A while ago, I began this project of reading through the bible. Not the finish-the-bible in a year thing, just reading cover to cover with no time-frame. I was inspired by a pastor who suggested that we identify people in the bible with weaknesses similar to yours to get an understanding of how God used them. At first, I read selectively. I thought “I’d like to be a more Godly woman”, so I decided to read only the stories of the women; from Genesis to Revelation. Now, this proved rather difficult. Nothing to do with the bulk, I’m a lawyer! 1000 pages is but a day to a sister! Lol. But it’s not easy get a holistic understanding if you’re picking and choosing. Plus, I kept getting distracted by stories that seemed just as interesting as the women’s tales! So I scrapped the ‘Women Only’ idea and just began to read (almost) daily from the beginning, starting and stopping as I wanted.
I realised a few things as I went along, for one thing I didn’t really identify with some of the ‘bigger ticket’ Bible characters. I found myself getting drawn to the smaller characters in the Bible. Stubborn men like Jonah and bold and reckless women like the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 7:7). These were MY biblical representatives. I also found that at different times in my life, I found a reflection of myself in different characters. When I had to face exams or some sort of judgment for instance, the stories of Daniel and his friends as well as Esther’s became more poignant in my mind as I faced similar (*ahem* vaguely similar) challenges. Jonah’s story, I particularly loved and had to share my experience upon reading.
The book of Jonah comes after a series of other minor prophets; men who were ostracised, punished and eventually murdered for listening to God’s voice and prophesying the truth in a lying land. All wonderful men, I’m sure. You see, none of them heard God’s call and refused to answer. *Enter Jonah*. I read the first two verses of Jonah, and knew I’d found a kindred spirit. “The Lord gave this message to Jonah, the son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked the people are. But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord” Jonah 1:1-Lol. Sounds about right! I know where I would NOT have been going if I’d received that message. Say what now Lawwd?! I plead automatic spiritual deafness, Sir!
Anyways, Jonah tries to run and…God makes so many things happen to him that he’s forced to realise that you can’t outrun God’s plan for your life. Most of the book of Jonah reads like a lesson on Sod’s Law dramatised; if something bad CAN happen where Jonah is concerned, it will. And that bad thing will be the worst variation of bad not just regular bad! God heavily hindered Jonah’s plans to run away from Him until Jonah finally submitted. Shipwrecked/ swallowed by a whale/crash-landed on an island etc., that was the kind of 3 day booster weekend Jonah had. After the madness, God showed up and saved Jonah spectacularly (from the belly of the beast literally!). But Jonah is so human, despite being saved he is still angry with God!
By the end of the book, despite all of God’s mercy shown to him, Jonah wants to know why God has refused to punish the people He promised to. To Jonah, like to many of us, the result of evil is punishment. That is the reason why we ‘good people’ can see evil and shrug, (sometimes enviously) murmuring under our breaths a variant of “God will judge…” or “Anyways, MY reward is in heaven”….yeah, in one of the many mansions above ground. Right.
Jonah is me! I don’t want to hear that people who have hurt me, or done wrong have been pardoned by God or by anyone even! “They are evil, they hurt me, I can’t forgive them because they.hurt.me, did you not hear?! Why are you friends with them? How can you bless them Lord? They are the reason for my sorrow! How can you love them AND claim you love me too?!”
The people Jonah preached to in Nineveh turned from their wicked ways and changed. See Jonah 3:5. Due to Jonah’s actions at the Lord’s command, these people changed. They were sorry; God saw their hearts and forgave them. But Jonah said in response to their crying to God for mercy and God’s corresponding forgiveness:
Jonah: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this Lord?! That is why I ran away…I knew you were a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are (too?) eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now Lord, I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen” Jonah 4:1.
God: “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” Jonah 4:4
* Jonah sulks and kicks rocks*
Then God in Jonah 4, uses a solid analogy to teach Jonah (and I). He puts a plant above Jonah to shield him from the sun, knowing what poor Jonah needs the most even before he asks. Then the same God kills the plant. Jonah in typical melodramatic form complains loudly again, “Death is certainly better than living like this!” Jonah 4:3. He tells God: “Yes, I am angry (with You)! Even angry enough to die!” *super drama queen alert!*
And God finally gives some explanation to help Jonah understand a bit more, how He sees things. The book of Jonah ends with God asking Jonah some deeply reflective questions.
“You feel sorry about the plant (dying), though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120, 000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”. Jonah 4:11.
(God is so reasonable, sometimes I suspect He might be a man).
The Jonah story is such a deep tale of forgiveness and healing; a story of insight, perception and self-analysis. Why do we hold on so long to an unforgiveness that brings us nothing but hurt especially when God so easily forgives and so quickly makes peace? Why do we crave a satisfaction that comes from punishment to the failed rather than redemption of the fallen? And perhaps more importantly to me, a person sometimes stubborn and reckless, the book is a reminder that God has use for people like me too. It is amazing to think that thousands of years ago there was a man sulking on an island, pissed off at God-the way I get sometimes- who was used by God.
Oh and I learnt that God cares about animals too!
Oh Wendelyn! 
“I plead automatic spiritual deafness, Sir!” hahaha! Rightly so too.
Jonah’s story is one of my favourite in the Bible. Forgiveness is the hardest yet the most exhilarating thing to give…especially to people you believe to be undeserving of it.
I can definitely relate to this.
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