Image by Dimitris Vetsikas Pixabay
Monday Musing:
The most famous Bible Story in the Old Testament has been underestimated. We all remember the story of Jonah and the whale. I even remember a Disney movie that must have been inspired by the tale of a “great fish” that swallowed a man, keeping him safe for three days. Remember what happened to Pinocchio? But how does this story have relevance in our own life?
The whale is by no means the most important part of Jonah’s story, in my opinion. Remember the reason Jonah was in the ocean to begin with? He was trying very hard to avoid the mission God had planned for him, going to Ninevah to give them a stern warning, The tremendous storm struck Jonah’s ship while he was headed in the opposite direction, toward Spain. Jonah acknowledged that he was running from God, and had caused the turmoil on the ocean. He chose being thrown overboard instead of fulfilling the plan God had for his life.
The most important part of the story is that Jonah, after pleading with God to save his life, finally did go to Ninevah, and convinced one of the most evil cities on earth to repent and believe in the one true God. Amazingly, this tremendous accomplishment did not impress Jonah. Rather than celebrating God’s mercy and grace, he protested loudly and angrily. Evidently, Jonah had no compassion for the people of Ninevah, and thought their salvation made him look ineffective as a prophet.
God sent one more lesson in compassion to Jonah in the form of a vine that shaded him while he was throwing his temper tantrum. When the vine withered and died, God asked Jonah why he seemed to be more concerned about the plant than he was for the city full of people he had been called to warn.
The last verse of the book of Jonah poses a question, “And should I not pity Ninevah, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left- and much livestock?” Jonah 4:11 NKJV
We don’t know Jonah’s answer to God but perhaps Jonah wrote and retained his only book of the Bible to give us a warning. When God places a definite call on our life, He will go to all sorts of lengths to make sure we fulfill it. Recognizing that call, our best response is to pray “Thy will be done” and do our best to follow through.
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