I recently re-read an old story. It's a story that generates some controversy between what is possible and what is not. There are many Christians that will tell you that the story is merely an analogy. However, as a believer in miracles and because Jesus makes reference to the miracle in the story, I choose to believe it as a story with a miraculous event.
The crazy part is that the miracle isn't even the main part of the story. It is essential to the prophetic nature of the story and gives us an insight to the character of God, but the main point of the story is about the great mercy and grace of God.
It also reminds us of our own failings as humans.
If you haven't guessed where you can find this little gem of a story yet, it is found among the minor prophets of the Old Testament. It is the Book of Jonah and it takes place some 800 years or so before the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
It goes something like this:
The people of the city of Nineveh were so evil that their wickedness caught the attention of God. God chose his prophet Jonah to go to tell them they had been judged for their evil and would be destroyed.
Nineveh was the stronghold of the Assyrians and the army there was mighty. The Assyrians had no love for the Hebrews (nor anyone else, for that matter) and the Hebrews hated the Assyrians.There was no way Jonah wanted to go to Nineveh -- especially not to tell them they were evil -- and so he flees from God by running away and booking passage on a ship going far from Nineveh.
God causes a great storm at sea and the ship is tossed about and is in danger of sinking. The crew begins to toss its cargo overboard to give the ship more buoyancy and a fighting chance against the storm. Each crewman prays to his god in hopes that one of them will save them from perishing at sea.
While unloading cargo, they find Jonah asleep. (Apparently, running from God is exhausting work!) They wake him and tell him to pray to his god so that they might be spared.
That's when the story comes out that Jonah is running from God -- his God that created the land and the seas. Jonah tells them that to save themselves, they'll have to cast him into the sea. They're not ready to do that -- yet, and continue to fight the storm. But finally, they relent. They offer a prayer to God asking for mercy and toss Jonah overboard. The sea swallows Jonah and the wind and waves cease.
Here comes the miracle part.
God appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah lives in the belly of the fish for three days! That gives Jonah plenty of time to think about the futility of running from God and reflect on the greatness and goodness of God. Jonah cries out to God and God directs the great fish to barf Jonah out and onto land.
And the word of God comes to Jonah and he still has to go to Nineveh with the Lord's message.
This time Jonah enters the city and preaches his doomsday message -- In forty days God will destroy the city because of its great evil.
The people of Nineveh heard the word of God and believed it! They turned from their wicked ways and put on sackcloth and they fasted while crying out for God's mercy. Even the king took off his robes and wore sackcloth and fasted. He issued a proclamation instructing the whole nation to put away their evil ways and to cry out to God for mercy. God heard their cries, saw the change of heart and relented from the judgment he had planned.
In the meanwhile, Jonah has found a spot from which he can observe the destruction of the city. As the day warms up and the sun begins to beat down on Jonah, God sends forth a plant to grow up and provide some shade so that Jonah can be comfortable while he waits.
Overnight, God appoints a worm to eat away at the plant. By the following day the plant wilts and no longer provides Jonah relief from the blistering sun.
And Jonah gets mad!
Jonah is mad at God because he didn't destroy the Ninevites. And he's mad that a worm has destroyed the plant that was providing shade for him.
"I knew it!" he yells at God.
"I knew that you wouldn't do it. I know that you are slow to anger and full of mercy. Why don't you just destroy them? They deserve it."
God speaks to Jonah and says, "Jonah, really? You're more concerned about the plant that wasn't even here until yesterday. Should I destroy the whole city of people? Have you no concern for them? You pity a plant for which you have done nothing. Shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh?"
It's kind of weird that the story just ends there with God explaining his mercy to Jonah and chastising Jonah for a lack of mercy.
I wonder what he would say to us today.
Are we like Jonah, waiting for people to get what they deserve from God?
Do our human prejudices get in our way of desiring mercy for others?
Are we more concerned with our own comfort than we are with the salvation of others?
Is our message meant as a warning to bring about repentance or do we deliver the message hoping to sit back and see the judgment?
I'm afraid that we are often more like Jonah than we would care to admit.
We would never openly admit that we want to see others condemned, but our actions often betray the true feelings in our hearts. What is our message to the world?
Is it a harsh "Turn or burn" or "God's going to get you" or is it perhaps, the simple, truthful message that God loves you and Jesus died for you?
John <><
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2 comments:
An interesting story about the quality of true mercy. It is not strained. Niniveh must have been something else.
I thought I had commented on this. One of your hazards of having to verify every comment. I can't remember what it might have been but I read the post and was going to come back. Then I couldn't remember if I had commented already. Oh well.
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