Of course, we have all heard of Jonah, the guy in the Old Testament who got swallowed by a whale!!!! Actually, it was a giant fish, and in case you are a bit skeptical, there is a species of “giant fish” who has a throat large enough to swallow a man whole, that is, without chewing on him! So, let’s take a look at this true story (it’s not an allegory) about the Prophet Jonah.
God called Jonah to preach “repentance” to the wicked people of Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, somewhere between 782-753 B.C. When Jonah received this call from God, he knew that if he preached to the Ninevites, they just might repent, and Jonah wanted God to destroy them for their wickedness, not save them. As a result, Jonah decided to run from God and boarded a ship headed due west across the Mediterranean to Tarshish in Spain instead of going to the northeast to preach to the Ninevites. Running from God and from His calling on your life is never a good idea.
As circumstances would have it, a violent storm arose at sea and the sailors realized that Jonah was the source of their crisis and decided to throw him overboard. Yes, God had prepared this giant fish to swallow Jonah shortly after he hit the water. And it was in the belly of the fish, with enough air to breathe for several days, that Jonah cried out to God to save him. So, the fish headed to shore when Jonah was “vomited” out on dry land, after which Jonah made a beeline to Nineveh. The Ninevites needed to hear God’s word, and Jonah would bring it. Jonah already knew God’s heart toward Gentiles, and that’s why he fled to Tarshish. Here’s what Jonah said,
“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and One who relents concerning calamity” (Jonah 4:2).
As you might have guessed, Jonah preached that they needed to repent for their wickedness, and the people responded “in sackcloth and ashes.” Sadly, Jonah began to fuss over their genuine repentance, and God had to get Jonah’s attention by causing a plant to grow up over him providing shade during the heat of the day, and then allowing a worm to eat the plant causing it to shrivel up. And so, God spoke to Jonah saying,
“You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work, and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there is more than 120,000 person who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left,…” (Jonah 4:10-11).
There are a few important lessons we can learn from Jonah:
1) When God speaks to us, we need to obey and not try to run away
2) Things don’t go well when we run from God
3) God hears and answers our prayers in times of distress
4) Repentance is the path to reconciliation with God, and people need to know God’s desire for repentance
5) God prepared the hearts of the Ninevites in advance, so when Jonah brought the message, they responded
6) God has compassion on all people, Jew and Gentile alike, and will grant salvation to all who repent
7) God is the God of “Second Chances”
But there is one more thing that we need to know about Jonah, and that is the fact that Jesus used Jonah as an illustration for the unrepentant Israelites during His ministry. Here’s what Jesus had to say to His own people,
“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold someone greater than Jonah is here” (Mt. 12:39-41).
Jesus’ message was clear, a Gentile nation repented when Jonah preached to them, but God’s people, the Israelites, have failed to repent even though the message is proclaimed by someone greater than Jonah, namely Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And when the Jews heard Jesus say that gentiles would stand in judgment over them for their failure to repent, they decided that Jesus had to go.
Friends, the message of repentance is just as valid today as it was during the time of Jonah. When God calls us to repent, we need to heed His voice, and if we fail to do so, calamity (as in Jonah’s case) awaits us. However, it’s never too late to repent and when we do, God is waiting to restore us. If any of you need to do that, then there is no reason to put it off. He is waiting for you to do so.
Have a great week. God bless you.
