Studying the Book of Jonah: part #10

We left Jonah on a hillside outside the city of Nineveh pouting and holding on to the hope that God might still destroy the city, even after they had repented.

Today's entry is the final one in this study, let's see how it ends!

Verse 6:  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.

God prepared a quick growing climbing plant that grew up over Jonah’s booth providing him additional shade for the blazing sun and heat.  God, in His great compassion for all mankind, was trying to get the sulky, pouting prophet to realize an important lesson. Jonah was very happy about the plant, but he still wasn’t accepting the lesson.  In fact, Jonah was happier about the plant than he was the city of Nineveh repenting!

 

Verse 7:  But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.

And just like that, the plant that protected Jonah, that gave him comfort was gone!

 

Verse 8:  When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was fain.  And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

“Scorching east wind,” that just brings to mind all kinds of discomfort, doesn’t it?  Evidently, it was as bad as it sounds for Jonah asked that he might die, again!

 

Verse 9:  But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”

Whew!  Jonah appears to be having a temper-tantrum!  God asks Jonah “if it’s right for him to be angry about the plant” and Jonah replies that “yes, it’s right for him to be angry, and that he’s angry enough to die!”

Jonah is one stubborn prophet, stewing in his feelings and in what he wants!

 

Verse 10:  And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.

Jonah’s unreasonableness is glaring!  God has begun to make a point and Jonah needs to settle down and listen closely.

 

Verse 11:  And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?

God is asking Jonah which is more important, the plant or the people?  The 120,000 persons referred to are most likely infants and children. 

Jonah cared more about the plant and his comfort than he did the lost souls of Nineveh.

And that’s where the book of Jonah ends! 

That’s quite a cliffhanger, isn’t it?  The Bible doesn’t tell us anymore or any less and we are left wondering about a lot of things. Did Jonah learn the lesson God was trying to teach him or did he continue to rebel?  Did Jonah continue on as a prophet for God or did his rebellion end it?  What about Jonah's spiritual state before God?  We are left with many thoughts and questions. 

When I come across something like this in God's word, I always go back to Deuteronomy 29:29 (NKJV) ... “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God revealed in His word what He wanted us to know about Jonah, so we are left looking for the lessons, the take-aways from this account.  Here are five that I came up with, what are some that you see?

Take-away # 1:  Jonah obeyed God, but not with his whole heart.

Take-away # 2:  Jonah’s hatred for the Ninevites hurt him more than it did them.

Take-away # 3:  God is merciful, patient and longsuffering.

Take-away # 4:  Jonah allowed his feelings, wants and desires, even when they didn't align with what God wanted, to rule his heart.

Take-away #5:  There's a little bit of Jonah's attitude in all of us just waiting for an opportunity to make an appearance!

I hope this study helps you in your walk with God.  May God be glorified in all that we do!

 patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part #9

Chapter 4

(Part 8 can be found HERE!)

The Ninevites have repented, and God has forgiven them!  Everyone is happy … except Jonah

 

Verse 1:  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry

Jonah was not happy; in fact, he was ANGRY!

Why?  Remember Jonah’s hatred and prejudice that he held for the Assyrians, it was deep rooted, and he had not let it go!  Jonah did not want God to relent from his anger against the Ninevites, he wanted God to destroy them!

It was not just Jonah that felt this hatred and prejudice for the Assyrians, all Jews did.  Might that be another reason that Jonah didn’t want the Assyrians to repent, would he want to go back home as the one who had saved the Assyrian's life?  Do you think he would have received a warm welcome?

Israel/the Jews still had some ‘wrong’ thinking when it came to their exclusive ‘ownership’ of the God of the universe.

 

Verse 2:  And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?  That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah really has some heart issues!  So steeped in how he felt that he dared to use God’s attributes of Him being gracious, merciful, patient, and overflowing in loving-kindness, against Him simply because God changed His mind from destroying Nineveh.

Notice also that Jonah used these attributes as a reason for fleeing to Tarshish in the first place!   He knew the nature of God … yet he let his feelings rule his decisions anyway!

