of the entire creation and of all the nations!

According to Jack W Hayford 1 many believe if Jonah wrote the book, then it would date during the reign of Jeroboam II in the early 8th century, in a pre-exilic reign. That Jonah’s story shows God’s desire to show His mercy and offer forgiveness to all people of the earth. He has committed this ministry of reconciliation and the message of reconciliation to the church (2 Corinthians 5: 18-19). Just as Israel was commissioned to reveal God to the world (Genesis 12:3) so the church has been commissioned to go into all the world and preach the gospel, that Jesus saves and forgives if we only believe in Him in our heart ( Matthew 28: 18-20).

NOTES
1 Jack W Hayford, general editor, Hayford’s Bible Handbook, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1995),240.