The Rest of the Story

We are familiar with the story of Jonah and whale and many a reference have I heard made to the lesson on obedience. I think it is advisable to read the entire chapter and any commentary reference on it because that is not the whole story nor only lesson in that Book. Though I read this Book several times over the years, I did not have revelation knowledge of the lesson at the end of the book until this morning. It brought to mind a simple sentence I had read in another genre. The article was about people cutting back in the economic uncertain times.

The writer said, “There are others who always lived on the financial edge and are now truly suffering.”

This financial edge is not like the ‘cutting edge’ of technology, it’s living on a financial cliff from which one could easily take a terrible fall. These two issues came together for me in realizing from the Bible that Jonah was living on the spiritual edge.

Taking a deep sea ride in a whale’s belly with seaweed wrapped around his head was not enough to get through to him. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t think these people were worthy of being saved from God’s wrath. It made him angry God was sending him into the land of lowlifes. He did go, after the scenic route failed to get him off the hook. He did preach repentance to the people and he was so convinced it was pointless, he hung around to watch their destruction from a distance.

He sat in the hot sun waiting to see an entire city of people wiped out. Scripture says God appointed a plant to quickly grow over him for shade. Remember, this is the same God Jonah was angry with. Sitting in the shade God provided made him happy. The next day God appointed a worm to attack the root of the plant at dawn. By day’s end, the plant had withered. The next day, God sent a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head to the point he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying death was better to him than life. God asked him if he had reason to be angry and foolish Jonah said he had good reason to be angry, even to death.“There are others who always lived on the financial spiritual edge and are now truly suffering.”

Jonah 4:10-11 Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

The phrase ‘persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand’ was a term used in that day signifying very young children who had not reached the age of accountability, not capable of making moral decisions. God was trying to show him that ALL people are His and He cares for them. This shows clearly that the Lord is God of all nations, not just Israel, and that He is concerned with all mankind.

Jonah, like so many others in his day and now, felt a spiritual superiority (his spiritual edge) and was angry God was showing compassion for people of different mindsets, different faith practices. God was giving them a chance for redemption and they took it. Jonah had more concern for a plant that brought him physical comfort than an entire city of people, rather self-serving and single-minded. Later prophets, like Isaiah, tried to expand the people’s vision by looking forward to the day when God’s message would reach all nations, and Jesus’ great commission assured that this would indeed take place.

We need monitor our hearts and thinking to make sure we do not adopt a Jonah mentality when confronted with people that do not think, look or practice faith as we do. God places value on all people. Our spiritual mission is to reach out with a message of repentance, not condemnation.