 

Verse 3:  “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah is beside himself with discouragement and disdain!  Everything he has known spiritually has come crashing down around him.  He is so distraught that he begs God to take his life.  It seems that he would rather die spiritually and physically than to see God extend His grace and mercy to the Ninevites.

 

Verse 4:  “And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

God doesn’t let Jonah get away with his pity-party but confronts him with a terse question instead!

We have no record of Jonah answering God.

 

Verse 5:  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.

Jonah had a vantage point on the east side of the city where there was a higher elevation plane so that’s where he went.  He made a booth for shade and waited to see what would become of the city.  (Booth – a rough structure made of poles and leaves.)

Might Jonah be holding onto a hope that God would yet destroy the city?  Jonah knew that Nineveh had repented; but there were examples in Israel’s history where God had punished them even after repentance (II Samuel 12:10-14).  Could Jonah be hoping for something like this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 8

 

Jonah has done what God requested, will the Ninevites take him seriously and listen?

Verse 5:  And the people of Nineveh believed God.  They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the lest of them.

Jonah’s delivery of the message must have been full of fiery zeal and quite convincing, for the people of Nineveh believed.   They didn’t just believe but put action behind their belief with fasting and sackcloth!  They were serious!  (Fasting and sackcloth were common expressions of grief.)

Luke 11: 29,30 says that Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites.   This indicates that the Ninevites quite possibly knew something of Jonah’s story before he arrived in the city.

One wonders how the Ninevites could have found out about Jonah’s story:

Did he tell them?

Did they learn by word of mouth from the sailors sharing what had happened.  We all know this kind of news travels fast!

Did Jonah’s body bear any evidence of the ordeal he had been through?

Regardless of if, when or how the Ninevites found out, they were fully aware of the supernatural wonder involved in Jonah’s deliverance once he arrived.

 

Verse 6:  The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

When Jonah’s message reached the King, the King humbled himself, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.  Even the King was repentant and fearful of the consequences!

 

Verse 7:  And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh.  “By the decree at the king and his nobles:  Let neither man nor beast, heard nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water

It surely sounds like the King was fully convinced that what Jonah was preaching was truth and that what his message said was going to come to pass unless they repented would happen.  He sent out a strict guide and expected everyone as well as all the animals to obey it.  

On a side note, can you image the noise the animals made when feeding time and came and there was no food.

This was a lot for a King to asked of those he rules over.

 

Verse 8:  but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them call out mightily to God.  Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.

The King is calling for self-purging, soul cleansing repentance.  He called not only for an outward demonstration of their sorrow and repentance by wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes, but he also required a change in their conduct.  The Assyrians were an extremely cruel and brutal people (Amos 4:2) so this was not going to be easy for them to do, yet they did.

 

Verse 9:  “Who knows?  God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

The King was hopeful that God would turn His wrath away, and hope was all he had!

            The Ninevites repented …

-        Without promise that it would do any good

-        Without any encouragement from Jonah

-        Despite Jonah’s prejudice against them

-        Every one of them

-        In word and deed

On what basis did the Ninevites have hope that Jonah’s God might possibly relent from his fierce anger and not destroy them?   Their reasoning might have been along the lines of, “Jonah’s God gave him a second chance, maybe He will give us one also.”

 

Verse 10:  When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

The Lord relented because He saw their works/actions, their turning from their evil ways.  He also knew in their hearts that they were truly sorry.  No one has ever been able to fool God, not anyone, not anywhere, not any time and the extremely cruel and brutal Ninevites/Assyrians were no exception.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 7

Chapter 3

Jonah has just had the experience of a lifetime, now what?

Verse 1:  Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time say,

The Bible does not tell us where Jonah is at this time.  Did he go home to Gath-helper to get cleaned up and regroup?  Did he start to Nineveh immediately upon hitting dry land?  We aren’t given that information, but what we do know is that God is picking back up with the conversation they were having before Jonah decided to take off!

 

Verse 2:  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”

There it is again, that same message, ‘go to Nineveh and preach.’  God hadn’t changed His mind despite Jonah’s actions, and He didn’t change His command! 

 

Verse 3:  Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.  Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city three days’ journey in breadth.

This time when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh he went, no running in the opposite direction, he had learned his lesson!

