Did Jonah Obey God?

Sin Distorts our vision just as it did Jonah's but Jonah was certainly “One Stubborn Prophet!”

When God speaks to you do you obey or turn away and run like Jonah did?

Jonah felt that the people of Nineveh were too wicked to be forgiven by God. What Jonah failed to remember is that he was a prophet of God and was to do what he was told.

He thought that they were beyond redemption. God wants to forgive us all for our sins and the people of Nineveh were no exception. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the Assyrian’s to repent. (Jonah 1:1-2) Well, Jonah being the obedient prophet he was chose to run away. He didn’t want them forgiven, so this was justification for his actions. This wasn’t the right choice!

Oh did Jonah make God angry! God decided that Jonah needed a time out.

He sent him into the belly of a great fish. (Jonah 1:17) Jonah felt as though he had been buried alive. After three days and three nights he finally realized that he was in no position to bargain and started thanking God for saving his life. God listened and forgave him. Then the great fish vomited Jonah up on dry land. Jonah told God he would obey his commands.

Guess what? He only partially obeyed God. You see, Nineveh was a large city that took three days to go from one end to the other. (Jonah 3:3) So what did Jonah do? He went to Nineveh one day, stood at the edge and shouted, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned. (Jonah 3:4)

Remember, it took three days to go through Nineveh. Jonah spent one day at the edge of town only. He basically said “Forty days-Nineveh-BOOM!” This of course is my interpertation.

In his mind he did what he was told. But word spread quickly through out Nineveh even without Jonah spreading the word and the king declared that every person and beast begin a fast. God saw they had repented and forgave them.

Well Jonah wasn’t real happy with this. He was angry because he knew all along that God would forgive them if they only asked. That’s why he didn’t want to go there in the first place. Jonah told God that it would be better for him to die than to live. Isn’t it sad to think that he would choose death over forgiveness for Nineveh? God told him that he had no reason for anger. When God said that Jonah went from the city and took shelter to watch and see what the people of the city would do. During the night God provided Jonah with a vine to ease his discomfort. (Jonah 4:6) This made Jonah very happy. But at dawn God sent a worm to eat up the vine and then sent a scorching wind and with the hot sun beating down on his head Jonah again became quite angry. Again, he wanted to die.

God told him that he had no right to be angry over the vine because basically it didn’t belong to him and he did nothing to care for it. God was trying to make him see that it was He who owned everything and everybody. God was asking Jonah why something as small as a vine could anger him so but he didn't care about the people of Nineveh. God then said to Jonah, “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (Jonah 4:11)

This is where the story ends. I wonder if Jonah ever got it? It being, its God’s will not ours.

Are you like Jonah? Only doing enough to get by? Like when you tell your kids to clean their rooms and you check later to find everything shoved in a closet or under a bed. They were just doing what they were told, or were they? Are you focusing on others sin’s while turning your back on your own? Are you becoming blind to your own sin? Jesus tells you to first remove the plank from our eye before we pass judgment on others. (Matthew 7:3-5)

How do you feel about the sinners that you know? Do you want them punished, or do you want them to experience God’s mercy and forgiveness?

What Jonah didn’t quite get is that God’s word is for everyone. Even though the Ninevite people were the most wicked of their time, they repented and sought God’s forgiveness. Maybe if we just proclaim what we know about God we would be amazed at how many people would listen.

The Lord promised us that we would find him when we seek him with all our hearts. We need to ask God for the grace to seek him so that we can worship adore and love Him. We also need to ask all our brothers and sisters to give God the praise he so richly deserves.

When I pray, I get to thank God and give him the glory and honor he deserves. How about you?