JONAH – HOW DID I END UP HERE?
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of
Amittai: “Go to the great city of
Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed
for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa,
where he found a ship bound for that port.
After paying the fare, he went abroad and sailed for Tarshish to flee
from the LORD.
Jonah 1:1-3
There was Jonah – can you see him – sitting below deck, with a “I got out of there” smirk on his face. He gloated, “I guess I showed the LORD.” “Go to Nineveh,” he said. “Preach against its wickedness,” he said. Seeing the coffee pot, he decided to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the ride.
Then it got a bit windy. Just a bit… Okay, it was a great wind and violent storm, which tossed the ship around till the sailors thought the ship was going to break up. The sailors were tossing cargo overboard. They were sure they were going to perish. Jonah, on the other hand, was sound asleep.
Cliff notes: The captain woke him up. Jonah admitted he was the cause of their problems. “Throw me overboard,” he told them. When trying to save Jonah and the ship failed, over the side went Jonah. Of course, that big ole fish thought Jonah looked like an appetizer and swallowed him right up. The belly of the fish was a bit boring and after three days and three nights, Jonah realized his mistake and he remembered the LORD.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’
“
And the LORD commanded the fish, and it
vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2: last part of 9 and 10
Cliff notes 2: We know this story so well. Jonah went to Nineveh. He told them to straighten up. They did. Jonah was mad because they turned from their evil ways, God relented, and did not destroy them. He sat down east of the city and pouted. God provided him shade … until a worm chewed the plant and it withered. Jonah got so hot and angry that he wanted to die.
But the LORD said, “You have been concerned
about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died
overnight. And should I not have concern
for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and
twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and
also many animals?”
Jonah 4:10-11
Jonah had one job: to warn the people of Nineveh to repent. Was his reason for running away a good one? “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Well, doesn’t that beat all! Jonah didn’t want to go to the people of Nineveh because he knew God would be gracious and compassionate.
But the LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
I have been Jonah. My parents did not go to church. My mother was raised in church. My dad was not and he drove a semi, so often he was not home on Sunday. They sent us kids to church, but we went alone. Oh, they came to the Christmas program, but that was about it. Each Sunday, we would put on our Sunday best, walk to church, attend Sunday School and worship, and then walk home.
Many, many years later, my mother started attending church. She would tell about receiving hugs. And I would remember other kids walking into church with their parents. She would tell about attending Sunday School. And I would remember carrying Sunday School crafts home before I could show them off. She would praise Pastor Ernie. And I became Jonah.
I was mad that mother started attending church. WHY DIDN’T SHE GO TO CHURCH WITH US? Were we not important enough? WHY DID I RESENT THAT SHE WAS GOING TO CHURCH? Shouldn’t I have been thrilled that she found a church family? I would like to say that I resolved these feelings quickly. Instead, I sat under the hot sun and was angry.
I did finally get out of the hot sun and was thrilled that mother had
found her way back to a church where she worshipped a compassionate and
forgiving God – because I sure needed compassion and forgiving.
