Published in Phelps County Focus on November 14, 2024. A meditation on Jonah after the presidential election.
We all know the story about Jonah—or at least we think we do. Something about spending three days in the belly of a whale, right? Well, there’s a lot more to the story.
At the time, the Assyrian Empire was the bully in the neighborhood, perhaps like the Soviet Union in its heyday. They pioneered the practice of exiling the leaders of conquered nations. They were not nice people. So, God decided to destroy their capital, Nineveh.
But of course, God is merciful, so God called Jonah and told him to preach repentance in Nineveh. Jonah absolutely did not want to do that! So he fled, sailing fast in the opposite direction. But after a miraculous journey in a great fish, he ended up back on land and on the road to Nineveh. He realized that he had no choice but to go where God had sent him. When he arrived, he half-heartedly told the people of Ninevah what God had planned.
Jonah was BY FAR the most successful prophet after Moses. All the other prophets were ignored, killed, tortured, exiled, etc. But Nineveh heard Jonah’s warnings and immediately repented. It’s kind of a comical story—even the cattle wore sackcloth and ashes! As a result, God relented and showed them mercy.
Jonah was extremely successful—and that upset him. He did not want Nineveh to repent. He wanted God to destroy them. When God showed mercy, Jonah sat down and wished to die.
So often, we are like Jonah. We may say that we want people to change their hearts and minds, but our actions show our true feelings. We don’t really want to change our opponents into our allies—we want to destroy our enemies.
But God reminded Jonah that all of us are made in God’s image. All of us are God’s beloved children. All of us belong in God’s kingdom.
Thanks, Jonathan! I really and truly needed this and am thankful for your wisdom.