A message beyond Obedience, in the book of Jonah

I have been reading in the Old Testament lately, most recently in the Prophets.  I have found the messages of God’s wrath to be difficult to reconcile with the message of the loving God that we find in the New Testament.  In particular I have been wondering about the wrath against the foreign nations expressed over and over again in the prophets. 

God’s people had broken covenant with God, and the covenant spelled out exactly what would happen if the Israelites broke that covenant.  In His love, God sent prophet after prophet to call the people to repentance. But His people refused to turn from their idols and their wickedness, so He finally had to carry out the judgment the covenant called for.  However, there was always the promise that a remnant would remain.

The prophesies against the other nations I found more confusing.  These nations had not been taught God’s laws.  They did not have a covenant with God, yet they faced God’s wrath. In many cases, the judgments involved complete destruction.  Yes, they were very wicked, but were they given a chance to repent?

Last night I read the book of Jonah.  God gave me fresh eyes to see something new in the all too familiar story.  I have always taken the book of Jonah to be a message about our obedience to God.  Well, there is so much more to it!

Jonah was called to preach a message of repentance to the city of Nineveh.  In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, one of the Israel’s greatest enemies.  They were known to be cruel.  “Nahum later states that Nineveh’s sins included plotting evil against the Lord, cruelty and plundering in war, prostitution, witchcraft and commercial exploitation.  (Na1:11; 2:12-13; 3:1,4,16,19)”[1]  

So why did Jonah run away?  Jonah tells God (and us) in chapter 4.

“O Lord, is this not what I said while I was still in at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish, I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:1-3)

Jonah knew that God was compassionate and loving, even to Israel’s enemies!  Somehow, I have been missing that fact in my current reading of the Old Testament. Jonah was a prophet of God – He knew God’s character.  The details that gave Jonah His understanding of God are not provided.  However, he was so certain of God’s compassion, that he chose to run away, rather than offer that compassion to his enemies.

So, in the book of Jonah, I have learned something very encouraging.  God’s love has always extended to all peoples.  The book ends with God’s view on the people of Nineveh:

“Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (Jonah 4:11)

Along with the encouragement that God has always cared about all people, there is another message in Jonah.  God’s people were meant to be a light to the other nations, and they were failing miserably.  Their wickedness was similar to that of the nations around them, in some cases the prophets declare that Israel’s sin was worse.  God’s people were failing in their lifestyle and in their worship of God Almighty to be a light to the other nations.  They also failed to share God’s compassion for those who did not know God.

That sounds very similar to modern Christianity.  How is our light impacting the world around us?  People see our blatant sins of arrogance, hypocrisy, greed, adultery, etc., rather than the righteousness Jesus died to provide for us.  (If you have read most of my blogs, you will know I am not talking about perfection)  People understand what we are against, without seeing any of the love or compassion that define our God.

Maybe it is time to reread the book of Jonah and take away more than the story of the big fish.  

Father God Almighty, empower us to help one another to be lights to those who do not know You. Open our eyes to see the sin that is dulling our light.  God, change our hearts so that we have compassion on all people, as You do.  In the name of our Loving Jesus, Amen.

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[1] NIV Study Bible, 2002 by the Zondervan Corporation.