Jonah was an Israelite and his people had a lot of enemies. He did not want to go to Nineveh to deliver a “good news” message. Jonah did not want to do this because Nineveh was an enemy of his people. Jonah decided not to obey God but to sail to another city called Joppa where he thought God could not find him. Jonah foolishly forgot that God was Ruler and Maker over all the universe. So, he purchased a ticket, got on the boat and immediately went down below where he could lie down and stay out of everyone’s sight.

God was not pleased with Jonah and decided to shake him up. Since God had made the wind and the rain and the sea, He called them together and commanded them to become a great and frightening storm. So the wind started to howl, the sea started to roar and the ship started to rock and roll.

Everyone on the ship became afraid and thought they would all die from drowning. They immediately began throwing cargo overboard to lighten the load, but that did not do any good. Everybody except Jonah was praying for safety to the god they believed in. Jonah was in the bottom of the ship fast asleep. The captain of the ship awoke him, and after questioning him determined that it was Jonah’s God Who was angry and He was judging them. After much debate it was decided to throw Jonah overboard in order to calm the raging sea and to please God.

Under these circumstances Jonah should have drowned but God showed him mercy and performed a miracle. He caused an extra large fish to perform like a submarine. The fish swallowed up Jonah and carried him to the bottom of the sea. Miraculously, Jonah lived in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. He couldn’t see, eat, move or do anything other than pray to God and to tell Him how sorry he was for disobeying Him. After Jonah finished praying and asking God to forgive him, the fish vomited Jonah up onto dray land.

Eventually Jonah was obedient and went to Nineveh. There he started preaching throughout the city like God told him to do. It took Jonah three days to walk from one end of town to the other telling the people that if they didn’t stop fighting their neighbors and killing innocent people God would destroy their city in forty days. Jonah’s preaching was so effective that all the people, as well as the king, listened and obeyed him. These people who were once mighty warriors were filled with the Holy Spirit and began crying out to God like little babies. They not only stopped fighting but celebrated with a party where everybody was invited, including the animals. What made this party special was that no food or drinks were served. They just offered up prayer and praise to Jonah’s God…the God of all the heavens and the earth.

When Jonah saw that God had forgiven the people of Nineveh and had spared their city, Jonah was extremely angry. Jonah knew that his God was kind and merciful and good and he did not want to share his God with those foreign people. He wanted his God to punish them. Jonah did not understand how God rules everywhere in the universe at the same time.

(Part Three to be continued next week…)

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