Praise the Lord that God does, because too often I fit that description. But this is not about me, it is about Jonah. He was a prophet of the Lord (see 2 Kings 14). But when God sent him east to Nineveh, he headed west, into the Mediterranean, for Tarshish. So God chased him on the ship with a punishing storm, much of which Jonah slept through. When the captain woke him up, Jonah still did not take responsibility for his actions. It was not until they cast lots and determined that he was to blame for the coming disaster at sea.
It was only then that he repented and gave them their way out, to toss him into the ocean. Then came the fish and a ‘top 10’ Biblical prayer in chapter 2. You would think that three days in the belly of a fish might be sufficient time for a full-on change of heart by this prophet of the Lord. And yet, it is not to be. We have followed Jonah through the digestive tract of the fish, followed him through his carrying out the instructions of God to actually go and proclaim God’s message to Nineveh, to rejoice in the repentance of the city, only to see the 'jerk' resurface.
Jonah goes up a hill to watch the fireworks. He carried the message of repentance but does not seem to get the concept of forgiveness. He’s supposed to be the expert on things of God. Not only does he act the jerk in his disappointment that he does not see the "punishment show" unloaded on Nineveh, but he gets upset when his shade tree is taken away, so upset that he would rather die. Considering that he almost did die in the belly of the fish, he is remarkably contrary to the Lord.
The entire cycle of prophecy in the Bible is that God’s punishment is the result for "behavior unbecoming of the love of God". It is not a matter of “Ha Ha, now you get your beatdown from the Almighty!” It was never that. It is always the call for repentance, for the offering of another chance, for the receipt of God’s forgiveness. Which Nineveh receives. But their prophet, Jonah, is a real jerk about it. He does not want repentance, he wants destruction. He wants a show.
And yet God loves this jerk. Takes him step by step through the process for his understanding of what God’s repentance means. It’s a universal. God loves all jerks. God’s grace is sufficient for every ungrateful type who comes along. God’s forgiveness is sufficient for us all. Jesus died and rose again for everyone, even, maybe especially, the jerks among us.
Jonah is not perfect, far from it. But he is redeemed. So are we all. May be embrace the gift of Christ that is offered to us. Then let us praise the Lord.
Peace,
Pastor Peter
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