I have good news and bad news for you. First the bad news: God is “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and One who relents concerning sending calamities.” (Jonah 4:2) Why is this bad news? It was bad news to Jonah because God had sent him to preach repentance to people he hated. The citizens of Ninevah were the terrorists of that day, and Jonah didn’t want God to be gracious to them! So he ran away.
The story of Jonah is a familiar one. When God told Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and preach repentance, Jonah didn’t want to go, so he caught a ship going in the opposite direction. God sent a storm to threaten the ship. When the sailors learned that the storm was Jonah’s fault, they threw him overboard. God sent a large fish (a whale?) to swallow Jonah and give him a ride back to the beach nearest Ninevah.
Once again God told Jonah to go preach to Ninevah. This time Jonah obeyed and his evangelistic campaign was successful: the Ninevites repented. This made Jonah so unhappy that he sat on a nearby hilltop hoping to see God destroy the city. Because he was sitting in the sun, God gave him a plant for shade. But then God sent a worm to kill the plant, removing Jonah’s shade. This made him angry, and he complained. God told him to check his priorities: he cared more about a plant and his personal comfort than he did about a whole city with 120,000 people including many children and animals.
Why is this story in the Bible? Years ago, on a blizzardy Sunday morning in Minnesota, our family couldn’t get to church so we had church together at home. We talked about Jonah. Usually God’s prophets were faithful and obedient, but not Jonah. So what are we supposed to learn from his story? Here are three answers that my family members gave: (1) Jonah is about God punishing disobedience; (2) the story is about the Great Commission; and (3) it is about God’s way of re-educating an errant prophet. Here are lessons we can learn from the book of Jonah: Lesson #1. The whole book of Jonah is about God NOT punishing disobedience! God went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that Nineveh would repent and be spared the punishment they deserved. God also used extraordinary measures to rescue Jonah from the fate he deserved. A better statement of the theme of Jonah is found in Jonah 2:9, “salvation is from the Lord.” The book of Jonah is all about how far God will go to save people, not to condemn them! Lesson #2: The book of Jonah is about the Great Commission. Even though Ninevah was a wicked city, God cared for the people who lived there. God loves everyone, and he wants everyone to come to repentance. There are no national or political limits on God’s grace! So he sent Jonah to be the first missionary to the gentiles.
Lesson #3: The story of Jonah is about how God re-educated his prejudiced prophet. Jonah wanted a God of justice—not compassion. In Jonah’s mind, the Ninevites did not deserve to be saved! He saw them as enemies of Israel, but this was not how God viewed them.
Do we ever want to limit the gospel to people with cultures or political views we approve of? We forget that Jesus died for sinners, not for saints! In Acts 10, Peter said, “God has shown me that I should not regard any man unholy or unclean.”
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
The good news is that there are going to be Ninevites in heaven! The Bible says that every nation will be represented there. The gospel is for everyone, no matter what their language or culture or political persuasion. The Bible verse at the start of this article is not bad news—it is the best news ever!
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.