People who put God in a box have trouble with the book of Jonah. Those who like to tag God as belonging to any one group of people or religion often miss the purpose of this unusual Bible book. In this account, God corrects the narrow, nationalistic outlook on the part of the Jews. Clearly, God is Creator of all of the earth, not merely the tribal God of a certain race of people.
Jonah's story is one of the most familiar in the Bible. When he was called to Nineveh, he had already established his reputation as a great prophet. The book of 2 Kings tells of his ministry under Jeroboam II, king of Israel. But when God told him to go preach to Israel's enemies, he was not prepared for such a task. In clear disobedience, he started in the opposite direction. He was arrested by God and convinced by a startling experience to obey and to preach to Nineveh. Then, when Nineveh believed him and repented, he pouted.
Before we judge Jonah too harshly, we should keep in mind that Nineveh was the archenemy of Israel, kidnapping, murdering, and stealing from them. Israel knew little peace because of Nineveh. Jonah would have enjoyed seeing the judgments of God fall on this wicked city. Yet, the lesson is clear. God views things differently than we do. We would prefer Him to be like a genie in a bottle at our beck and call. However, God is Lord of all the earth and all peoples. We must leave the final judgment to Him. The book of Jonah makes us aware that God desires all men to be saved--even our most bitter enemy.
“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
Jonah 4:11 KJV
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