Jonah – something about Jonah really
resonates for me. We were going through
it again at church. I’ve read the story many times. This time what stood out to
me were some things that had not before.
Never thought of it before, but, did you notice that it was
3 days for Jonah inside the fish and a 3 day walk through Nineveh? Coincidence?
I think not. Jonah was subjected
to three days in the stomach of a fish - pretty much trapped and wrapped in
death (smelly, digestive juices [acids and enzymes] all round him. Air – not much of that, so breathing is
limited and very difficult. And it’s dark,
very dark) – this environment does not sustain life nor is it comfy. No wonder he went straight to praying! The great fish is similar to the great city
of Nineveh – this city swallows you up whole and digests you slowly and
painfully into darkness. God actually allowed Jonah to experience the
effects of the city inside of the fish.
He could not have missed the comparison. You’d think it would have given him a little
compassion for the trapped people wrapped in the death that was Nineveh. Sadly, his stay at the fish motel only helped
to grudgingly motivate him (upon God’s 2nd urging) to announce
judgement on Nineveh.
And, isn’t it interesting how the story sort of made Jonah
look sort of, well, like a liar (even though he wasn’t)? Maybe this was part of what irritated Jonah
even more! Prophets of his day were
severely judged (it was a death sentence if your prophesy did not come to
pass). Jonah was not stoned based on his
prophesy not coming to pass. God said to
tell Nineveh of His decision to judge it for it’s wickedness. And, Jonah tells them – “40 days to God’s
judgement of Nineveh!”. He didn’t say to
Nineveh, “God’s planning to judge you – but, here’s a tip, possibly if you sincerely
repent and turn from your ways – He may change His mind”. Nope – he gives them bupkis (nothing). It’s apparent he does not want the slightest
chance of repentance because He already suspects that God will change His mind
if they do! So, he doesn’t mention or
encourage it. Interesting how the pagans
actually knew what Jonah himself knew – that God may be moved to change His
mind about what He was planning to do if they sincerely repented! Isn’t that funny?! Pagans actually believed a Jewish (enemy)
prophet, took his message to heart - AND made hasty repentance! Even the animals were put in sackcloth – these
people seriously turned it around! They
actually believed that if they repented that maybe, long shot, but maybe – God would
see their sincere turn around and spare them.
I find it really interesting that these people saw that.
Last, we come to Jonah’s despair about God sparing
Nineveh. I can relate to Jonah. I have had moments where very nasty people
have caused me to wish them to truly receive the full fruit of wrath that their
choices dictate. But, God has been so
very kind and patient with me. He has
shown me - me. Yeah, not the nice me I
wish I were. But, the me, who, without
His intervention would be doomed. It is
deeply troubling to see your real self.
But, when you see the nasty in you, it gives you compassion for others. God took care of that nasty me – He nailed it
with Jesus to the cross to die. It is
dead and finished. But, it does not mean
that I don’t still struggle with the old dead remnant of habits that I have. Those habits are my constant reminder to have
compassion. God is always gracious in showing
me I can give them up and hand them over to Him. And I can pray the same for everyone else
weighed down with nasty.
It was no coincidence that at the time I was going through
this study on Jonah a pastor that my husband and I listen to every day on radio
was going through the Matthew 18 parable that Jesus told about the unmerciful
servant. It starts where Peter asks
Jesus – “How many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against
me?” Peter asks – “Up to 7 times?” – this was the rabbinic practice. Jesus answers Peter –“ No, not 7 times, but
seventy seven times” (or seventy times seven = indefinitely). Forgiveness is not limited. Then he told the parable. He compared the Kingdom of heaven to a King
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. A man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold
(a sum not payable in a thousand life times by this man) was brought before
him. He ordered that the man, his wife,
children and all that he had be sold to pay toward the debt. The servant fell on his knees and begged the
King to be patient with him, telling him he would pay him everything (which he knew
he never would be able to do). The King took pity on him and cancelled his debt
and let him go. That same servant on
leaving the King ran into a fellow servant who owed him 100 silver coins (a
large sum, but it could have been paid back).
He began to choke the fellow servant and demand payment. The fellow servant fell on his knees and
begged his fellow servant to be patient telling him that he would repay the
debt. But,
the man ran off and had his fellow servant thrown into prison until he could
pay the debt. The King’s servants heard
of this and were outraged and told the King what this servant had done. The King had this servant brought before him
– “You wicked servant! I cancelled all
that debt of yours because you begged me to.
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on
you?” He had him thrown into prison and
tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
The points the pastor made about this were very
convicting to me and that joined with my Jonah study made me really take notice. First – the servant who owed
what he could never repay did not value what the King did for him. Ouch - that hurts. This makes forgiveness not just something we hope we can eventually do
someday. It is an indication that we have received God’s gift in Jesus to us. Also, the witness that we
have before all the world is wrapped up in this very thing. That extending outrageous lavish and
unwarranted forgiveness to all others is a hallmark that we have received it
and are Kingdom people. Jesus is so worth it. No stayin at The Big Fish Motel!
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