Jonah – The prophet who was angry enough to die
W/c Monday 4th November 2024
Jonah 1-4
“Putting the world to rights” is a phrase sometimes used when people talk about the problems around the earth and how they’d like to fix them.
Jonah knew exactly how to put the world right; destroying Nineveh. They were the capital of the ghastly, ungodly and wicked Assyrian empire; sworn enemies of God’s people.
So when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, the prophet ran the other way. There was no way he’d give those nasty people an opportunity to be saved. They didn’t deserve a second chance; no way!
One swift storm and ‘fish dinner’ later, Jonah trudged wetly (and grumpily) into Nineveh. Amazingly the people humbled themselves before God. The Lord, in His mercy, saved them from judgement.
“I’m angry enough to die!” Jonah spat as he slammed himself on the ground outside the city walls. “Shouldn’t I care about a city full of people I created?” God asked. “Shouldn’t I have concern about the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children within its walls?”
There is plenty in the world to make us angry and unhappy. But, like Jonah, our view is too limited for us to truly know what’s best. When we rely on our perspective, frustration wells up in the face of injustice. Yet when we let God lead, we finally start to see the world as He does; broken, but with opportunities for mercy – even for our enemies.