Jonah 3:1-5, 10
It was a time of tumult and turmoil. The Northern Kingdom was losing ground, literally. Only when the ruthless Assyrian army invaded Damascus in 797 B.C., was Aramean power destabilized. Only then was Israel’s military, under Jeroboam II, able to triumph over Aram and regain lost territory. While this king, like many of his predecessors, engaged in much evil (2 Ki 14:24), Jeroboam II was encouraged by the words of God’s prophet, Jonah son of Amittai (2 Ki 14:25).
Jonah was thrilled to proclaim Israel’s victory and Aram’s defeat. He was glad his beloved Israel was returning to its former strength and stature. But the Lord did not want his prophet to become too complacent. God was about to stretch Jonah’s comfort zone in some very uncomfortable ways. The enthusiastic prophet of lower Galilee was about to become known as “the reluctant prophet.” Why? Because Jonah’s nationalistic fervor and zeal was on a collision course with the call of God to leave his beloved homeland, and to go preach repentance to Israel’s arch-enemy.
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Let’s track Jonah’s journey: First, Jonah got off course (Jo. 1:1-3). Second, Jonah got back on course (Jo. 2:1-4). Third, Jonah finally ran the course that God had intended for him to run (Jo. 3:1-5, 10).
Jonah — Off Course (Jo. 1:1-3) — The mission and message given to Jonah was very simple. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jo. 1:2). How did Jonah react? Words like “shocked”, “startled” and “stubborn” come to mind. Assyria was Israel’s threat to the north with Nineveh a chief city. Jonah could hardly reconcile his narrow nationalism with the Lord’s call to “go and preach”. The futile outcome: See Jonah run (Ps. 139:7, 9-10).
Today we may face similar decisions. Do we head in obedience toward Nineveh? Or do we disregard God’s leading? Do we tend toward Tarshish? Lloyd John Oglivie states, “Whatever else, Nineveh is the call of God sounding in our hearts to put Him first, to be His person, and accept our vocation to be servants in mission.” (L. Oglivie, The Communicator’s Commentary, Vol 20, Hosea-Jonah, Word Books, 1990, p. 404).
Jonah — Getting Back on Course (Jo. 2:1-4) — Like Jonah, we can sometimes cool in our commitment to the Lord. But God never cools in his commitment toward us. Perhaps what was once a frequent and fervent prayer time is easily interrupted or increasingly neglected. Maybe the daily reading and study of Scripture is given less priority. Perhaps we grow less interested in fellowship with other Christians. Maybe a service project we enthusiastically embraced at one time now seems more of a burden than a blessing.