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Jonah — Preacher of Repentance (8) — Jonah and Nineveh Spared

Jonah Leaves Nineveh in a Snit

In verse 5, we learn that “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.” We do not know how long an interval between the time he finished preaching and the interchange between Jonah and YHWH in verses 1-4 of this chapter. It appears as though Jonah still has not sufficiently wrestled with YHWH’s question. Jonah remains stubborn and camps outside the city to the east to sit and wait to see if YHWH relents yet again and actually does bring judgment down upon the city. Jonah has completely missed the point. YHWH’s question was designed to change Jonah’s attitude. Instead of learning the lesson YHWH intended, Jonah builds a shelter, and waits in the hope that YHWH will eventually see things Jonah’s way and bring down his judgment upon the city. Talk about stubborn!

One of the theological foundations we discover throughout the Minor Prophets is YHWH’s sovereignty over the doings of people and nations. In the Jonah Story God’s sovereignty is revealed in very specific ways. Jonah fled, but YHWH sent the storm (literally he “threw” the storm). Jonah was thrown overboard, but YHWH sent the fish who swallowed Jonah. Now, as Jonah bakes in the heat of Syrian desert in his little hut to the east of the city, waiting for YHWH to destroy the place, we are told in verse 6, that “now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.” The Hebrew for plant is “vine,” so this was some sort of a leafy plant (ivy? gourd?) which YHWH caused to grow rapidly and shelter his pouting prophet from the scorching heat of the desert sun.

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Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (7) -- Angry With God, Again . . .

Jonah Is Angry With God, Again . . .

What pleased God (the repentance of Nineveh), only made Jonah mad[1] – a rather ironic sentiment from someone called to be YHWH’s prophet. Why was Jonah so upset that YHWH brought salvation to pagan Ninevites? Jonah, you’ll recall sought to flee YHWH’s call to preach in Nineveh, but YHWH took him on an unexpected detour–a great storm arises, Jonah is thrown overboard and then spends three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. But Jonah eventually fulfilled his prophetic calling, and preached repentance to the Ninevites. The result of his preaching? Many Ninevites believed Jonah’s message. Even their king believed Jonah’s warning. He ordered a time of mourning and fasting, even exhorting his people to call upon God and cease their violent behavior.

As we learn in chapter 4 of his prophecy, Jonah is angry with God. The prophet is perplexed by the fact that the Ninevites were spared from YHWH’s judgment even as his own beloved people, Israel, are about to come under God’s covenant curse. In the closing chapter of Jonah, we find the prophet right back where he was when first called to preach. His disdain for the Ninevites surfaces again. “Why was Nineveh spared when Israel will not be?” As his prophecy concludes, Jonah is given yet another lesson in God’s mercy.

As we consider the final chapter, once again we discover that in the Book of Jonah, irony seems to jump off every page. You would think that YHWH’s chosen prophet would be thrilled to witness huge numbers of people believe in YHWH and spared from judgment through his own preaching. Yes, pride is a sin, but there is a certain allowable sense of satisfaction about witnessing people come to faith, repent of their sin, and then amend their ways. Jonah should have been thrilled to witness what God has done in Nineveh–extend salvation to countless Gentiles beyond the confines of his covenant with Israel. But as we have come to expect in the Book of Jonah, the ironic becomes the norm.

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Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerJuly 6, 2022Jonah's anger toward GodComment

Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (6) -- The Sign of Jonah

You Can Run But You Can’t Hide – Jonah Re-Commissioned

Chapter 3 of Jonah’s prophecy opens with Jonah back on dry land in a virtual rewind of verses 1-2 of chapter 1. Jonah is to “arise,” “go” and “call out,” but with one major difference–this time Jonah does not attempt to flee.[1] “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, `Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord’” In light of all that has happened to Jonah, it is remarkable that he is neither rebuked, nor is he allowed to go on his way. The word of the Lord came to him a second time, which, in effect, indicated that YHWH re-commissions Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh to fulfill his original mission. Notice too that Jonah is given the message which he is to proclaim to the Ninevites–one of the distinguishing marks of YHWH’s prophets is that they speak his words, not their own.

Aside from the significance of YHWH ensuring that his greater purposes will be fulfilled when Jonah is re-commissioned–the gospel will go out to the ends of the earth, in this case to Nineveh–we also see in Jonah’s re-commissioning that God often gives us second chances to accomplish that of which we have already made a significant mess. Jonah is an example to us in that he is sustained in his time of trial by his knowledge of God’s word (specifically the Psalms), and he is also an encouragement to those of us who often take more than one time to do things the right way. YHWH commissions Jonah but does not abandon him when Jonah rejects YHWH’s call. YHWH loves his people enough to discipline them. And his purpose for Nineveh still stands.