Even though Jonah obeyed in deed, his heart still held a deep prejudice against the pagan idol worshippers in Nineveh.  Jonah still has spiritual ‘heart issues!’

 

Verse 4:  Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey.  And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”

Nineveh was an exceedingly large city that took 3 days to cross.  When Jonah arrived, he began calling out and delivering the message that God had given him, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”  From the reading it appears that he went one day’s journey into the city preaching God’s message warning them of the coming destruction if they did not repent.

The message was brief and to the point and had a deadline!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 6

We last left Jonah in the belly of a great fish God had prepared for him.  He was overwhelmed, claustrophobic, panicked, smothering and drowning.  

Let's continue on ...

Verse 6:  at the roots of the mountains, I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit O Lord my God.

Jonah’s situation is hopeless at this point, he’s in the belly of a great fish in the deepest of deep, at the very roots of the mountains that rose out of the waters, yet the Lord is keeping him alive!

 

Verse 7: When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Jonah was dying, there was nothing he could do to help himself, until he remembered the Lord and starting praying.  Remembering God was an important turning point for Jonah.

 

Verse 8:  Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Jonah’s deep-seated hatred of idolatry surfaces while he, still not out of danger, continues to pray.

He remembers how the sailors had prayed to their gods and even in the midst of his current circumstances, holds on to the detestation that all Jews held toward all non-Jews.

Jonah still hasn’t learned the lesson that his God was for ALL peoples everywhere, not just the Jews.  He still has some pride and self-righteousness issues to confront and deal with as well.

The same loving, merciful, and patient God who kept working with Jonah, does the same for us today.  God is not willing for even one to perish and as evidenced by the account of Jonah, He more than does His part to draw and keep us unto Him.

 

Verse 9:  But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.  Salvation belongs to the Lord!

Jonah repents for his disobedience and is ready to do what God wants him to do … despite the attitude he still harbors in his heart towards the Ninevites.

Suffering can sometimes lead us to self-examination and a deeper level of spirituality, this seems to have been the case for Jonah as he boldly proclaims, “Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Verse 10:  And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

The Lord was pleased with Jonah’s change of heart and gives him a second chance!  God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out onto dry land, secular history tells us, somewhere in Palestine.  Imagine how Jonah felt as he landed on that dry land!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whew!  What a journey Jonah has had thus far.  In the next entry, we'll see if he is now really ready to do what God wants him to do.

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah, part 5

Jonah was so full of hatred and disgust for the Ninevites that he would rather run from God than aid in their repentance.  In chapter 1, Jonah’s running landed him in a classroom that God specifically prepared for him, unbeknownst to Jonah, …. the belly of a great fish. 

Let’s see how Jonah’s education is going …  (Part 4 can be found HERE.)

Chapter 2

Verse 1:  Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish

From the school room of the fish’s stomach, Jonah finally prays!  Jonah was afraid, suffering and afflicted … he had to get to this point before he could start on the path of surrender that would lead to obedience to God.

 

Verse 2:  saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress and he answered me; out of the belly of Shoel I cried and you heard my voice.

How tormented Jonah must have been, it was time to realize that he could no longer run from God.  Amidst Jonah’s misery, physical sufferings, and afflictions, he called out to God and God heard him.

 

Verse 3:  For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

Jonah acknowledges God’s hand in the dreadful circumstances in which he finds himself.  He doesn’t blame the sailors who threw him overboard, he acknowledges the sovereignty of God in all that has happened to him.

 

Verse 4:  Then I said, “I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your ‘holy temple.’

Jonah recognizes that it was his rebellion that separated him from God, and he reaches out in faith for God’s mercy.

 

Verse 5:  The waters closed in over me to take my life, the deep surrounded me: weeds were wrapped about my head

Jonah is assessing his situation, water everywhere, weeds wrapped around his head, it’s quite possible that when the fish swallowed Jonah, he also consumed seaweed as well.  Jonah was floundering in the tangled mess.

Overwhelmed, claustrophobic, panicked, smothering and drowning …  thoughts of imminent death had to be consuming his mind.

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: Part 4

In part 3, we ended wondering if the sailors would actually do what Jonah asked and toss him into the sea?  Did they?  Let's find out ...

Verse 13:  Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.

