Merciful God

The book of Jonah is quite different from the other minor prophets. His name means ‘dove.’ Unlike other prophetic books, the book of Jonah does not contain prophecies much. In fact, it is a narrative, a straightforward story about the story of the prophet – how he was sent by God, how he refused, how he ran away, how God responded, how he went to Nineveh and so on.

His story is a very good mirror for us today too.

Many of us would also say, “I have been called by the LORD, but… (some excuses here).” The LORD may not speak to us today like He spoke to Moses, or the Israelites in ancient times. But we can still hear Him. He still calls people. When Jonah was called he refused to listen and ran away (Jonah 1:3). He tried running away to Tarshish. How can one run away from the LORD? Psalm 139:7-8 clearly says, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.” The LORD is everywhere. Tp trust in Him, and follow Him, and go where He sends us is the best option. It is the only option.

Some of us would also say, “I have been a backslider, but now I have returned.” Indeed, when someone really knows the LORD, he can never slip away forever. He will return someday. Jonah ran away. But he came back anyway. In chapter 2, Jonah saw the salvation of the LORD and shouted, salvation belongs to the LORD (v. 9). The Ninevites repented because of the works of the prophet who responded to the call of the LORD, even though he had slipped away.

A lot of people would say, “I’ve been called to the ministry of the LORD, but things never go according to my wishes and plans. I cannot even live my life as I wanted.” This may probably be a common lament for many ministers and missionaries. Jonah also felt the same thing. He became very angry when things did not go as he wished. He said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish as the beginning…”(Jonah 4:2). Jonah was angry because God did not bring disaster upon Nineveh as Jonah proclaimed. We could be in such a situation in our ministry. But let it be known that the LORD knows what He is doing, and He does everything for the good of those whom He called (Rom. 8:28).

Let us remember that what the LORD plans and what we plan are not at the same level. Jonah was waiting for the disaster to come upon Nineveh. He set himself up on the hill, trying to watch what will happen to the city. But things did not go the way he wanted. Then, he became angry; so angry that he said, “it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:8). But the LORD is a merciful God, full of compassion. When the Ninevites repented, He did not bring about the disaster proclaimed upon it. He then replied to Jonah, “Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:11).