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Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerJune 16, 2022The Sign of Jonah, Nineveh repentsComment

Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (5) -- Three Days and Nights in the Watery Grave

The Fate of the Reluctant Prophet

It is impossible to imagine the misery Jonah endured for those three days and nights he spent in the belly of a huge fish–both his tomb and his salvation. Jonah’s distress is great–it is that of a dying man. Yet, Jonah is not dying. Beyond all human expectation, YHWH sent a huge fish to rescue the “reluctant prophet” from certain death in a watery grave. Jonah’s entombment in the fish is neither the end nor even the high point of the Jonah story. But it is the literary hinge upon which the story turns from Jonah’s flight from YHWH to the fulfillment of his prophetic mission in Nineveh.

The Prophecy of Jonah opens with YHWH commissioning Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites, something which Jonah refused to do. Attempting to flee from YHWH’s call, Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. But YHWH sent a great storm which threatened both Jonah’s ship and its crew. Realizing that it was his sin that was the cause of the storm, Jonah was confronted by the pagan crew–whose own gods were of no help in calming the storm. Unless the storm ceased and soon, all onboard would be dead. Jonah told the crew who he was, what his mission entailed, and that unless the crew threw him overboard, they would not be spared. The frightened crew did exactly that–they threw Jonah into the sea where he was certain to drown.

The moment Jonah was off the ship, YHWH relented, calmed the storm, and delivered the crew, who witnessed YHWH’s great power. The grateful crew offered YHWH sacrifices of thanksgiving. But unbeknownst to them, YHWH miraculously rescued Jonah. At this point, Jonah’s story turns from an account of his flight from Nineveh, to a time of prayer and repentance (chapter 2), which are the preparation for the fulfillment of YHWH’s greater purpose that the gospel be preached in Nineveh (chapter 3), Jonah’s ultimate mission.[1]

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Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerMay 31, 2022Jonah's prayer for deliverence, Jonah's ordealComment

Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (4): Tossed Overboard to Calm the Storm

Call Upon Your God!

As the storm intensifies, the ship’s captain found Jonah below deck, sound asleep. The captain screams at Jonah, “what do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:6) We know that sailors can be a superstitious lot–then as now. After awakening Jonah, the captain insists that the fleeing prophet call upon “his god” as the others had done. We are not told if the captain knew yet that Jonah was a worshiper of YHWH and was aware of YHWH’s great power. Perhaps the captain’s fear was that unless all onboard were praying to one of their collective gods, one of these gods would remain unappeased and cause all onboard to perish. But the irony should not be lost upon us. Jonah is awakened by the captain to pray because the storm truly is Jonah’s fault! Jonah is fleeing from YHWH’s prophetic call which is the reason for the terrible storm which has placed the ship and its crew in jeopardy.

Of course, praying to gods who do not exist does not end the storm. In fear and panic, the crew seeks to figure out which one of the crew or its passengers has offended his god sufficiently for that particular god to bring the storm down on the lot of them. The suddenness and intensity of the storm points to some sort of supernatural peril, since none of the other measures have worked and the ship is about to break up. Pacifying whichever god was angry became paramount to the crew. According to verse 7, “and they said to one another, `Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.” YHWH brought the storm to pass. So too when the lot is cast, it falls on Jonah. It is just as the author of Proverbs (16:33) tells us, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” YHWH is directing all things (even the roll of the die) to his appointed end–that his word be preached in Nineveh. The mysterious passenger sacked out below deck is the one who has brought the terrible storm to pass.

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Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance: A Fool's Errand -- Attempting to Flee from God

Jonah on a Fool’s Errand

God called the Prophet Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh (in the heart of the Assyrian empire) to preach YHWH’s word to the Ninevites. Refusing to go to Nineveh, instead Jonah undertook the fool’s errand of attempting to flee from YHWH, boarding a ship which Jonah hoped would take him as far away from Nineveh as humanly possible. But why was Jonah, known to us as the “reluctant prophet,” so hesitant to go where YHHW was sending him? The answer is both religious and political. Jonah is an Israelite. Assyria is Israel’s enemy and a serious military threat. Jonah knows that his own people (Israel) are hardening their hearts against YHWH and are likely to come under YHWH’s judgment. Jonah also knows that should he go to Nineveh and preach, YHWH might bring about the city’s repentance, sparing it from imminent judgment. As a loyal Israelite, Jonah fears that his preaching might be YHWH’s means of sparing Assyria from judgment. Jonah refuses YHWH’s call to go and preach and attempts get as far away from Nineveh as he can. But his plans are about to change in ways he cannot yet begin to imagine. YHWH will change Jonah’s mind and his destination.

