Praise the Lord! As we have just started a new week, we can doubtlessly shout aloud and say that the Lord has been good to each and every one of us during the past week and the same goodness and mercy of God will continue to rest upon us for the rest of our life. In fact, we are surviving in this world that is excessively filled with human wickedness because of God’s continuous presence, protection, and provision in our life, which we, knowingly or unknowingly, enjoy every moment in our life. Therefore, let us not hesitate to acknowledge the goodness of God in our life and give thanks to the Lord God Almighty who redeemed us from all harm and danger and saved our soul from eternal condemnation, as the Psalmist acclaimed: What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people (Psalm 116:12-14; also refer to Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). It is He who delivered our soul from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from stumbling, as it is mentioned in the Scripture: For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 116:8-9). As the Lord our God has done untold number of good to us, let us praise and worship Him for His unending faithfulness and love for us!

The Lord God has blessed us with a mission-oriented Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week, which is taken from the book of Jonah 2:9. The message of the book of Jonah as well as the life-story of prophet Jonah is very interesting and there are numerous spiritual lessons for us to learn from it as we are trying to lead a righteous life on earth. The life-story of Jonah (particularly, Jonah and the fish) might be one of the most heard or told Bible story in the entire Old Testament. It will be hard to find a Christian believer [whether a nominal Christian believer or an ardent Christian believer] who has not heard about Jonah’s life-story, as we all start hearing it at home from parents or older siblings or at Sunday school and church worship service or at a children’s meeting or seminars or retreats, or read about it from numerous published materials on the subject, and so on.

The book of Jonah deals with God’s plans and activities in this world and His involvements to keep everything in the world right (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:4; also refer to 2 Chronicles 16:9; Job 34:21-22; Psalm 139:7-12; Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:24; Hebrews 4:13); God’s call on individuals (in this context Jonah) for special mission in the middle of their busy ministry schedules (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-3); ingenuity and rebelliousness of human mentality towards God’s call as in the case of prophet Jonah (Jonah 1:3; 4:2); the ever-increasing wickedness in the world – in our context the city of Nineveh and its wickedness (Jonah 1:2; 3:8, 10); God’s judgment to purge sin from the world (Jonah 3:4); God’s compassion and love for those who take refuge in Him (Jonah 3:10; 4:2, 10-11); and so on.

The highlights of Jonah’s life and ministry include God’s call on him for a special mission to the city of Nineveh and his ministry in Nineveh.  This ministry included:

• • The Lord God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it and his attempt to flee from the mission God called him for (Jonah 1:1-3)
  • The Lord God intervened with the situation in order to prevent Jonah from running away from his God-given responsibility and God’s rescue mission of Jonah from the sea as God commanded a huge fish to swallow Jonah from getting hurt in the sea (Jonah 1:15, 17)
  • Jonah glorifies God through praise and prayer while he was in the belly of the fish and God saves Jonah a second time [this time God saved Jonah from the belly of the fish] (Jonah 2:1-10)
  • God’s call of Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh and preach against it and his obedience to God’s call (Jonah 3:1-4)
  • God’s compassion and mercy upon the people of Nineveh and gave them another chance to stop their wickedness as they welcomed Jonah and accepted the message (in fact, a warning from God) the Lord God gave them through prophet Jonah as the Lord relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened (Jonah 3:5-10)
  • Jonah was frustrated because God did not punish the people of Nineveh and he was angry and dissatisfied with God’s mercy and love for the people of Nineveh (Jonah 4:1, 3, 9)
  • Whether Jonah accept it or not, the reality is that God’s compassion and mercy is beyond anyone can measure it (Jonah 3:10; 4:11)