The sailors tried with all their might and strength to row the ship back to dry land, but the storm continued to grow worse and worse.  They simply couldn’t do it; their valiant efforts were futile against the wrath of God manifested in the storm.

 

Verse 14:  Therefore, they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.”

The men were desperate and called out to Jonah’s God.  They were seeing and experiencing firsthand proof that Jonah’s God was THE God and, becoming instant believers, they pleaded with Him for help. 

 

Verse 15:  So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Jonah offered no resistance.  Up to this point, he has not yet prayed to God.  It seems he is still more concerned with maintaining his spirit of rebellion then he is of saving his life. 

As soon as the men threw Jonah overboard into the sea, the waters became calm.  Just like that the storm was over, and the sailors were left to absorb and mentally process what had happened.

 

Verse 16:  Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

The men had just witnessed things contrary to nature and their fear and respect for God grew deeper.  They offered a sacrifice and made vows; they were committing themselves to Jonah’s God whom they now knew was the one true God.

 

Verse 17:  And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The fish God prepared for Jonah swallowed him and became an instant classroom for the 3 days it would take him to get a much-needed spiritual education.

What was the lesson Jonah needed to learn?  He needed to learn that God was an international God and that He wants ALL people to be saved.  He also needed to learn that being a Jew didn’t give him, or his fellow Jews, exclusive rights to the one true God!   Jonah also needed to learn that God’s way was the best way!

Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 3

 

Part 2 can be found HERE!

In part 2, we left off with Jonah's disobedience not only affecting him, but everyone else on the ship as well, that's where we're going to pick up in part 3 ...

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.  

The men are beside themselves with desperation and decide to cast lots to see if someone on board has done something to cause this great storm, and the lot fell on Jonah.

 

Verse 8:  Then they said to him, “tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us.  What is your occupation?  And where do you come from?  What is your country?  And of what people are you?

The men began firing rapid questions at Jonah as he stood defenseless before his accusers while the ship rocked, the waves crashed, and the storm continued all around them.  Since the lot had fallen on him, he was a serious suspect, and the men were determined to get answers.

 

Verse 9:  And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah makes a full and complete confession.  He is a Hebrew; he fears the Lord and he acknowledges the sovereignty of God over the sea and dry land.

His statement that he ‘fears the Lord’ seems in direct contradiction to his actions though, doesn’t it?

 

Verse 10:  Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!”  For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

The men’s exclamation of horror “what have you done” must surely have cut through Jonah like a knife.  He was the cause; it was his fault and he had nowhere to turn.   

 

Verse 11:  Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us?”  For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

The men are beside themselves not knowing what to do or where to turn as the storm grows worse, so they asked Jonah for advice concerning what they should do with him!

 

Verse 12:  He said to then, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

Jonah recognizes that this terrible storm is an act of God against him because of his disobedience and asked the men to do the unthinkable.

Why did Jonah not pray to God and repent instead of telling the sailors to ‘hurl him into the sea?’  It seems that God’s prophet is still in full blown rebellion against what the Almighty wants him to do!

Do the sailors do what Jonah asked?  Do they hurl him into the seas?  We'll find out in part 4!

Until then, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 2

In part 1 of this study, we left off at verse 3 having learned why Jonah disliked, maybe hated would be a better word, the Ninevites badly enough to willingly disobey God.

In today's entry, we're going to look closely at verses 4, 5 and 6 of chapter 1 ...

Jonah is now in the boat and thinks he's successfully running away from God and what He wants him to do ...

Verse 4: But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

The Lord responded to Jonah’s disobedience in a BIG way!  All the forces of nature are under the command of God and once the ship was out over waters, God hurled a great wind upon the sea!  The conditions were so bad that the ship was in danger of breaking up and coming apart, it was being threatened with complete destruction.

Evidently it was not the time of year when such storms were expected, else the ship wouldn’t have been bound for Tarshish at all, this is yet another showing of God’s great governing of the world.

 

Verse 5:  Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god.  And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.  But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

The sailors were seized with fear, prayed to their gods and made every effort to lighten the load of the ship.  They were literally fighting for their lives, and they knew it!

While the sailors were doing all they could to save their lives and the ship, Jonah was fast asleep on a lower deck.  Could Jonah have been so mentally and physically exhausted from running from God that he was able to sleep through this horrendous storm?

