Israel was commissioned by God to be His messenger of the gospel to the world, but they botched it miserably and that is why the church had to come into being--to make Israel jealous. God's grace has never been limited to one family, clan, tribe, nation, race, or peoples; but always open to all who have faith like Abraham ("Everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham," says Gal. 3:7).
Jonah was a type of Israel who was ordered to go to Nineveh to tell them to repent and went to opposite way! Now, before you condemn him for his disobedience, compare this to sending a Jew to Hitler in Berlin during the Holocaust to tell him to repent or else! It was a suicide mission, to say the least, and Jonah had a survival instinct--get as far away from it as possible. He actually didn't believe God would hassle him in Tarshish, and maybe God wouldn't have any authority there. He asked the next boat if they were "going his way" and he was off to escape God. But he found out you cannot run away from God but the Hound of Heaven will always catch up. Jonah was out of fellowship and fell asleep in the hold of the ship during a violent storm.
To say the least, Jonah was a reluctant prophet and a negative example in Scripture of how to obey. God used Him anyway and turned the situation around by His providence. Jonah is the most famous, infamous, and even notorious of all prophets, and people sure like to mock his faith and story as fiction--but Jesus, Himself, believed it. Jonah is indeed a lowlife in this book who happens to be the only one not on board with God--the ship's crew repents, the city of Nineveh repents and Jonah is "angry enough to die." He has a death wish, but I wouldn't say he is suicidal--he is in a depressed funk and takes it out on God.
Why? His prophecy didn't come true about God destroying the city and he actually wanted it destroyed--he didn't love his enemies. Jonah must have been aware of the doctrine of the providence of God and could've seen how God was moving behind the scenes in the small details of his life as He prepared (Providence in action!) a storm, a fish, a goad, and then a worm to convict him.
Jonah should not be judged by us, but only looked upon as a lesson to learn from, even if negative. He is one of the few prophets in the Bible that was successful and got the people to repent. He certainly didn't want to be known as a "false" prophet and humiliated; on the other hand, he had no right to be angry and should have recognized that God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy. This is a lesson on universal grace and for us not to have self-pity and lack compassion for our fellow man--we shouldn't be so willing for them to be judged.
In summation, we are all reluctant prophets who must complete our "commission" to share the gospel message with the lost everywhere God plants us and sends us. We cannot run from God, but must reckon that if God wants to use us as a vessel of honor, nothing will stop him and there is no Plan B--get with the program! Soli Deo Gloria!
Jonah should not be judged by us, but only looked upon as a lesson to learn from, even if negative. He is one of the few prophets in the Bible that was successful and got the people to repent. He certainly didn't want to be known as a "false" prophet and humiliated; on the other hand, he had no right to be angry and should have recognized that God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy. This is a lesson on universal grace and for us not to have self-pity and lack compassion for our fellow man--we shouldn't be so willing for them to be judged.
In summation, we are all reluctant prophets who must complete our "commission" to share the gospel message with the lost everywhere God plants us and sends us. We cannot run from God, but must reckon that if God wants to use us as a vessel of honor, nothing will stop him and there is no Plan B--get with the program! Soli Deo Gloria!
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