The Book of Jonah

The story of Jonah is a drama between a passive man and an active God. Jonah, whose name literally means "dove," is introduced to the reader in the very first verse. The name is decisive. While most prophets had heroic names (e.g., Isaiah means "God has saved"), Jonah's name carries with it an element of passivity.

Jonah's passive character then is contrasted with the other main character: God (lit. "I will be what I will be"). God's character is altogether active. While Jonah flees, God pursues. While Jonah falls, God lifts up. The character of God in the story is progressively revealed through the use of irony. In the first part of the book, God is depicted as relentless and wrathful; in the second part of the book, He is revealed to be truly loving and merciful.

The other characters of the story include the sailors in chapter 1 and the people of Nineveh in chapter 3. These characters are also contrasted to Jonah's passivity. While Jonah sleeps in the hull, the sailors pray and try to save the ship from the storm (1:4-6). While Jonah passively finds himself forced to act under the Divine Will, the people of Nineveh actively petition God to change His mind.

The plot centers on a conflict between Jonah and God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but Jonah resists and attempts to flee. He goes to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a great storm at sea, and the ship's crew cast Jonah overboard in an attempt to appease God. A great sea creature (the Book of Jonah says it is a fish but the New Testament reference in Matthew 12:38-41 and retellings for children conventionally assume it to be a whale) sent by God, swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah languishes inside the fish's belly. He says a prayer in which he repents for his disobedience and calls upon God for mercy. God speaks to the fish, which vomits out Jonah safely on dry land. After his rescue, Jonah obeys the call to prophesy against Nineveh, and they repent and God forgives them. Ironically, the relentless God demonstrated in the first chapter becomes the merciful God in the last two chapters (see 3:10). In a parallel turnabout, Jonah becomes one of the most effective of all prophets, turning the entire population of Nineveh (about 120,000 people) to God.

How many people like a sense of duty? How many of us live in this mundane world without having some kind of responsibility to carry out each and every day? What drives us? What is the cardinal of motivation to our life? Often times, some of us tend to find ourselves passive and complacent to the monotony routine of life, don’t we? Perhaps, we like it in our comfort zone; hence, we don’t want to venture out to new avenues in apprehension that it may lead us to foreign paths. But how could we ever grow and seek personal development if we don’t nurture ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically?

I like this story in the book of Jonah. I appreciate this biblical account merely because there are a few lessons that we can adopt from this allegory. As Christians, we know that Jonah was one of God’s prophets and he was called to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh so that they could repent and ask for forgiveness from God. In doing so, God will spare the population of Nineveh from destruction. It is palpable that Jonah despises the people of Nineveh so he didn’t want them to survive. He felt that they should be punished by God. It is apparent that Jonah knows God’s nature. Thus, recognizing God’s characters, Jonah thought that if he were to preach repentance to them, then they will repent and God will save them from destruction. Jonah didn’t want that, so he bolted from the call of God.

As the story continues, Jonah fled from the will of God in preaching to the people of Nineveh.  Thereafter, he encountered a colossal storm that was sent by God. But God is a merciful God; he didn’t wanted Jonah to die so God sent a whale out and deliver Jonah from the enormous tempest. The whale swallowed Jonah into the stomach and Jonah stayed in there for 3 days and nights. While in the whale’s stomach, Jonah had prayed earnestly to God day in and day out for deliverance. God did not forsake Jonah and had liberated Jonah. This time, when Jonah got out—he obeyed God and he did preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Subsequently, the lives of the people of Ninevah were spared by God because all had repented and asked God for forgiveness. Albeit, Jonah was not happy because he felt that those people deserve to be castigated. But God is loving and merciful so He does not want anyone to die.

How many of us who are Christians felt like fleeing from the call of God at times? Have we ever felt convicted somehow by some conscious calling from within? It is the Holy Spirit, dear friends. The Christian life is no longer about living egoistically for our own personal gain, anymore. When we surrendered our life to God, and through His atonement and grace; we have given up our life to give ways to His calling of us. Sure, we can attempt to recoil from the voice of the Holy Spirit but God will bring us back by the circumstances of our lives. Nothing is just a mere coincidence, dear friends. God speaks to us through circumstances and if we chooses to discount it or disregard them, then He will make sure He will draw our implicit attention in one form or another, so that we can be down on our knees and begin to listen to His call, ultimately. Each Christians have a sense of duty and if we don’t live up to it, then we are not living in harmony to God’s will and are not obeying to God’s commandments. Each of us has a gift that God created in us to wield. He wanted us to maximize them all for the purpose that God has manifested us to be. In acknowledging this, have we done just so?

Therefore, as Christians, we all have the greatest commission to ply and that is to spread the, “Good News” to everyone among us whether we like it or not. We should not let fear be an obscurity for the preaching of God’s word. This world needs a voice to save the lives of those who are still blinded, the lost, and to the unreached. There is spiritual battle that clearly exists on earth at this time--as we can see from the economic recession, political war, increase of unemployment rate, famines that is affecting us globally, and etc. etc. It is no longer our choice. It is the will of our heavenly father and if we don’t act upon His call, then we will soon discover God will have other plans for us, until He can capture our complete devotion to Him and away from our selfish ways. With that, Christians, it is only wise to listen and obey to the convicting of the Holy Spirit. We are serving to a living and loving God, and through the sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ who grants us the salvation of our transgressions and gave us the gift of eternal life-- it is the least that we could do all for the glory of God.

Let us pray

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me.

Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are of You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray out loud, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak and unsaved.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that will only read this and not speak this aloud in their own lives. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe ... But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people, and I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You, Lord. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Are you still in the good race or have you given up, already?