The Prophet And The Plant

Finally, (maybe), the conclusion to this saga: “The Prophet And The Plant”. Sounds a little bit like a Disney movie, does it not?

I hope you’ve caught the main theme of the story throughout this series. To this point, it has been all about repentance. Think about it: Jonah disobeys, Jonah repents, Jonah goes to Ninevah, Nineveh repents, God sees their change, God repents of the evil he had intended against them. It’s about repentance from the first, unfortunately, the theme of repentance ends in Nineveh. 

So, Jonah wanders around the city of Nineveh for forty day, stinking like a fish’s stomach and looking like he’s been to hell and back. I imagine the digestive juices of the whale were not the greatest things for Jonah’s skin. He probably looked like a monster walking around the city and proclaiming, “Thus saith the Lord, turn and repent or in 40 days your city shall be destroyed.”

The King of Nineveh hears of Jonah and his message and immediately calls the city to a state of fasting and praying. God sees the hearts of the people, that they are sorry for what they have done and he forgives them. Now, this was not Jonah’s plan for how things would turn out. Even after God gave him a second chance Jonah was still unwilling to give a second chance to Nineveh.  

When all Nineveh repented, Jonah cried out to God with his great, “I told you so.” Jonah says: 

Jonah 4:2-3 

And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore 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. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

He begins to point his finger at God saying, “I told you. This is exactly what I said would happen when I was in Gath Hepher before I fled to Tarshish. I knew you would forgive them. I knew you would give them a second chance!” Jonah is getting angry with God because he still believed that he was right, that Nineveh should not have been forgiven. So, Go responds with a simple question.

Jonah 4:4 

Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

I believe God likes asking question that He knows we can’t answer. Question that cause us to examine ourselves and realize that we are wrong and He is right.

Now, even though God has forgiven the Ninevites, Jonah still thinks they will be destroyed, so he leaves the city and finds a vantage point from the east side of the Nineveh to watch its destruction. He still had no forgiveness in his heart even after his time in the whale.

Yet, God still has pity on Jonah and causes a plant to grow over Jonah, shielding him from the sun. The scriptures say that Jonah was exceeding glad of the plant. But, in the morning of the next day, God prepared a worm to smite the plant, (to eat it), that the plant would wither and die. And when the sun came up, God sent an vehement east wind and the sun beat down on Jonah so that he fainted, wishing he was dead.

Jonah said, “it is better for me to die than to live.”

Then God asked him again, “doest thou well to be angry for the plant?”

Jonah replied, “I do well to be angry, even into death.” Here we see his pride breaking through, he couldn’t admit he was wrong even in defeat.

Jonah 4:10-11 

Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 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 was so self-centered, so engrossed with his will and his form of justice that he couldn’t see the plain truth of mercy and grace. This is the reason why I believe Jonah was only given to prophesies to perform. He was not only an unworthy prophet, (for no one is worthy to speak God’s words), but he was disobedient to the end. He loved his pride too much, and he allowed himself, rather he chose to be blind to the truth.

Jonah’s story is written by the man himself, but in third person, probably long after the fact. The reason I think that he wrote his book much later after the events of Nineveh, is because of how he ended it. God had the last word, there was never a reckoning in the end with Jonah’s pride and hate. He may never have completely given them up. That is why I said the the theme of repentance ended in this part of the story, Jonah’s heart was the final item to be reckoned with. There was not a repentance that occurred in Jonah’s heart; to the end he held on to his innsecurity and his anger.

That is why I find that his story is not only compelling, but it is also very thought provoking for me. It causes me to make and interospective perusal of my life and examine my heart. Do I want to be like Jonah, and wait until it’s too late to make things write, leaving me with only a pen and parchment to detail my failures? Or do I let go of my pride, my hatred, and my selfishness to follow him and simply obey.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Nineveh

Now that we have our two main character’s Jonah and the whale, we need to introduce the final component in this story: the city of Nineveh.

Jonah was the what, the whale was the how, and Nineveh is the why in this equation of mercy.

To aquatint you with the city of Nineveh, I’m gonna lay down some history for you.

Where Is Nineveh?

Nineveh was an early Mesopotamian city founded by Nimrod in the land of Asshur, or Assyria. It is located on the Tigris River, in between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Trade alone brought the city great wealth and it greatly prospered under the rule of Sennacherib. 

Why Is It So Important?

For 50 years, the city of Nineveh was the greatest city on earth. In the end, it was subdued and defeated by a collaborative attack by the Persians, Babylonians, Medes, Chaldeans, Scythians, and Chimmerians; all former vassals of the Assyrians. Ninevah was the Capitol of the greatest empire in the world, the Assyrian empire, and is told to be a great city of 3 days journey. Which could mean it was a three days walk from one end to the other, or it likely meant that it would take three days to walk every main street in the city.

