It's an odd thing. When I was growing up we all knew the story of Jonah and the Fish. (Yeah, that's right. We were told at the outset that "this was no whale". Fish.) We knew it. We saw the connection of "in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights" and Jesus in the grave for that time. Yeah, yeah, okay. Fun story and all. But did it really mean anything? I mean, did you get anything out of it?
It is, after all, a bit of a strange story, even without the whole fish-swallowing-a-man component. First you have a prophet who figures the best course of action when God spoke was ... "Run!!!" Why? Then you have this guy who travels to a foreign city and calls on them to repent ... and they do! Why? And finally you have a wonderfully successful prophet -- I mean, the people he warned to repent did -- who is mad at God for it. Why?? Very, very strange.
Recently, however, I've been getting some interesting things out of Jonah and I thought I'd take a few days to share some with you. Maybe you might see something interesting there, too.
Okay, so if you don't know the story, go read it. It's a short book. Not difficult. I'll wait ...
The first question that came to my mind the first time I heard this story (the first question I can recall) was "Why?" Why did Jonah, a prophet, run? What made him think that was a good idea? Or, from the other perspective, what made him think choosing a course different from God's clear instructions was better than following them? Well, I suspect you'll find the answer ... in the cross reference.
We only have one other reference to Jonah (besides those New Testament references). In 2 Kings we find that Jonah was a prophet in Israel (northern kingdom ... bad, bad kings) during Jereboam II's reign. There we learn that Jonah was an accurate prophet (very important for the job of prophet). Back then Jereboam II "restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher" (2 Kings 14:25). So, Jonah said their land would be restored and it was! Well, that's good, right? You'd think so, except for two factors. First, it was Jereboam, who "did evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 14:24). Oh, that's not so good. And the other factor was that, while God did right by Israel, there was no hint of repentance. So, here we have God's prophet declaring good things, good things that actually occurred, but obtaining as an outcome a restored kingdom credited to a bad king and no repentance.
So God comes knocking again. "Jonah, I have another job for you. Go to Ninevah and tell them to repent." Oh, yeah, that will work. His own people didn't repent even though he promised good things from God. Now God wants him to go to Ninevah, one of the most wicked, most vicious cities in the Assyrian empire, and tell them bad things? When put in those terms, I can see why Jonah might have run.
Then jump to the end of the story. As it turns out, Ninevah actually does repent. But instead of being happy about it, Jonah goes and pouts. Why? I'd suggest the same precursor. His own people didn't repent. Now there is repentance on the part of the heathen Ninevah. As it turns out, while Ninevah was slated by God to be destroyed immediately for their sin, historically they ended up lasting another century and a half. What was Jonah's problem? The same one we see in ourselves too often. "Why do good things happen to bad people?" Why did Israel get restoration without repentance? Why did Ninevah get repentance at all? That's not fair!
May I suggest that in your dealings with God you do not go there? We humans have a horrible sense of fair when it comes to God and His dealings. It didn't work for Jonah. It won't work for you. A valuable lesson from the guy who got eaten by a fish.
4 comments:
Jonah is such a great book. I almost wish the fish part wasn't there, because it is so easy for people to get distracted by that and to miss the other important themes.
Among other things, the book of Jonah is a strong rebuke to the entertainment mentality of the modern church. He was one of the most reluctant, non-entertaining preachers ever, yet by (eventually) doing God's will and preaching his word countless people repented.
It also kind of shows that repentance is in God's hands, not ours. You have Israel who have seen the hand of God repeatedly, are the chosen people, not repent when they know they are wrong. You have Ninevah, so completely engrossed in their pleasure and vulgarity, repent at the warnings of their enemy. I'm sure Jonah wouldn't have been well received because he was an Israelite, and yet they heeded him. Why? Because God changed their hearts and not Israels. That's really the only thing that makes sense.
Whenever I hear people say "I just wish God would give me a clear plan for my life", or words to that effect, I think of Jonah. He got some incredibly clear direction from God and promptly headed in the opposite direction. I tend to think that many of us are more like Jonah that we'd like to admit. We have a pretty good idea of what God wants us to do, and since we don't like His plan, we wait. Oh, and while we wait, we ask people Why won't God just give me some direction?".
Neil,
I had enjoyed the "story Jonah" as a kid because of the fish. It was only when I set aside the fish that I began to realize the applicability of the book. (More to come.)
David,
There are certainly more lessons (like the one you mention) from Jonah. I'll have a couple more next week.
Craig,
So true. In my experience people who are asking for "a clear plan for my life" are very often doing a "Jonah", on the run from what they already know. Even in the simplest terms, God has laid out "plans for my life" throughout Scripture and we ignore far too much of it. "Yeah, yeah, I know I'm supposed to love God, love my neighbor, all that stuff. No, I'm not doing it now. But what I really want from God is what job should I get?" You can run, but you can't hide.
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