Jonah 4: 2

He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

The Prophet Jonah lived during the reigns of King Jeroboam of Israel and King Amaziah of Judah. The Assyrians were the dominant tyrannical empire of the time. They were gaining strength and word reached the Israelites about the ruthlessness and brutality of the Assyrians. History records that entire villages would commit suicide if they heard the Assyrians were coming. They thought death by suicide was better than the impending torture that the Assyrians would bring on them. These brutes were infamous for skinning people alive, hooking their jaws and carry them into captivity. They would raid, pillage and capture entire towns.

When Jonah was commissioned to go to Ninevah to pray for them, Jonah thought it was a ridiculous idea. In his heart, he determined that they were not a worthy people to save. He’d rather see them come under God’s wrath than pray for their salvation. Such was his aversion to the Assyrians. Jonah’s prejudice against the Ninevites caused him to flee in the opposite direction. Jonah was supposed to be the intercessor on behalf of the Ninevites. In His mind, he thought, if there was no one who can pray for the Ninevites, then God will eventually bring His wrath on them. He sincerely felt they deserved God’s judgment for their evil. However, God had other plans. God used a mighty storm and a great fish to bring Jonah to Ninevah. Reluctantly, he told the Ninevites of their impending doom if they didn’t repent. Fearing God’s wrath, the entire city of Ninevah repented from the oldest to the youngest, from the king to the poor man. Even the beasts of the field fasted and were covered in sack cloth. The entire city was thus saved from God’s wrath. A pagan kingdom feared God Almighty and repented of their evil ways.

We, in our own lives may have come across people who we think aren’t worthy to hear the Gospel. We carry that prejudice against murderers, rapists, terrorists and all kinds of bad people. Inadvertently, we have passed a judgement on them. We have decided they weren’t worthy to be saved and would prefer them to be eternally separated and cast into hell fire. For such people, instead of praying for their salvation, we are more excited for their condemnation. Who are we to condemn someone? Aren’t we all sinners? There may be a degree of sin but we all are sinners. Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel, Leesburg, VA coined a phrase: mercy for me, judgment for thee. How selfish we are when we seek mercy for ourselves but expect judgment for others! We don’t try to place ourselves in their shoes when we have to show mercy.

Jonah, disappointed that the Ninevites repented and didn’t suffer God’s wrath, was very upset with God. He went out of the city pouting and fuming at God. Just a few days prior, when he was in the belly of the great fish, he cried out to God to save his life. God heard him and saved his life. Right in front of Jonah’s eyes, the entire city of Ninevah cried out to God and repented and God spared them of His wrath. Jonah was angry, miserable and frustrated with God’s mercy towards these pagan people. God was trying to teach him that every nation, tribe and tongue belong to Him and He has every right to save them. He was not willing to judge them by bringing wrath upon them where innocent people lived.

Dear Saints, the reluctant prophet, Jonah, was unforgiving, merciless and prejudiced towards the people of Ninevah. Even though the Ninevites were pagan people, God still chose to save them. However, we serve a mighty God, our Savior, Redeemer, who is forgiving, merciful and loving towards all those who believe in Him. We should be merciful, non-judgmental towards non-believers and intercede on their behalf for their salvation. However scarlet our sins may be, we serve a merciful and a righteous God, who is willing to make them as white as snow (Isaiah 1: 18). God ordered the steps of even this reluctant prophet to fulfill His purposes. How much more He is willing to do His great and mighty deeds through those of us who are willing to do His bidding!

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