As we move into the second half of the book, chapters
3 and 4, we are, in a sense, back at the beginning of the story because,
chapter 3, verse 1 – a second time the
word of the Lord came to Jonah. God
certainly hasn’t given up on Jonah. How
wonderful that God doesn’t give up on us when we let him down. Jonah had gone to considerable trouble to
avoid God’s call. But God still wants
Jonah to work for him – and he even wants him to do precisely the same thing
that Jonah has earlier walked away from.
However, though it might seem that Jonah is just back to square one,
that is not entirely true. This is not
simply the word of the Lord coming to Jonah.
This is the word of the Lord coming to Jonah for a second time – and a
second chance is not exactly the same as a first chance. The reminder that this is a second chance is
“an important reminder of one of the book’s major themes, that of repentance”
and that even “repentance is grounded in God’s generosity.”[1] What is interesting, though, is that in
calling Jonah for a second time God graciously makes no reference to the
prophet’s previous failure. Nor does he
remind him of his deliverance. There is
no rebuke, no threat – simply Jonah is called again. The call respects Jonah. It comes because God has confidence that
Jonah is the person for this task. It assumes
that Jonah will take up this vocation. But
Jonah still has the choice. Jonah is
still free to say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
He certainly has a clear call to which to
respond. Verse 2 – Go to the great city of Nineveh; go and denounce it in the words that I
give you. We need to remember where
Jonah has been since last he heard these words.
In a sense he has been to hell and back.
He has plumbed the depths of anguish.
He may be free to make whatever responses he wishes, but surely there
can be no doubt as to the response that he will make. He is not going to want to repeat the experience
that he has just had. However, none of
this makes this particular call any more enticing than it was first time
round. Maybe Jonah is going to respond
differently second time round, in terms of what he does – but it seems highly
unlikely that he will feel any differently.
The whole question of call is one that comes up
repeatedly in the Bible – and it is not always easy to deal with. Of course, we should respond to God’s
call. But what if that call seems
unreasonable? What if that call is
taking us places where we really do not want to go? We can admire the first disciples of Jesus for
their ready response to his call, but it certainly took them a difficult
road. Isaiah, when he first heard the
call, really didn’t know what to do because he didn’t feel that he was good
enough. Moses argued that he wasn’t a
good enough speaker. Jeremiah suggested
to God that he was too young. But when
God calls us he calls us. It may be that
“the call takes us into the frighteningly unfamiliar, which tests our
faith.” It may be that “we learn of its
strength and authenticity when we are weak and vulnerable, walking along
unknown roads and among strange people.
... God calls us to places where we will be weak, vulnerable and exposed
to the cross, to death, for only then can we know the power of his
resurrection.”[2]
Before we continue with the text, let us explore a
little the question of why Jonah was sent to Nineveh. After all, that is certainly the question
that Jonah himself was asking. God
speaks of it as ‘that great city’. The
real point, though, is probably nothing to do with Nineveh as a specific place. This is about God’s love spreading out to everywhere
and to everyone. That is what Jonah
needed to learn. God’s love is far
bigger than we expect it to be. It
reaches way beyond what we can see.
Jonah’s problem, as one commentator rather unkindly, but accurately, put
it, is that he was a religious bigot. He
“could not bear the idea that God (Yahweh) might want to extend his kindness to
people who were not members of his own religion, and especially if those people
were living in great sin like the people of Nineveh.”[3] Nineveh, in a sense, represents the Great
Commission. Jesus told his first disciples,
Matthew 28:19 – Go therefore to all
nations .... Jonah needed to learn
that God’s love is not subject to restrictions, geographical, national, or any
other. God has a mission for Jonah. “The word ‘mission’ is not found in the pages
of Scripture, but there is a good deal in the Bible about God ‘sending’ men and
women into the world. .... The particular insight concerning mission
which we discover in the book of Jonah is that the prophet is not simply sent
to the house of Israel. Surprisingly, he
is sent to the pagan city of Nineveh.
.... Mission is about extending the boundaries of our life, whether it
be the life of a church or an individual believer. ....