As we read through the book of Jonah, we can understand that the wickedness of Nineveh crossed all worldly limitations and set out to reach before the Lord (Jonah 1:2), which means it reached beyond God’s patience and long-suffering. Now, there is nothing left to do to save the city of Nineveh, but only punish and destroy them to purge their wickedness from the land. Otherwise, it might contaminate other people and nations on earth and God has to bring down His destructive forces to destroy the entire mankind as in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:5-7). Though the wickedness of the city of Nineveh deserve to be punished instantly, God called and commissioned His prophet Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh beforehand about the destruction God is planning to bring upon them because of the widespread wickedness in the land (Jonah 1:2; 3:1-3). Despite God’s favor and mercy towards a wicked nation, Jonah, His prophet, did not want God to show any mercy towards the enemy nation, particularly the wicked nation of Assyria and its capitol city Nineveh because they had done a great deal to harm the people of Israel. However, Jonah [perhaps for the first-ever time] rebelled and disobeyed the God of his fathers and tried to run away from fulfilling his new assignment (special ministry) of preaching against the city of Nineveh, which was kind of delivering a warning message. Jonah feared and tried to run away from God’s presence as well as from fulfilling the newly assigned mission work in the city of Nineveh because He knew that the Lord God whom he serves is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity (Jonah 4:2), and such a God will not punish them if they repent and turn away from their wicked ways and life-style and plead with Him for His mercy. In a nutshell, it was due to God’s great mercy and compassion (for individuals who astray from His presence and follow worldly passions) that Jonah did not want to warn the people of Nineveh rather he wanted to see their destruction because they had harmed his countrymen without showing any consideration [Just for a thought: if it were today’s context, unlike Jonah, many would have accepted such an offer from the Lord to go to such a great city or country (Jonah 4:11a) to carryout the ministry the Lord has called them for thinking it’s a land of plenty and prosperity, opportunities and probabilities, excitements and eagerness, possibilities of better or improved life-style, and so on]. However, Jonah did not think that way but he was angry with them, he was troubled and annoyed towards them and his attitude towards the city of Nineveh was a “tit for tat” mentality – thinking they brought disaster upon his people, so those people need to be punished and their city destroyed without giving any consideration. Nevertheless, as we read through Jonah 1:1-2:10, we can understand that Jonah paid a high price for disobeying God’s command and trying to run away from the presence of God. Yet, at the end of his struggles, he praised and worshipped the Lord his God for His mercy and kindness towards him as the Lord God delivered him from all kinds of harm and danger he faced from the storm (Jonah 1:4); from the fellow-passengers in the ship (Jonah 1:5-15); in the depths of the sea (Jonah 2:2-9); in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 1:17-2:10); and so on.

God, being compassionate and merciful, did not forsake prophet Jonah for his rebellion against Him or disobeying His commands rather He rescued him from all harm and danger and called and commissioned him a second time to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message the Lord gave him to proclaim to the people of Nineveh, as it is mentioned: Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you (Jonah 3:1-2). Jonah also did not hesitate to obey God’s commands that came to him a second time rather he obeyed and proclaimed to the people of Nineveh, as it is stated: Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown (Jonah 3:3-4). When the people of Nineveh heard the message of the Lord proclaimed to them by prophet Jonah, the people of Nineveh from the greatest to the least believed God and all of them put on sackcloth and proclaimed a fast and pleaded with the Lord for His mercy and compassion on them, as it is mentioned: The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth (Jonah 3:5). Even the king himself rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Also, the king along with his nobles issued a proclamation for the entire population of Nineveh [perhaps for the entire population of Assyria], which says:

… By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3:7-9)

Although, the Lord God Almighty whom the people of Israel worship is not counted among the gods of Assyria, when the king, and his nobles, and everyone else in the land turned from their evil ways and believed Him and humbled themselves and pleaded with Him for His mercy as they fasted and prayed, the Lord had compassion on them and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened (Jonah 3:10; 4:11). Prophet Isaiah states that the will forgive if the wicked forsake their ways and return to Him, as it is mentioned: Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon (Isaiah 55:7); and it is mentioned that the Lord God hears the cry of the needy and the helpless (Psalm 34:6; 69:33; 72:12; Proverbs 28:13; Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11; Luke 5:10).

In the first place, Jonah was happy that God is about to overthrow the city of Nineveh [who were the enemies of Israel] because of the widespread wickedness in the land, but God was unhappy that He intended to destroy them in their wickedness because of the evil lifestyle they were living (Isaiah 55:7; Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11). However, later God became happy that He did not have to destroy the wicked people in their wickedness because they turned from their evil ways and humbled themselves and pleaded for His mercy in their life, but Jonah became unhappy that God did not overthrow the wicked city Nineveh because they turned from their evil ways and humbled themselves and pleaded for His mercy. Remember, the Lord extended/displayed His mercy and compassion [at least] twice in the book of Jonah: firstly, God extended His compassion and mercy towards Jonah when he repented of his failures before God and acknowledged that salvation comes from the Lord (Jonah 2:2, 9-10); and, secondly, God extended His compassion and mercy towards the people of Nineveh when they turned from their evil ways and pleaded with Him for His mercy upon them [though they were utterly sinful and wicked before Him] (Jonah 3:10; 4:11). From all these, we can understand that salvation comes from the Lord and Lord alone and there is no other savior than our Lord God Almighty who created us in His image and likeness (Isaiah 43:11; also refer to 45:22; Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Psalm 3:8; Deuteronomy 32:39; Hosea 13:4). When we come to the New Testament, Apostle Peter declared to the Rulers and elders of the people that Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:8, 12; also refer to John 14:6).