As we move deeper into the Book of Jonah, (chapter 1:4-10), we read of Jonah fleeing YHWH’s prophetic call, only to find himself thrown overboard by terrified sailors and then swallowed by a great fish, where Jonah spent three days and nights entombed in conditions beyond human imagination. As we discussed previously, when we raised and answered the “Who?” “When?” “Why?” and “What?” questions, the assumption often made by readers about the Book of Jonah is that the story is so implausible that it cannot be historical. When viewed in this manner, the fictional story of Jonah becomes an object lesson or moralistic tale about obeying God’s will so as not to suffer the consequences–like those which befall the reluctant prophet.

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Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerMay 2, 2022Jonah -- fleeing from God, JonahComment

Jonah -- The Preacher of Repentance: Preaching to Your Enemies

Jonah: Factual Account or Mere Parable—”Dare to be a Jonah”?

When it comes to the “why” and “what” questions associated with the Book of Jonah, these are difficult to answer because they are tied to the nature of the book itself. Critical scholars openly scoff at the assertion the Jonah is describing historical events. Was he really swallowed by a large fish, and spent 72 hours in a fish’s belly? Surviving despite a lack of oxygen and despite the fish’s digestive juices which ordinarily would have dissolved Jonah’s remains rather quickly. Because the book cannot be accepted as historical the critics contend, the Book of Jonah must be an allegory telling some sort of moralistic tale: “dare not to be a Jonah,” or “obey God when he calls you, so you don’t suffer the consequences,” or some such.

The better critical scholars see a broader redemptive historical purpose in Jonah. Israel failed in its mission to be YHWH’s witness to the Gentile nations, a reason why YHWH was about to bring judgment upon the nation. So, before Israel’s destruction in 722 by the Assyrians, YHWH raises up a prophet (Jonah) who will do what Israel failed to do, go to the source of Israel’s impending destruction (the heart of the Assyrian empire) and call for Gentiles to believe in YHWH and repent of their sin. To these scholars, Jonah’s apologetic purpose (in the form of a sermonic parable) does not require the events with the book to be true. This is certainly a possible interpretation of Jonah’s overall mission and this apologetic purpose may indeed be behind YHWH’s prophetic call of Jonah.

But if this is true, why does Jonah so actively resist YHWH’s call to the point that he states he would rather die than see the Ninevites repent (Jonah 4:3)? Jonah is a loyal Israelite. We know from 2 Kings 13 that Israel had been continuously at war with Syria, the Gentile kingdom immediately to the north. Syria was a sometimes client state, sometimes rival of Assyria, growing in power and geographically to the north of both Syria and Israel. According to the account in Kings, YHWH kept Syria at bay through Assyrian aggression, weakening Syria so they could not invade Israel and preventing either nation from conquering the Northern Kingdom. YHWH even granted Israel military success against Syria during the reign of Jeroboam II. These nations would have been Israel’s (and Jonah’s) natural enemies.

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Jonah -- The Preacher of Repentance (1): Who Was Jonah?

A Well-Known Story

Most everyone knows the story of Jonah. Jonah was a reluctant Hebrew prophet who, while fleeing from his divine commission, was thrown overboard in the midst of a horrific storm by his terrified shipmates, only to be swallowed by a big fish (usually assumed to be a whale). Jonah then spent three days and nights in the fish’s belly, before being vomited up by the fish on a foreign shore. Once safely on land, Jonah fulfilled his evangelistic mission, went to Nineveh as commanded, and preached to the Ninevites who repented en masse. The story is simple enough it can be understood by a child, but profound enough that theologians and biblical scholars still debate its meaning.

Whenever considering any book of the Bible it is important to ask and answer several questions to make sure we interpret the book and its message correctly. Who was Jonah, when did he live, why did he write this book, and what is in it? How does this particular prophecy compare with the other Minor Prophets who lived and ministered about the same time? These questions are especially important with a book like Jonah, which many think to be an allegory or a moral fable, seeing the story as so implausible that it cannot possibly be speaking of historical events. How can someone be swallowed alive by a whale and live for three days? No, the critics say, this cannot be history, so it must be an allegory, a teaching parable, or a work of fiction, designed to teach us some important spiritual or moral truth.

When we interpret Jonah’s prophecy through this fictional lens, the reader’s focus usually falls upon Jonah himself, the prime example of a reluctant prophet who refuses to obey God’s will. By not obeying God, Jonah finds himself in the belly of a whale, until God relents and the whale then spits Jonah out safe and sound–if a bit shook up. The moral to the story is that should God call you to do something you do not want to do, learn the lesson of the story of Jonah. Obey the Lord and avoid the kind of calamity which comes upon those who, like Jonah, will not do what they know God wants them to do.

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