This inevitably leads to a loss of control on the part of those called
to engage in God’s mission, but their task is to be obedient to God’s call, not
to control it.”[4] I think this is a really important
point. There are few, probably none, of
us who would not agree that we ought to be responding to God’s call – but there
is a question as to whether, sometimes, a bit like Jonah, we want to give God a
bit of advice as to what that call ought to be.
We need to learn to just leave it to God. We know that God knows best, but let’s live
that out!
Jonah could have said ‘no’ again – but he didn’t. This time Jonah does as God directs. Verse 3 of chapter 3 – Jonah obeyed and went at once to Nineveh. It was a vast city, three days journey across. If we are to take this literally, this
suggests a massive city, perhaps forty miles across. And, in fact, we know that it was nothing
like as big as that. “Excavations
indicate that Nineveh in the eighth century BC was a walled city .. with a
total perimiter of about seven and a half miles. The longest distance across the city was
about two and three quarter miles. Does
this statement mean that Jonah wandered to and fro through the city? Or does it include a day for coming in
through the suburbs and a day for returning?
Or is it a storyteller’s exaggeration, for effect?”[5] I think it is fairly clear that it is this
last. The writer is wanting to let us
know that this is a big city, and so this is a big project that has been given
to Jonah. As one commentator says: “The
reader is not supposed to do arithmetic.
He is supposed to be lost in astonishment.”[6]
It is a big city.
It is also interesting to note that we are told that Jonah gets on with
this task ‘at once’. Having finally
decided to do that which God is asking of him, he doesn’t use delaying
tactics. He doesn’t spend a lot of time
planning and preparing. He just gets on
with it. And so, verse 4 – and Jonah began by going a day’s journey
into it. Then he proclaimed: ‘In forty
days Nineveh will be overthrown!’
This is a pretty stark message.
There is nothing here that offers the people of Nineveh any kind of
positive message. It is a bad news
day. It is a short sermon – just five
words in Hebrew, seven in English – ‘in forty days Nineveh will be
overthrown’. It is a message of
doom. Jonah is doing what he has been
told to do but, unlike most preachers, he doesn’t want anyone to listen to
him. Jonah is just going through the
motions. One commentator suggests that
Jonah “makes his message as vague and as blunt and as offensive as he possibly
can. It is suggested that he delivered a
message that would make it almost impossible for the people to respond
positively. And yet they do so in a
manner quite beyond the realm of human calculation.”[7] Jonah gets a big response – to his
horror! Jonah’s message for the people
of Nineveh is that they have no future as a people. They will be overthrown. Only it is not going to happen – because the
next four verses, 5 to 8 – describe a response that Jonah, for one, certainly
did not expect. The people of Nineveh took to heart this warning from God; they
declared a public fast, and high and low alike put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh he
rose from his throne, laid aside his robes of state, covered himself with
sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He had this
proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By decree of the king and his nobles, neither
man nor beast is to touch any food; neither herd nor flock may eat or
drink. Every person and every animal is
to be covered with sackcloth. Let all
pray with fervour to God, and let them abandon their wicked ways and the
injustice they practise. Here the
people of Nineveh follow in the path of the sailors who appear earlier in this
story of Jonah. They just need a single
glimpse of God – and they immediately believe.
“Of their own accord the people of Nineveh undertook to be reconciled
with God. They did not wait for orders
from their king. It was they who
inspired the king to join them in the act of contrition. A ruler both influences and reflects the
public opinion of his subjects, for good or ill. Their response could not have been more
different from Jonah’s initial reaction to God’s call. The contrast is stark.”[8]
Not only do the people respond, but even the animals
are brought in to this act of repentance.
