An Introduction to Jonah

Jonah and the Whale…one of the great Bible stories we were taught as children in Sunday School. Maybe we learned cute little songs about it. I remember one Christian comedian who had a pretty good routine about Jonah showing up on the shores of Nineveh, with his clothes torn and his skin bleached white from the gases in the whale’s stomach, saying, “Repent!”
However, the book of Jonah isn’t just a children’s story, and it is more than good material for a comedian. Jonah actually serves as an object lesson for us today.
Now, when we think of the Old Testament prophets, we picture them as great men of God. We naturally assume they lived wonderful godly lives. And this may well be true of most of the prophets. We really don’t read anything negative about the character of such men as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. In fact, within the book of Daniel, we read a great deal about his integrity and devotion to God.
But Jonah serves as a negative example. He’s the example of what not to do. We can encourage and exhort each other by saying, “Don’t be like Jonah.” Why? Because when God called Jonah, he ran the other way. He was in such open rebellion that God had to use a violent storm and a large fish to get him to where he was supposed to be.
Now, as we learned on Sunday, Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were a warring nation. They thrived on invading other countries and doing horrible things to their people. The Assyrians had not invaded Israel (the northern kingdom) or Judah (the southern kingdom), the Israelites were probably afraid of that happening. They certainly knew of the Assyrians’ reputation, and they viewed the Assyrians as their enemies. In a word, the Israelites were afraid of the Assyrians, and they hated the Assyrians.
So we could understand why Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He must have been afraid of what they might do to him. He probably thought, “If I go there, no one will ever hear from me again.”
I find it interesting that, when God told him to go to Nineveh, Jonah didn’t question it. He didn’t argue with God as Moses did in Exodus 3. He didn’t question whether or not he had clearly heard God, as Gideon did in Judges 6. He knew he had heard from God, and he knew what God had told him to do. He just didn’t want to do it, so he ran the other way.
Another thing I find interesting, as we will see later in our study, is that once God used Jonah as fish bait, Jonah did say a prayer of repentance. Funny how being in the belly of a whale will do that to you. By all indications, God forgave him, but God still said, “You’re going to Nineveh!” There are times when, in our obstinance and rebellion, we can force the hand of God, so that He will “force” us to do what He commands us to do.
So Jonah found himself in Nineveh, prophesying destruction and calling for repentance. Lo and behold, the people repented. God forgave them and lifted the judgment against them. Most evangelicals would have been elated by this. Certainly, the Ninevites were rejoicing in their newfound faith and the forgiveness of God. In fact, I would wonder whether or not they invited Jonah to stay and pastor the First Baptist Church of Nineveh (see, even I can have fun with this story).
So how did Jonah respond? Well, he didn’t start shouting, “Praise the Lord!” And I don’t suppose he had any desire to stay and be their pastor. Jonah got downright mad. And he effectively said to the Lord, “Okay God, do you want to know why I ran to Tarshish? This is why! I knew that if I came here and preached the message you told me to, these people would repent, and You would forgive them. I knew it, because I know that’s the kind of God You are. I know that nobody’s perfect. I recognize that I had to repent of my own sin. But come on, God. The Ninevites? Really? Have You forgotten what these people are like? Heck, they aren’t even people. They’re barbarians. They’re animals. They don’t deserve Your forgiveness!”
Oops!
Now what about us? Who comes to mind when we think about those who don’t deserve God’s grace? Is it the drug dealers downtown? Is it the prostitutes who walk the highways? Maybe it’s the business tycoons who make millions of dollars by making shady deals while everyone else is losing money on account of them. Perhaps we could include the Islamic terrorists and suicide bombers that still want to attack us. They don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, but we do, right? After all, we’re not nearly as bad as they are.
You know, there’s a funny thing about forgiveness. If we deserved it, we wouldn’t need it.

SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. In what area(s) of my life am I rebellious toward God? How far does He have to go to bring me back in line with His will? How quickly do I repent and ask for forgiveness?


2. Who do I consider to be my enemies? Do I want to see them receive God’s grace? Am I be willing to go to them with the gospel?


3. When I do hear about certain people becoming Christians—for example, someone serving a long-term sentence for a violent crime—how do I respond? Am I glad for them? Do I praise God for it? Or am I skeptical? Do I think it’s a ploy