Introduction
In great contrast to Jesus, the seeking Savior, Jonah illustrates what a missionary should not be. He was prejudiced, selfish, and disobedient. Yet the book named after him is instructive: it contrasts what Jonah was with what a missionary should be, representing God’s concern for the lost versus Israel’s indifference. It also shows that God’s people can be reluctant or unconcerned about obeying God’s call to make disciples.
Lesson
I. JONAH’S FIRST CALL (1:1; 2:10)
A.His Commission (1:1-2)
Jeroboam II (c. 794-753 B.C.) was king of Israel. The nation was prospering, its ancient boundaries restored as far northeast as Damascus. Since the days of King Omri (c. 885-874 B.C.) the northern kingdom had been attacked by Syria and Assyria. The Israelites particularly hated and feared Assyria because its growth as an empire threatened their national security. In the midst of that tension, God called Jonah to go to the capital of Assyria: “The word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:1-2). We know little about Jonah, but his name means “dove,” symbolic of a messenger of peace.
Nineveh was a large city: It required three days to travel from one side to the other (3:3; cf. 4:11). Originally built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-11), it was on the east bank of the Tigris River. The city was advanced culturally but its people were arrogant and corrupt. Nahum the prophet spoke against Nineveh as a bloody city full of lies, violence, sensuousness, and idolatry. Their soldiers were infamous for their cruelty. Although God knew of their wickedness, He nevertheless commissioned Jonah to go and preach to them. God sent him there not only for Nineveh’s spiritual welfare, but also to shame Israel in a dramatic way. Israel was religiously self-indulgent and did not bother to evangelize the surrounding nations. So when Jonah went alone to preach to Nineveh and the entire city repented, it was a sharp rebuke to Israel’s attitude. It seems God often sends individuals to accomplish His work when a larger group does not obey.
B.His Disobedience (1:3)
However, Jonah did not at first obey his divine commission. Rather, he “rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (v. 3). He left from Joppa (modern Jaffa, located about thirty miles northwest of Jerusalem) for Tarshish (probably in the western Mediterranean; some suggest Spain). He planned to go as far as he could in the opposite direction of Nineveh.
Why did Jonah flee? One probable reason was fear. The commission required Jonah, in time of war, to enter the enemy’s capital city and preach to them. As frightening as that would be, Jonah himself gave another reason: “I fled before unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil” (4:2). If Nineveh repented, God would graciously forgive her. And Jonah abhorred the thought of God’s doing that for a Gentile enemy.
Like some of God’s people today, Jonah came to the point of hating the lost, not loving them. In his thinking, Nineveh deserved condemnation, not salvation. Perhaps he envisioned this: If Nineveh repented, God would bless her. Since Israel was living in sin, God was not blessing her. Therefore God might turn to the Gentiles, ending Israel’s special election. Fearing Nineveh would receive God’s mercy and grace was a wrong attitude for Jonah to have. He had substituted his will for God’s. To flee “from the Lord’s presence” does not mean Jonah tried to escape from God’s sight–an impossible thing to do (Jer. 23:24)–but to be far away from Nineveh so God would have to find someone else. He would be physically unavailable.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