So, the city was large, the city was ideally located, but, it was also home to several monarchs who waged war on Israel.

2 Kings 15:29 

In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. 

This seizure of cities happened some time between 745 and 727 BC when Tiglath-pileser III went on his rampage, capturing most of the known world.

2 Kings 16:9 

And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. 

Also the doings of Tiglath-pileser III, wreaking destruction upon the lands of Damascus. This is when Assyria took control of Damascus and the conflict between Israel and Assyria began over that land.

2 Kings 17:6 

In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 

In 725 BC, the year of the death of Tiglath-pileser III his father, Shalmaneser, now the ruler of Assyria besieged and took Samaria. You may ask why is his name not Tiglath-pileser IX if his father was the third? Well, Shalmaneser was not the first born son of Tiglath-pileser III, his older brother died in battle some years earlier.

2 Kings 17:5

Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. 

For three years the siege of Shalmaneser was waged against Samaria. In 722 he took it and divided it’s land and spoils. He died the same year.

2 Kings 18:13 

Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. 

Sennacherib the Great, under his rule Assyria flourished, Nineveh became insurmountable, and he destroyed all the fenced cities of Judah. 46 cities he destroyed of the lands of Judah, exiling over 200,000 Jews. He was a true foe of the Israelites and hated more than all the others.

2 Kings 19:17 

Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

Assyria ruled with an iron fist and a bloody sword, they were hated of all people’s but of the Israelites most of  all. Truly, the did not deserve mercy. Surely God would not spare these villains their lives. 

You can begin to understand Jonah’s hatred for the people of Nineveh, the seat of power for Israel’s arch-enemies. They deserved to be wiped from the face of the earth. And even when all men, including God’s faithful prophet turned their backs on the Assyrians, God never did. He gave them a second chance, and even gave Jonah a second chance for their sake. 

It’s a picture of all men and our depravity from God. We were lost in our trespasses and sins, enemies of God. Yet He loved us so much, that He saved us anyway. Just like Jonah spent three days in the whale so that he could go and preach to save the Ninevites, Jesus spent three days in a tomb so that He could save you. 

Nineveh did not deserve grace, but it was given to the city. Still, they could not save themselves. 

Romans 10:14 

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Nineveh needed a preacher, Jonah, to proclaim the words of the Lord that the people of the city might believe. God sent Jonah, though unwilling to bow until he had no strength left to stand, Jonah eventually chose to obey. Because of one man’s obedience, however reluctant it was, an entire city was saved.

Jonah 3:10 

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

No matter what you’ve done, God loves you, He always has, and He always will. He will forgive you, even when you don’t deserve it. Grace is so amazing because no matter how hard we try to make sense of it, we cannot. Our response should be that of the King of Nineveh. 

Jonah 3:6 

For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Immediately he recognized his wrong, he laid off his symbols of pride and power and humbled himself before God. The king of the greatest nation on earth, in an indomitable fortress city, the most powerful man alive, abases himself to God and orders his people to do the same. The King of Nineveh shows a willingness to surrender, and a desire to make things right. Not arguing his guilt, not pleaing ignorance of God’s laws, simply acknowledging God for who He is and crying out for mercy. 

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

The Whale

The last post was about Jonah, but it was only part of this great story. Today, it’s all about a whale.

Very little is known about the whale, including if it was even a whale. The Bible simply says “great fish”. So, what was it? A sea monster that no longer lives today? A large whale? It could have even been a great fish created for the express purpose of carrying Jonah to Nineveh. 

Regardless of what it was, it saved Jonah’s life. As he sank lower into the waters of the Mediterranean, the creature, whatever it was, swallowed Jonah whole and saved him from death at the bottom of the sea. Even though the whale, (I’ve dicided to call it a whale), rescued Jonah from death, that was not the whale’s purpose.

The whale was not sent to save Jonah, the whale was sent to save Nineveh.

Without Jonah, there was no messenger to carry this prophesy to the Ninevites; the message was given to Jonah. Even in saving him, God’s main concern was not his life. Not that God did not love Jonah, but God’s concern was all of the ignorant people of Nineveh who would be destroyed without a chance to repent if Jonah did not go to them.

A whale, a creature that lived beneath the waves was able to serve its Creature in a way no man ever could. The created beast was faithful to its creator when man was not. This is like the story of the Israelite judge Deborah, she was chosen to judge Israel because there were no righteous men willing to step up to the task. The whale was given the responsibility of taking God’s prophet to Nineveh.

This whale showed more faithfulness than Jonah. And all the while Jonah sat in the whale’s belly and prayed to be spared this death. He prayed that God would not forsake him in this time, Jonah repented in the face of certain demise.

This ordeal with the whale was not to save Jonah’s life. There would be no reason to save Jonah’s life had the storm not come upon the ship. It was not even to bring him to Nineveh. Jonah could have travelled by land to Nineveh. The reason Jonah spent 3 days and nights in a whale was so he could realize the situation in which the Ninevites were. 

