Jonah 4
“But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’
But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?’”
“Who did, who did, who did, who did, who did swallow Jo-Jo-Jonah?” So began one of my favorite Sunday school songs, rowdy and rambunctious and fun to sing.
And of course I could tell you the story: that Jonah the prophet was commanded by God to go preach to the wicked people in the city of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go, so he hopped aboard a boat bound for Tarshish, was thrown overboard during a storm, and should have drowned. Instead, Jonah was rescued by being swallowed by a fish. He lived safely in the belly of the fish for three days, where he came to his senses and realized that God was giving him another chance to obey. After being regurgitated by the fish onto dry land, Jonah finally went to Ninevah. He told the wicked Ninevites that God would bring destruction to their city if they didn’t change their ways. . . and it worked. They repented. They asked God for forgiveness and mercy. God forgave them. The city was not destroyed.
Sunday school drama at its finest! My classmates and I learned that it’s best just to obey God in the first place. On to the next song.
When I re-read the story of Jonah now, I’m grateful to see the pattern in the sequence of events. God could have been angry with Jonah for his disobedience but instead shows compassion by sending a sea creature to swallow Jonah. God rescues Jonah from death and allows him another chance to obey. And when the people of Nineveh repent, God shows compassion to them, rescuing them from death and allowing them another chance to obey.
But I also see that my childhood Sunday school lessons didn’t quite cover the whole story of Jonah, perhaps because things take a very dark turn. How does Jonah react to the demonstration of God’s goodness and kindness to the Ninevites? He gets mad. He pouts. The man who accepted God’s compassion toward him is now petulant and resentful that God shows compassion to others.
Oh, Jonah. I can relate.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but in this age of division and strife and ideological outrage, I can be so much like Jonah: eager to accept generosity and compassion for myself, my loved ones, and those with whom I agree, but suddenly stingy and vengeful when it comes to those with whom I disagree. I know God to be slow to anger and abounding in love, but all too easily do I curl up in a self-righteous ball, wishing for punishment upon those I believe deserve it.
I still have so much to learn. Patiently, God’s Spirit reminds me of what’s what, calling me to the same kind of compassion I’ve been given. And I’m reminded of a different song from Sunday school: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Do you ever struggle to show others the kind of compassion you’ve received?