As we conclude our this week’s meditation, let us examine ourselves and learn from the failures we face in our lives. The Holy Spirit will inspire and help us to do our best for the Kingdom of God. Below mentioned are some of the important factors that every Christian believer and minister need to know about Jonah and his call to accomplish a special mission in the city of Nineveh, as God called and appointed him to carry out such a task as preaching against the people of Nineveh that Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown (Jonah 3:4) because their wickedness has reached before the Lord in heaven (Jonah 1:2b):

• • God calls Jonah to be a prophet to His people Israel
  • While he was ministering among his people in Israel, the Lord God sends him to the city of Nineveh in Assyria to delver an important message to them:
    • To remind them about the widespread wickedness of its people, and
    • To warn them that the Lord is planning to overthrow the city because of its expanding wickedness
  • Jonah deliberately disobeyed God’s command and tried to run away to go to another place, in fact, he headed to Tarshish a distant land from Israel, which is an opposite direction from Nineveh. He tried to run away because …
    • Nineveh was a wicked city
    • Ninevites did not worship the God of Israel
    • The Ninevites [the whole of Assyrians] were Israel’s enemy
    • The Assyrians caused a lot damage to the people Israel
    • Jonah did not want the people of Nineveh to repent and escape God’s punishment
    • Jonah [and most of the Israelites] wanted to see God’s imminent judgment upon Nineveh
  • However, God’s message has to be delivered at its proper time (refer to Proverbs 15:23; Ecclesiastes 3:1; Isaiah 55:11; Habakkuk 2:3)
  • As he had comfortably settled down and sleeping in one of the lower decks of the ship that is heading towards Tarshish, God sent a storm and the ship was about to wreck
  • The sailors were afraid and each one cried out to their god/s because of the storm
  • The captain woke Jonah up from his sleep and asked him to pray to his God for escape from the storm
  • Jonah’s identity, race, faith, profession, and so on revealed
  • Jonah’s disobedience against his God is revealed
  • Jonah’s wrong intention/motive is revealed
  • Jonah’s purpose of Tarshish travel revealed (he was trying to run away from God)
  • The God-sent storm caused all Jonah’s plans and preparations fail (remember, God’s plans never fails)
  • Jonah was thrown overboard upon his request and as per God’s plans
  • God commanded a huge fish to swallow and rescue Jonah, from all other harm and danger
  • Jonah spent three days inside the belly of the fish
  • Jonah realized that it is impossible to run away from God’s presence
  • Jonah repented of his rebellious mentality towards God’s commands to him
  • Jonah praised God for who He is
  • Jonah acknowledges that Salvation comes from the Lord
  • The fish vomited Jonah out on the dry land upon God’s command
  • The Lord God commands Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh to preach against it
  • Jonah listens to God this time and obeyed His command
  • Jonah went to Nineveh and preached against it the message the Lord gave him to preach
  • The king and the people alike welcomed the warning from the Lord, received the message that came to them, repented of their sins and pleaded with the Almighty for His grace and mercy and salvation and the Lord God relented from sending calamity upon them
  • Jonah became sad and got angry with God because God did not punish them for their wickedness and God did not take revenge for the pain they inflicted upon His people Israel
  • Jonah reasoned with God and let God know why he ran away in the first place – because he knew that
    1. 1. 1. God is gracious and compassionate towards those who repent and return to Him;
          2. God is slow to anger and abounding in love; and
          3. God who relents from sending calamity
  • Jonah neither wanted to preach against Nineveh nor he wanted them to repent before God for their wickedness nor he wanted God to relent from sending calamity upon them even if they repent and plead for His mercy, rather Jonah wanted God to send calamity upon them and destroy the city along with its people and animal, and everything else.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, in the light of our meditation this week, let us rededicate our life for the ministry of the Kingdom of God and focus on carrying out the ministry we are called and commissioned by the Lord. From our discussion above and the Scripture passages we read as part of our meditation/discussion, one thing is sure that Salvation comes from the Lord and Lord alone (Jonah 2:9; Acts 4:12). Therefore, let us stay close to our Lord and Savior and hold fast unto Him even when things does not go the way we think or plan. It doesn’t matter for God through which life-circumstances you and I are going through, what it matters is that He is with us at all times (Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5; Matthew 28:20) and He will take up our case and deliver us from all that we fear in life. Let us not allow the worries of this life to pull us down or discourage us in our spiritual journey (Matthew 13:22). The author of Hebrews stated: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Let us trust the Lord our God and abide in His strength as we move forward in our spiritual journey with Him. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!