Jonah: God’s Reluctant Prophet

"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened." (Jonah 3:10)

I have always liked the book of Jonah.  It was my first choice whenever teaching children in another country, such as India or Haiti.  The prophet Jonah lived in the Galilean city of Gath-hepher, about four miles north of Nazareth, during the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 B.C.), king of Israel. (See 2 Kings 14:23-25)   Assyria was located five hundred miles to the east and was a constant threat to Israel.  The fact is, due to Israel’s rebellion toward God, the prophets Hosea and Amos, contemporaries of Jonah, had declared that Jehovah would use Assyria as an instrument of punishment against His people. (See Hosea 11:1-9; Amos 5:16-27)  Any patriotic Israelite would have longed for Assyria’s destruction!

Though there are many fascinating themes in the book of Jonah, for Jews it is primarily about repentance and redemption.  This is why they read it every year at Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.  They see Jonah’s story as a reminder that we can never run away from God and His judgment, and confirms that He seeks our repentance and desires to forgive us and shower us with His love.  Yom Kippur is important because it is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar and it marks the culmination of the High Holy Days, which begins with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).  Jews see Yom Kippur as their final opportunity of the year to repent of their sins.  

 

To focus on this important task, they fast from food and water, engage in intense soul-searching, and spend much of the day in the synagogue beseeching God for forgiveness.  They prepare for this day with a mikvah, or ritual bath of purification, and with extra acts of charity, all in an attempt to help atone for their sins throughout the year.  It is with this heightened awareness of our fallen nature, of the punishment we deserve and our desperate need for God’s mercy, that Jews hear the story of Jonah on Yom Kippur.

Who was Jonah? He was a reluctant prophet who runs from God’s clear command to go to Nineveh and preach His truth.  He was a defiant believer who wanted mercy for himself but not for the people of Nineveh, and admits to his shipmates that he worships “…the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land” even as he’s trying to flee from God in a wooden ship. (1:9)  He was a forgetful man who, even after he was miraculously saved from the sea and the great fish, had the audacity to get angry with the God who rescued him.

We find all these unpleasant qualities in ourselves, sinful, broken, selfish, disobedient, and desperately in need of God’s forgiveness.  Biblical scholars disagree on who Jonah was, when the book was written, and who wrote it.  But the book of Jonah makes us painfully aware of our need for atonement and all the more grateful for a God who, as Jonah reminds us, is a "...gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.." (4:2)

It is easy for us to forget that God is a God of love.  As humans, we often want judgment carried out right away, especially when we feel we are the victim!  But we must yield our desires to God’s wisdom and justice, being careful to remember that we too often stand in need of His forgiveness and compassion when we are in the wrong.

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Russ Sharrock has been in ministry for 23 years as Pastor, Church Planter, Bible Teacher and Missionary. In 2019 he founded Vanguard Ministries International. Prior to accepting God’s call into ministry, he was a professional photographer, and over the years co-authored three newspaper columns with his wife Alice Taylor Sharrock, a professional artist for over 40 years.

If you have any questions concerning the topic of the post, or about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, you may write to me at: lifesjourney1949@gmail.com.  I appreciate all my readers but give God all the glory for this opportunity to journey through life with each of you.  May God bless you!