The narrator certainly stresses Jonah’s success. “St Francis preached to the animals, but only
Jonah in the history of preaching ever brought about the prayer and repentance
of sheep and goats.”[9] It is an amazing picture. There is solidarity throughout Nineveh. There is a mass turning to God and the ways
and worship of God. The people don’t
follow Jonah in terms of the question of how to respond to a call. But they do recognise his role as God’s
mouthpiece and the fact that this is something to which they must respond. This is something which will change
them. When God wants to change us, how
quickly do we respond? “Rather like the
disciples by the Sea of Galilee who, on hearing the call of Jesus to ‘Follow
me’, immediately left their nets to follow him, so the people of Nineveh
respond unquestioningly.”[10]
So that is part of what happens. The other part of what happens is what God
does. The king has suggested, verse 9 – It may be that God will relent and turn from
his fierce anger: and so we shall not perish. And what happens? Verse 10 – When
God saw what they did and how they have up their wicked ways, he relented and
did not inflict on them the punishment he had threatened. The king’s encouragement towards a change of
behaviour is an expression of hope. The
king and the people hope that God may just choose to spare them from that which
had been indicated as coming their way.
“The truth which the Ninevites recognise is God’s readiness to be
merciful. They cast themselves on his
mercy and discover that he is merciful.
‘Deliverance belongs to the Lord.’
Perhaps one of the most wonderful truths lying at the heart of the book
of Jonah is that God turns to those who turn to him. Even more wonderful is the truth that he does
not turn away from those who, like Jonah, turn away from him.”[11]
God responds positively to the positive response of
the Ninevites. There is a direct
parallel here. As they have turned from
their evil ways, so God has turned from what he was going to do in view of
their previous behaviour. “Jonah’s
approach to Nineveh was simple: the city was wicked and should be
punished. God’s approach to Nineveh was
simple: the city had changed and should be delivered.”[12] Jonah expects God to be predictable and
consistent, rewarding the good and punishing the bad – that is only fair. But God rather operates from a basis of
unqualified love. The basic theological
issue between God and Jonah is God’s justice – “God not treating people
according to what they deserve.” “God is
much too free with his mercy.” “God
should be more strict.”[13] According to Jonah, mission needs to be
limited and to exclude the truly wicked.
According to God, there are no limits.
God’s love will go where God wants it to go. It is not for Jonah – or anyone else – to put
up barriers that will restrict it. The
Ninevites may have done a lot that was wrong, but their view of things has now
changed. The way they behave has now
changed. And God wants to respond to
where they are now. This chapter closes
with the dramatic announcement of God’s change of plans. And the people of Nineveh can rejoice in the
deliverance. And Jonah ... well, Jonah is quite disgruntled.
The final chapter of the book explores something of
what happens with and to a disgruntled prophet.
Jonah is not happy that his preaching has been so successful. The first verse of chapter 4 simply states
Jonah’s anger and displeasure. “That the
Lord shows mercy to Nineveh is confused by Jonah with favouritism to Nineveh
over Israel; and Jonah is profoundly jealous and angry. It is clearly not fair that God should behave
in this way and abandon his people in favour of sinners.”[14] Jonah is completely at odds with what is
going on now. He feels that the
Ninevites have had an escape which ought not to have come their way.
In verses 2 and 3, Jonah prays to God – It is just as I feared, Lord, when I was
still in my own country, and it was to forestall this that I tried to escape to
Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious
and compassionate God, long-suffering, ever constant, always ready to relent
and not inflict punishment. Now take
away my life, Lord: I should be better dead than alive. Here Jonah confesses how he feels. He recognises God’s good attributes. Indeed, his prayer really amounts to a
confession of faith as he describes what God is like. However, despite this understanding, he
remains upset and angry at what has happened.
He explains his previous action in running away by saying that this
current situation is precisely what he had wanted to avoid. “While he was still in his home country of
Israel and was given the Nineveh assignment, he had suspected that the people
of that city might repent. Because he
knew something about the nature of the Lord who gave him the assignment, he also
suspected that if they did repent, the Lord might call off the punishment. Jonah did not want the people of Nineveh to
repent and be forgiven, which is why he tried to run away to Tarshish.”[15] “It seems, therefore, that Jonah’s distress
arises out of the very nature of God and the implications of God’s nature for
Israel as well as himself. His responses
are transparently honest, exposing human self-interest and the need for
security. God’s relenting over Nineveh
undermines Jonah’s security, forcing him to speak face to face with God himself. Jonah was called to push out the boundaries
of his experience of God. He was called
to teach the people of Nineveh about their Creator. Through the Ninevites, however, God teaches
Jonah that he is at liberty to act as he will with whom he will. The story underlines God’s freedom and the
finitude of human beings in understanding the ways of God.”[16]
God responds with a question. Verse 4 – ‘Are
you right to be angry?’ said the Lord.
I wonder if God has any questions for us and, if he has, how we are responding. It is interesting that God doesn’t just say –
‘don’t be angry!’ God rather tries to
take Jonah to the roots of his feelings and, in this simple question,
encourages him to explore and question what he is feeling. Here we listen in on an exchange between
Jonah and God which takes us to the root of what God is doing and also of how
Jonah is reacting.
What does Jonah do?
Well, sadly, he walks out on the discussion. Jonah has no words with which to answer this
question from God. Actions often speak
louder than words and what Jonah does speaks volumes. Verse 5 – Jonah
went out and sat down to the east of Nineveh, where he made himself a shelter
and sat in its shade, waiting to see what would happen in the city. “In silence Jonah had fled God’s presence. Now, in silence, he walks away from God’s
question and finds a more comfortable place to be.”[17] Jonah just walks away and waits to see what
will happen. Maybe he thinks that some
catastrophe will still strike the city – and is waiting to be vindicated. It is interesting that he doesn’t just
disappear. He still seems to have some
kind of engagement with the city, or feeling towards it, as he waits to see
what will happen.
Then there is the little incident of the plant. For the second time God offers Jonah some
kind of rescue. The last occasion was
much more acute – the great fish that rescued him from the sea. Now it is a plant to provide him shade from
the hot sun – and Jonah is grateful for this provision. Verse 6 – The
Lord God ordained that a climbing gourd should grow up above Jonah’s head to
throw its shade over him and relieve his discomfort, and he was very glad of it. And this offers us a fascinating insight into
Jonah’s varying response to God’s provision.
“God’s gracious provision for him brought Jonah great joy; God’s
gracious provision for Nineveh brought him great anger. Despite this anger, God had not deserted his
prophet. He came to comfort him. ... God’s provision of a plant to shelter
Jonah was the high point of the prophet’s experience in this story. That he found no joy in the repentance of the
great city of Nineveh points to his fundamental unease with God on this
matter. Jonah and God did not see things
in the same way; their goals did not coincide.”[18]
But then catastrophe hits, not the city, but
Jonah. It is a small catastrophe in the
great scheme of things, but it has a huge significance because God wants to use
this to speak to Jonah. What
happens? Verses 7 and 8 – But at dawn the next day God ordained that a
worm should attack the gourd, and it withered; and when the sun came up God
ordained that a scorching wind should blow from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head till he
grew faint, and he prayed for death; ‘I should be better dead than alive,’ he said. Jonah suddenly finds himself in an entirely
different situation. If he had never had
shade, he would have been suffering from the heat, but he wouldn’t feel, as he
does, that something had been taken away from him. Part of the point of this story is that God
has all things in hand but, as we will see in a moment, there is also a significant
lesson for Jonah to learn.
This really takes us into the final verses of the chapter
– verses 9, 10 and 11.
“The story ends as it began, with a word from the Lord. ...
The Lord points out that Jonah cared deeply about a plant, over which he
had not laboured and which he had not nurtured.”[19] Again the issue is Jonah’s anger – though I
think that the anger is just a symptom and that the fundamental issue runs far deeper. It is a question of Jonah’s understanding of
God and the nature of God. Jonah can say
great things about the nature of God. He
has a high doctrine of God. But he has a
huge problem in translating this into practical action.
What happened next?
We don’t know. Did Jonah see
reason and come to a better understanding of God? Was Jonah given another mission? What happened in the city of Nineveh? Was the life of the city transformed in a way
that remained effective?
It would be nice to have all those answers – but we
are not told. Because this isn’t about a
neat story with a happy, or even a sad, ending.
It is about reflecting on the challenges which Jonah found himself
having to explore and about reflecting on our understanding of God and where
and whether that needs to be broadened.
For sure, God is bigger and greater than we can grasp.