The Ninevites were condemned to certain destruction. They would die without some miraculous intervention from God. Just like Jonah, when faced with the waves and then the whale’s digestive system was faced with certain death. God was proving to him that all men, no matter what they had done against Him, deserved forgiveness and mercy. 

Jonah was Nineveh, he had broken God’s laws, ran from Him, tried to hide in His own ignorance of God’s omnipotence and omnipresence. But, God humbled him, revealing his sin to him and giving Jonah a chance to repent and be saved. Through the whale, Jonah saw how closely his life parelleled to tens of thousands of people in Nineveh.

The whale taught Jonah a lesson in God’s mercy and how it was extended to the undeserving man. Don’t run until God has to use a whale to show you where you need to be; just obey the first time.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Jonah

The story about Jonah and the whale is probably one of the most well known stories in the Bible. The story of Christ’s birth and the story of David and Goliath are the only others that really come close. But, Jonah, a book about a prophet who failed, what is the message here? Even good men fall? True, but it’s not the goal of the story. What then? Is the main theme that God forgives us, even when we run from Him? Well, let’s examine the story more deeply.

Who was Jonah? Well, Jonah was a young Hebrew man who lived in a small village in Israel called Gath Hepher, in the lands of the tribe of Zebulun. Jonah was not a very active prophet, and I believe there are good reasons why. He only delivered two prophesies that we know of. The first was that Israel would restor her borders. King Jeroboam 11 accomplished this during his reign, ending nearly a century of conflict between Israel and Assyria in Damascus.

Jonah probably felt that he was a pretty big man. Suddenly, he became famous everywhere he went as the prophet who brings God’s blessings. Out of nowhere, and with a single prophesy, he became a very popular individual.

Around this time, God sent His words through the prophets Amos and Hosea to fortel of the coming judgement upon the enemies of God.  It was then that God called Jonah to go to Nineveh.

Now, all had been going well for Jonah, he was loved by all the people of Israel; comtemporary prophets were proclaiming destruction to the enemies of God’s chosen people, and Jonah was just getting settled into this new life. Then, his perfect little world shattered. 

Nineveh? No, surely not. I am God’s good news prophet, but You want me to give them a message of repentance! You want to forgive them? Have You forgotten Lord that these are the Assyrians? Nineveh is their Capitol city. They are our enemies, Your enemies.

They are ignorant of the truth, they can not even tell apart their right hand from their left. I need you to tell them to repent.

Lord, why me? I can’t bring a message of repentance to these vile people, they murder men for no reason at all, they are idol worships, and child sacrificers. No. I will not! They do not deserve fogiveness.

Tell the people that if they do not repent in 40 days, I will destroy their city. Go, tell them my words.

No! I know what will happen. I will tell them Your words and they will repent and then You will not destroy them. No, I will not preach to them, they do not deserve mercy. I have to leave, I have to get away…

So, Jonah, despite God’s command, went down to Joppa and found a boat sailing to Tarshish. The city of Tarshish was entirely across the Mediterranean Sea from Ninevah, on the other side of the known world. Jonah thought, if there was anywhere he could go to escape from God’s presence, it was there. Jonah smiled to himself as he boarded the boat and went down into it. 

Ever downward he went, until he finally hit the bottom. It was a storm, the likes of which none of the crew had ever seen before, so the captain called his men together to pray to their gods that they might be spared this wrath and live. They found Jonah in the belly of the ship and brought him up on the deck for a sailor’s way of finding out who had brought the storm upon them: they drew lots.

Unsurprisingly, the short straw fell to Jonah. The sailors asked him, who are you, and what have you done to bring this down upon us? Suddenly, he became bold in his faith and proclaimed to them all that he was a Hebrew who served the God of the sea and the land, and that he was fleeing from Him.

It’s easy to become bold about your faith when you know you will die anyway. Jonah realized he was not getting out of this one, he was getting what he deserved for his disobedience. He would die a cruel, cold death in the raging sea. 

Jonah resigned himself to his fate and told the crew that they must throw him overboard, then the waters would calm again. Nevertheless, the men went to the oars and rowed desperately to bring the boat to shore, but it would not obey. 

Just as a side note: when God has commanded something to happen, there is nothing any man can do to stop it. No one can save you from God.

So, Jonah was thrown overboard and the seas calmed instantly. The men fell on their knees in prayer to the God of heaven for saving their lives as Jonah sank down to his death.

So, why is the story so important? Why is it so popular when it’s about failure? The story of Jonah is one the world needs to hear. Be sure your sins will find you out, God sees every hidden thing, and no man can stand in the way of His judgement.

Obedience would have save Jonah a lot of trouble, but the book was written by a man who knew he had done wrong. He was aware of his failures in the end. I encourage you to read the account of Jonah and learn from his example.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist