Some notes on the book of Jonah
The book of Jonah isn't very long, yet it contains a brilliant little story that is often overlooked. We've been taught the story since Sunday school, but how much have we pondered what actually happened and the ridiculousness of this story? Read on if you'd like to take a moment to consider the reality of what happened in this story of stubborn Jonah. Here is the story if you'd like to re-read it before we begin. This is not an exhaustive treatise; just observations on this little book.
I've often thought that if I were ever to be like one of God's prophets, I would most resemble Jonah, as he was full of anger and bitterness. I'm no longer full of anger, though, as I spent much time being humbled in my walk and also because I've forgiven much. Why was Jonah so angry with God and the Ninevites, anyway? He was angry with the Ninevites because they were mortal enemies of his people, the Jews. They persecuted and pillaged and killed the Jews for quite some time. Think of a nation or a people who have destroyed your own as in a time of war and how would you feel toward them? Consider the anti-Japanese or anti-German sentiments that ran high in the United States during WWII. What God asked Jonah to do would be akin to going to your worst enemy and offering them a get-out-of-jail-free card (God would not destroy them). Jonah, clearly, was not on board with that assignment and went in the opposite direction of Nineveh. At this point he is disobedient and the reason is he wants his enemies to be destroyed. God, why would you send me to my enemies? Now he's angry with God, too. Has God ever asked us to go to our enemies with a way out of God's judgment? That's what Jonah was sent to do.
So, after he got the word to preach to Nineveh (which was founded by the infamous Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel, and was based on the worship of Babylonian gods such as Ishtar (still worshipped today), a fertility goddess, and Dagon, the fish god (easily seen depicted in the pope’s mitre today)), Jonah went the opposite direction without wasting any time. He boarded a ship and even told them he was running from God. Jonah was a man of God, yet he thought he could flee from the presence of the Lord, which is an impossible feat. We see him repent later and say he has been cast out of God's sight. He really didn't know God could see him wherever he was? This tells me Jonah perhaps had an incomplete picture of God, though he knew God was merciful and long-suffering. Truly, no one can flee from the Lord. Where are you going to go?
The name Nineveh could mean "house of the goddess" or "house of Ishtar." It could also mean "house of Nin," who was the Assyrian god Hercules. (Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria.) It was steeped in the worst kinds of sin, sin that was constantly called out by God. Indeed, at the beginning of the book of Jonah we see the Lord saying "their wickedness is come up before me." Outside of the biblical record, we see Nineveh highly regarded in ancient texts. It was a great city of commerce and trade and reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah in that regard. No doubt it was a lovely place to live. But God saw the wickedness that went on there, no doubt because they followed hard after gods that are no gods (demons). Apparently, there was violence involved on some level. This isn't hard to believe because following demons always results in violence, even toward those most helpless among us, such as newborns. Human sacrifice, often babies, is a component of the Babylonian religion. I have no doubt it was practiced in Nineveh (and it still exists today). Nineveh was once considered the greatest of all ancient cities. It was approximately 60 miles wide (along the Tigris river) and contained 120,000 children, which would make the population anywhere from 600,000-1,000,000. It was a spectacular city. The prophets Nahum and Zephaniah predicted its eventual fall. Anyway.
We see Jonah try to escape, yet God prepares a storm and then a fish to take him exactly where he needed to go. It was a one-way trip to Nineveh. One thing of note about the men on the ship with Jonah is they were probably heathens but they had more respect of the Hebrew God than even Jonah did, as they were made believers of a sort through their experience with Jonah. I feel like Jonah didn't care if he lived or died at this point, as being thrown overboard in a raging storm was likely a death sentence and he knew that. He would have rather died than do what God told him to do. He was literally the worst prophet in the Bible. But, notice that when a man is disobedient to God, it will affect those around him. It put their lives in peril until he was thrown overboard. He knew it was because of him, yet he didn't care for their welfare. He was sleeping and would have likely continued to do so until the ship sank had he not been thrown overboard. This is also a warning for those near someone who is in grave disobedience to God. Even being near someone like that can put your life in danger.
He spent three days and nights in the belly of a fish. Consider that a moment. What kind of fish would swallow a man whole yet not harm him? This was a special fish for a special moment in history. And what would happen to a man after three days and nights in the belly of such a fish? Well, Jonah repented, for one thing. It would have been an absolutely awful experience on par with nothing I can even imagine. It's outside of my realm of experience. He was confined in a relatively small space with very little air (fetid, stinking air that reeked of death and decay and gastric juices). If he was claustrophobic, he would have gone insane. The "weeds" were wrapped around his head, which tells me this was perhaps a fish not accustomed to eating meat. Jonah was basically being slowly digested. His skin and ears and perhaps his nose would have been eaten away in spots. Can you imagine what he would have looked like after he was "vomited" out on the shore? It seems even the fish thought Jonah too bitter to consume, such was Jonah's anger with God and Nineveh. After being spat out by the fish, Jonah's heart wasn't any less bitter.
And this is the image of the man who walked a few days journey into the heart of Nineveh and cried out a single sentence (literally the very least he could do) that in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed. He didn't even offer a way out. He just said it was going to fall. Period. Here was this half-digested man, who looked like death warmed over, walking into a strange city with a different tongue and cried out one sentence. He would have been quite a sight to behold. If anyone was on the shore when he got vomited out of the fish, can you imagine the commotion? Here was a man who vaguely resembled the fish god, having come out of the sea, getting up and walking into a city to deliver a one-line message of utter destruction. Contrast that message with the life of Isaiah, who preached and prophesied as long as 64 years, or Ezekiel who preached about 22 years. Or any of the other prophets. And, as the book concludes, we see the whole city turn and repent. Never in recorded history do we see any of the other prophets turn the whole city, though they labored for years. Jonah was the most successful prophet in history if we look at it that way, but God counts obedience as success, not turning a city. Jonah was reluctantly obedient. His heart was hard. He wanted to see that city overthrown.
He went up on a hill and built a little booth just to watch. He sat and waited and desired to see the city destroyed. His skin was probably so thin after being in the bely of the fish and being eaten by its gastric juices that he was likely very sensitive to heat and the sunshine. That's why he had the booth. And then God made a gourd to shade him more, which he appreciated. God then made a worm to kill the gourd, and Jonah was upset by that. He was more concerned with the gourd than with the likely death of untold numbers of people in Nineveh. God called him out and Jonah responded with basically, "I knew you were going to do that. You are a merciful God." Such was the bitterness of his heart, such was his anger, that he only wanted to see his enemies destroyed. He delivered the bare minimum message in order to be compliant with what God told him to do and then sat and waited for God to destroy the city. He was a stinker. But I sense a lot of us are a lot more like Jonah than we realize.
Not only was he greatly displeased that God saved the city, he requested to die. His heart was wrapped up in the destruction of these people. His mission and God's mission were two different things. God called him out for having pity on the gourd yet having zero interest in the saving of numerous souls in Nineveh. God wasn't only concerned about the adults, but those who didn't know their right hand from their left (likely children, or children in spirit) and also much cattle. God was even concerned about their beasts' lives. Here these people had likely never been preached to and had no basis for belief in a Hebrew God, yet the whole city turned to Him. Even the king declared everyone should repent and "cry mightily unto God." They followed through with repentance, and God then repented also and decided to spare the city. This story fills me with hope because no matter how far gone we think our land may be, God can always turn it around if we'll simply repent (true repentance means changing your actions). God can even use a stubborn mule of a man who would rather see the place burn than repent.
There is so much more I can talk about this story, but the main points are here. No matter how vile and ugly things get, God can turn it around in a day. There are no sins that cannot be forgiven. The peace of Nineveh lasted a generation. After the next generation forgot this lesson, God had to destroy the city. Jonah was the worst prophet and also the most successful according to the world. He turned the whole city with one sentence. But I don't think he was rewarded for this. His heart was more sinful than those of the city who repented, and his obedience was of the most reluctant kind. He had to endure something no other human has ever endured in order to be brought to a place of obedience, and, even then, his heart wanted something other than what God wanted. Jonah serves as a warning that obedience is the most important thing in God's book. Regardless of how our message is received, obedience is success in God's book. I pray I am more like Isaiah or Ezekiel or Jeremiah than Jonah. Love never stops believing someone can change and come to God. Jonah didn't love the Lord (if you love God, you'll do His commandments) or the people of Nineveh. He stands in contrast to the message of Jesus Christ, which is to love our enemies and do good for them and pray for them. I long to be more like Jesus and less like Jonah. Jonah understood God’s nature, that He was both a God of judgment and a God of mercy. However, Jonah tended toward judgment, and that clouded his mission, rendering him nearly useless as a tool of God. Judgment serves a purpose, but it does not entirely sum up God’s nature. We shouldn’t be so cold and legalistic and judgmental that we forsake the core message, which is love. God’s judgement is a means to an end, and that end is, hopefully, to draw us near to Him and remove us from the brink of destruction. If we continue in disobedience, we risk utter destruction. We see both purposes of God’s judgment fulfilled in the history of a city called Nineveh. I pray we are wise enough to heed this example, on both an individual and national level.
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Here are more resources about the founder of Nineveh, Nimrod.
https://thehypothyroidismchick
https://biblepaedia.wordpress.
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Señor Plant appears to be struggling. Apparently, I am not a good plant dad. I do much better keeping my son thriving. I just give him milk. Hope y’all are having a good summer.
Thank you for reading. And God bless.
My Tumblr. In case you need more.
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