“When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” Jonah 3:10–4:2
Jonah, a prophet of God, is famous for doing the exact opposite of his calling and what he was commissioned to do. God commanded him to go to Nineveh with a warning that the city and all of its inhabitants would be destroyed in 40 days. Not wanting to deliver the message, Jonah booked passage on a ship headed nearly 3000 miles in the opposite direction from where he was being sent.
To understand why the prophet would violate his calling and command, it must be known that Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrians, who themselves were a vicious and merciless conquering empire who did unspeakable things to those whom they defeated. Originating in an area located in modern day Iraq, they are the civilization that was responsible for scattering the ten tribes that made up the northern kingdom of Israel among other things. Hebrews had no love for the foreign and heathen Assyrians. It is evident; however, that God did.
Beloved, it is important to know, understand and believe that God loves each and every human being, whether they love Him or not. John 3:16 famously bears this out. It is also important for us to know that He desires that we love Him as well as each other. The Spirit has said, “For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;
not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous,” 1 Jn 3:11–12. In view of this, how can we stand idly by and see fellow creations of God murdered and discriminated against while we claim to be His children? The Spirit has also spoken a word about those who would do such: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also,” 1 Jn 4:20–21. How should we treat those whom we love? Would we turn a blind eye to their mistreatment or even participate in it if we loved them?
Jonah confesses that he did not want the Ninevites to have access to God’s mercy. It is ironic that he was so recently a recipient of that same grace, having been rescued from death in the belly of a fish due to his own sinfulness. Further, this was an object lesson for the people of God. Given the chance, the Assyrians immediately repented and mended their ways while the Hebrews, the very people of God, were persistently disobedient, idolatrous and unrepentant.
As we consider our own Christianity and what it means, let us not violate our calling and command to love all people regardless of the differences that exist between us. Let us be sure not to be liars by hating our diverse brothers and sisters, made in God’s image and likeness, through our actions or inactions. Let us not be Jonah. The time is long past that we eliminate the difference between what we claim and what we do or fail to do.
Increasing in faith,
Lee
