Of all the personalities in the Bible, there are umpteen of
them in the old & new Testaments put together– some were absolutely faithful
like Abraham, some renown like David, some infamous like Pharaoh, some pious, others
shallow or hideous to name a few with their signature uniqueness, there would
also be a handful who would have impressed upon each one of us their
characteristics & persona. One such personality who has had a telling
effect on me is Jonah. Even though Jonah
did not have too much written about himself in the Bible – only about 4
chapters & a week of his life, in the little that was written he has very
clearly revealed his personality & character. Let me take this opportunity
to put across the reasons for my undeniable amity towards this prophet.
Firstly, when God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh & preach
the coming of punishment for their evil ways, Jonah’s reaction to the command was
to flee by ship to Tarshish. This could be looked upon as a serious
misdemeanor, but Jonah himself says that he knows God too well (that God is
slow to anger & abounding in steadfast love) to comprehend that a loving God
will not let this come to pass if there is repentance. Hence his response to
the command - flee.
Secondly, while traveling in a ship which is struck by a
rare storm – but in its wake Jonah is resting peacefully in the lower deck knowing
explicitly that God protects his children come what. It is then that the other
sea-farers notice one of their co-traveler’s asleep, they awaken him & asks
him to pray to his God to save them all. Finally when a lot is cast to find who
could be held accountable for his predicament, the name of Jonah comes up. Here
also we see Jonah’s undeniable faith in his Maker, he gives instruction that he
may be tossed into the sea (so that the ship, crew, passengers & cargo
maybe saved) knowing very well that his Abba will take care of him.
But we can now see that Jonah has the first effects of his
rebellion dilute and then he is swallowed by a fish, he prays to God for
respite from the belly of the fish & is spewed on dry land after spending
three days & three nights in the belly of the fish.
The word now came to Jonah a second time & he traveled
to Nineveh, which is a considerably large city (three days walk across &
population of one hundred twenty thousand) & goes about declaring the
coming of disaster. We can here gather that he was good at his art, due to
which the King of Nineveh repented & proclaimed a fast for all citizens
(& animals too). They were asked to put on sackcloth, sit in ashes, cry
mightily to God, turn from their evil ways & violence – so that God may
relent & change his mind.
Therefore God relented & took the calamity away, but
this displeased Jonah, who clearly states that he knew beforehand that God is
merciful. Here we have something to learn, Jonah was more worried about his
reputation getting tarnished by being proved wrong – his ego playing truant. So
God teaches him a lesson, after proclaiming the coming of disaster Jonah waits
sitting in a booth under the hot sun, the Lord appoints a bush to provide shade
for Jonah from the scorching sun, but the next day a worm attacked the bush
& withered it. The sun then beat down rather harshly that Jonah who
concerned about his reputation being at stake & his discomfort due to loss
of the bush. God tells Jonah that the loss of a bush which provided relief made
him melancholic then how much concern would God have for so much life.
Thus we can see in Jonah a true believer, one who very
clearly comprehends Gods love & providence.
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