The prophet Jonah is the only man in Scripture by that name. The name means “dove.” All we really know about his family background is that he was the son of Amittai, a name meaning “my true one.” The book of Jonah opens up with the word of the Lord coming to the prophet Jonah and telling him to go to the great city of Nineveh. To understand Jonah’s dilemma, you must understand a little bit about this great city.
Nineveh was built by Nimrod (Genesis 10:11). It was the capitol of the Assyrian empire and was located on the east bank of the Tigris River. It was the world power of that day and was called “great” due to its size. Only Babylon was bigger. The city of Nineveh had in excess of 120,000 people that lived within it (4:11). Back in the days of Jonah, this was very big. It was protected by an outer wall and an inner wall. I have read that these walls were so thick that they would race chariots on top of them. According to Jonah 3:3, it would take 3 days to walk around the city of Nineveh. Jonah’s purpose of going to Nineveh was very clear. He was to preach against its wickedness (see Nahum 3:1, 4, 16). The exact message he was to proclaim is seen in Jonah 3:4
We discover in verse three, however, that Jonah deliberately takes a wrong turn. He refuses to obey. He refuses to go to Nineveh. But why? He is a prophet of God. This is his job. This is what he is supposed to do. Some have erroneously suggested that Jonah refused to go because he was a coward and was scared of the Assyrians. If you know a little bit more about the Assyrians, you may better understand why some suggest this.
The Assyrians were well known for being very brutal and fierce. Their torture of captives left a trail of horrific stories. If I were to take the time to describe to you the grotesque ways that they treated their enemies, you would be repulsed. Whole cities would commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of the Assyrians. So did this cause Jonah to be sacred? I could understand if it did. But that was not the case.
So why did Jonah refuse to go to Nineveh. We learn the answer in chapter four. When we reach that part of our study we will see that Jonah, after his ordeal with the whale, goes to Nineveh and preaches. His preaching is so effective that the entire city repents. Due to their repentance, God forgives them instead of destroying them. That is what Jonah knew would happen. He knew if he preached to them and if they repented, that God would forgive them. That is not what Jonah wanted. Jonah wanted God to unleash his wrath on them. It is obvious…God loved the people of Nineveh, but Jonah did not.
In order to try to avoid any chance of the people of Nineveh repenting, the Bible says that Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. What a foolish attempt this was (see Job 1:12; 2:7; Ps 139:7-12). Imagine playing a game of “hide and seek” with a God who knows all things, sees all things, and is present everywhere all at the same time. Jonah went down to the seaport in Joppa, got on a boat, and headed to the city of Tarshish. Geographically, the city of Tarshish is located west of Joppa. Nineveh is East of Joppa. Jonah’s rebellion took him in the opposite direction. Wrong way, Jonah!
Nineveh was built by Nimrod (Genesis 10:11). It was the capitol of the Assyrian empire and was located on the east bank of the Tigris River. It was the world power of that day and was called “great” due to its size. Only Babylon was bigger. The city of Nineveh had in excess of 120,000 people that lived within it (4:11). Back in the days of Jonah, this was very big. It was protected by an outer wall and an inner wall. I have read that these walls were so thick that they would race chariots on top of them. According to Jonah 3:3, it would take 3 days to walk around the city of Nineveh. Jonah’s purpose of going to Nineveh was very clear. He was to preach against its wickedness (see Nahum 3:1, 4, 16). The exact message he was to proclaim is seen in Jonah 3:4
We discover in verse three, however, that Jonah deliberately takes a wrong turn. He refuses to obey. He refuses to go to Nineveh. But why? He is a prophet of God. This is his job. This is what he is supposed to do. Some have erroneously suggested that Jonah refused to go because he was a coward and was scared of the Assyrians. If you know a little bit more about the Assyrians, you may better understand why some suggest this.
The Assyrians were well known for being very brutal and fierce. Their torture of captives left a trail of horrific stories. If I were to take the time to describe to you the grotesque ways that they treated their enemies, you would be repulsed. Whole cities would commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of the Assyrians. So did this cause Jonah to be sacred? I could understand if it did. But that was not the case.
So why did Jonah refuse to go to Nineveh. We learn the answer in chapter four. When we reach that part of our study we will see that Jonah, after his ordeal with the whale, goes to Nineveh and preaches. His preaching is so effective that the entire city repents. Due to their repentance, God forgives them instead of destroying them. That is what Jonah knew would happen. He knew if he preached to them and if they repented, that God would forgive them. That is not what Jonah wanted. Jonah wanted God to unleash his wrath on them. It is obvious…God loved the people of Nineveh, but Jonah did not.
In order to try to avoid any chance of the people of Nineveh repenting, the Bible says that Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. What a foolish attempt this was (see Job 1:12; 2:7; Ps 139:7-12). Imagine playing a game of “hide and seek” with a God who knows all things, sees all things, and is present everywhere all at the same time. Jonah went down to the seaport in Joppa, got on a boat, and headed to the city of Tarshish. Geographically, the city of Tarshish is located west of Joppa. Nineveh is East of Joppa. Jonah’s rebellion took him in the opposite direction. Wrong way, Jonah!
No comments:
Post a Comment