Jonah was a prophet in the land of Israel to whom the Lord had said, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up against Me.”
But Jonah was unwilling to go to Nineveh and instead he got aboard a ship sailing to Joppa. There he boarded another ship going to Tarshish. On the voyage, while he was asleep, a terrible storm arose and the mariners were afraid they would all be lost. They came and woke up Jonah and told him to cry unto his God; perhaps He would be gracious so that they might not perish.
Jonah told them he was the cause of the storm and also told them to cast him into the sea and it would be calm again. “Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to land,” but when the storm continued to rage, they at last cast Jonah into the sea. Then “the sea ceased from her raging.”
But Jonah did not drown for God had prepared a great fish which swallowed him alive, and “he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Poor Jonah! He was repentant and obedient now, and knowing the Lord to be a God of mercy He prayed unto Him from the fish’s belly and asked Him to save him.
“Salvation is of the Lord,” he confessed, and after he said that “The Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”
Again the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it that preaching that I bid thee.” This time Jonah went, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city and it would take Jonah possibly three days to walk around its walls.
As he entered the city, he cried saying, “Yet forty days, and Nineh shall be overthrown.” When the people of Nineveh heard that they believed God, for they humbled themselves and put on sackcloth. Even the king put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. No one was allowed to eat or drink anything, but all were commanded to cry mightily unto God for His mercy and to turn from their evil and violent ways. When God saw how they humbled themselves, he repented and said he would not overthrow the city.
But Jonah was exceedingly displeased and very angry because God did not carry out what he had preached. What would become of his reputation as a prophet? He had preached judgment, but God had shown grace to Nineveh and spared the people. Jonah told God it were better for him to die than to live.
Now God was very patient with His servant and pointed out to him that there were in Nineveh 120,000 little children, “and also much cattle.” Did He not do well in sparing that great city from the judgment He had threatened?
We hope Jonah found grace to humble himself before the Lord at last, for he was used by the Spirit of God to write his own history.
ML-03/11/1979