 

Verse 6:  So, the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper?  Arise, call out to your god!  Perhaps your god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

The men noticed that conditions were not getting better and that their gods were not answering them or giving them any help.  The captain came to Jonah and realizing that he was asleep gave him a stern reprimand.  He wanted Jonah to call out to his God, but Jonah was running from his God, he didn’t want to do that!

Jonah’s disobedience was not only affecting him, but it also put everyone else on the ship in jeopardy too!

We'll stop there for this entry.  I hope you're taking the time to think about and absorb the lessons that are applicable in our lives from this study.  I'd love for you to share what you're gleaning from each day's entry.

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Studying the Book of Jonah: part 1

I've just completed an in-depth verse by verse study of the book of Jonah with this Facebook ladies Bible study group.

I've taken all my notes, done further research and written my own verse-by-verse study.  I'd like to share it here over the next several days with the hope that you learn as much from it as I did ...

I make notes in my Bible a lot and as you can see the book of Jonah doesn't have any which tells me that I've never done an in-depth study of the book, until now!

Do you notice the key on the loop of my Bible cover?  I intentionally put that key there as a reminder that studying God's Word is 'key' in my relationship with Him.  I never want to forget that and so this little reminder helps keep the importance of Bible study ever before me.

Today, I'm going to share my notes on verses 1 - 3 of chapter 1 and give a little background information.  Knowing the background helps to understand the book much better!

(pictured:  markings I made in my Bible on verses 1 - 3 along with some basic background info.)

I hope you enjoy what I've written and that it helps you understand the book of Jonah better.    It is my earnest desire to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.  I've tried to do that in the following, may you be blessed by what you read.

Jonah, chapter 1

Verse 1:  Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amitta, saying,

God had a message specifically for Jonah.  Jonah, being a prophet of God (II Kings 14:25), was no stranger to God and it was not the first time he had heard from Him.  But this time, it was different!  This time Jonah’s heart was not agreeable to what God wanted him to do.

This verse mentions something of Jonah’s lineage so let’s take a brief look at that before moving on to the next verse.  Jonah was the son of Amittai of the tribe of Zebulun.  Zebulun was the sixth and last son of Jacob and Leah.  The twelve sons of Jacob became the twelve tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Zebulun was one of them.

 

Verse 2: “Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

God’s message for Jonah was a call to action!  Nineveh, a great city in Assyria, full of wickedness and evil, needed a faithful messenger from God to preach to them the truth of God’s Word, and God hand-picked Jonah for the job!

God knows all about everything, including the wickedness of people and it seems in this situation that God has had enough of Nineveh’s wickedness.

God knew how hard this job was going to be, but he also knew that Jonah could do it.  However, first He had to get Jonah’s attention!

 

Verse 3:  But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.  He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So, he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.

Silly Jonah, he thought he could get away from almighty God, how foolish, but in his strong desire not to do what God wanted him to do, he gave it a hardy try.

Joppa was about the only seaport that Israel had at the time, so Jonah made the journey from his hometown of Gath Hepher in Zebulun to Joppa some 60 or so miles away with the sole purpose of finding a ship going as far away from where God wanted him to go as he could get.

Nineveh was about 550 miles northeast of Joppa and Tarshish, a port city in Spain, was about 2500 miles west.  To get to Tarshish, Jonah would have to get on a ship and travel many miles over water.  So, that’s what he did, he paid the fare and got on the ship!  Jonah was determined to do what he wanted to do instead of what God wanted him to do … and he thought he was getting away with it!

Why didn’t Jonah want to go to Nineveh?  Why did he deliberately choose to disobey God, being a prophet of God, he should have known better?  What was behind his adamant refusal to do what God wanted him to do?   In short, Jonah hated the Ninevites and Assyrians with every fiber of his being.  The Bible gives several references to the Assyrians invading Israel more than once (I Chronicles 5:26; II Kings 17:5-6 and II Chronicles 32:22). Jonah wanted nothing to do with them nor did he want the God of Israel to extend His great grace and mercy towards them either.  No way was Jonah going to have any part in helping the Ninevites in any way!

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.