(Lessons from Jonah)
Jonah: 4:5,10 So Jonah went out and sat sulking on the east side of the city…Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry for yourself when your shelter is destroyed, though you did no work to put it there, and it is, at best, short-lived. And why shouldn’t I feel sorry for a great city like Nineveh with its 120,000 people in utter spiritual darkness, and all its cattle?”
Summary
Roman 15:4 tells us: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Let’s listen to what Jonah can tell us about “Getting Through It.”
JONAH
Life Before the Trial – My name is Jonah. And to be honest, I’m a “real piece of work.” Some of you may even call me a stone-cold racist. All I can say is that it is true that I hate Nineveh and its people.1 I’m from Gath-helper, a village about 2 miles Northeast of Nazareth. (2Kings14:25) Some of you may be wondering how did I come to hate these people? Did my father, Amittai, raise me in a racist household or did those Nineveh people do something to me? Well, none of that is really relevant to my story. Let’s just say “I am what I am.” I make it my business to stay as far away from Nineveh as possible. What is relevant is this: I’m a Hebrew, a prophet, like my father. I believe in GOD. I’m just a hating Nineveh GOD believing prophet.
As GOD’s messenger, my job is to deliver GOD’s message. And, one day, it happened. GOD gave me a message to deliver. The problem was that the message was to Ninevah! [Who says GOD doesn’t have a sense of humor.] My immediate reaction was “No, Absolutely Not!” I’m not going. It didn’t matter that GOD’s message to Ninevah was a warning, that GOD was going to destroy Ninevah for their wickedness if they didn’t repent. (Jonah 1.2). In fact, I was thinking, let them be destroyed! Who cares! So, I decided to defy GOD. I ran. Looking back, I actually thought I could hide! (Jonah 1:3-4) I went down to the dock and I boarded a ship heading for Tarshish, about 600 miles from Ninevah! (Jonah1:3) I actually thought I was safe. But, all too soon I was to learn a really powerful lesson. Namely, that with GOD, there is no hiding place!
My Trials – Let me tell you what happened. I was sound asleep when suddenly the captain of the ship started violently shaking me awake. (Jonah 1:6). Apparently, I had been sleeping through a terrible storm. I had been completely oblivious as to what was happening around me. The storm was so violent the captain, a pagan was urging everyone on board to pray. The captain told me to pray to my GOD and to beg for mercy for us all. (Jonah 1:6). I was figuring out a way to stall, since, as I said, I was hiding from GOD, when suddenly one of crewman got the bright idea to have everyone draw straws to see who had offended the gods and caused the storm, as these pagans believed in many gods. (Jonah 1:7). The idea of this game was that the guilty one would draw the short straw. I believed in the one TRUE GOD, JEHOVAH. I didn’t believe in any of the false pagan gods or drawing straws. But I went along anyway. In my mind, I was thinking, what are chances that these pagan worshippers will figure out it was me.
Well, as I said before, GOD has a sense of humor, and after everyone drew, I looked down and saw that I drew the short straw! (Jonah 1:7) At this point, these crewmen demanded to know what was going on. So, I told them the truth. I told them I was a Jew, that I worshipped JEHOVAH, the GOD of heaven, earth, and sea and that I was running away from HIM, but that apparently my plan hadn’t worked. As the storm worsened, I realized that this storm was all my fault. My sins had caught up with me, and with them! I didn’t want these men to die because of me, so I told them to just throw me into the sea. (Jonah 1:12). These pagan crewmen were kind and instead of doing what I asked they tried to steer the ship ashore so they could just get me off the ship onto dry land. (Jonah 1:13). But GOD wasn’t having it! As the saying goes, “Sometimes when you make your bed, you have to lie in it.” In other words, I wanted a sea journey, so I was getting a sea journey---and everything that came with it!”
Things got worse and worse and the storm raged on. The ship felt like it was coming apart. It got so bad that even these pagan crewmen started praying to my GOD. (Jonah 1:15). Finally, the crew had enough and it was sinking or swim! I was the one who had to learn how to storm swim and fast and the men picked me up and threw me into the raging sea! (Jonah 1:15) What happened next was unbelievable! Just like that, the storm stopped! Stopped! Everyone on board that ship was in awe (just like me) and every single crewman, became a JEHOVAH believer! All of them vowed to sacrifice and serve HIM. (Jonah 1:16).
But GOD wasn’t finished with me. I guess GOD must have thought that since I was acting childish, I needed to be treated like one. So, GOD then gave me a serious, “time out” and I was swallowed by a humongous fish! (Jonah 1:17) And there I sat-- in belly of a huge fish for 3 long days and nights---thinking and praying. I prayed like I never prayed before!
Like a child “forced” to be still, I had a lot of time to think and reflect. I remembered how things used to be. I remembered how I used to worship GOD in the temple. (Jonah 2:1-5) I remembered and thanked GOD for snatching me for the jaws of a death at sea. Every day, I thanked GOD for one more day! I was grateful for just being alive. I thanked GOD for even saving those crewmen, who served false gods, and for turning them into believers, despite me! I then promised my FATHER, JEHOVAH, in fact, I vowed, to do better, if GOD just gave me another chance. I told GOD I would sacrifice and be an obedient servant. I also thanked GOD for my deliverance, even before I was delivered, because I knew right then and there that GOD was my only hope and that GOD was my DELIVERER. I put my trust in HIM! (Jonah 2:7-10)
And, just like that, just as GOD delivered me and those crewmen from the raging storm, the GOD of MERCY delivered me again. GOD ordered that fish to spit me out! And it did! And, this time when GOD told me to deliver HIS message to the city of Nineveh, I did exactly what GOD told me to do! (Jonah 3:1-3). I preached GOD’s WORD to Ninevah for 3 days. (Jonah 3:3)
How I Got Through It
Looking back, I can see now that “the trial” (I call it a lesson) I went through was one I needed. I was disobedient and GOD, like any good parent, set me straight. In fact, I’m grateful that GOD didn’t just take me out, because just as GOD brought me in this world, GOD could have easily taken me out. Or, it could have been worse! I could have ended inside something worse---an alligator! Yes, I was grateful for GOD’s lesson. I was grateful for GOD’s GRACE and MERCY when I landed on the beach. I thought I had learned!
But, unfortunately, “I was “still a real piece of work.” Because, after I preached to the people of Ninevah and gave them GOD’s message that they needed to repent or GOD would take them out,” Ninevah actually repented. (Jonah 3:1-10). So, GOD told me HE was NOT going to destroy Ninevah! (Jonah 3:10)
When I heard that GOD was not going to destroy Ninevah, the racist side of me bubbled up and then boiled over. I didn’t want GOD to be merciful to Ninevah. I wanted GOD to wipe them all out! I was furious---so angry, I told GOD “I could die.” (Jonah 4:3-4) Then, I sulked, and I pouted! [I must have looked like one of those defiant children who hold their breath and shakes their fists or kicks angrily on the floor when they don’t get their way] So, GOD gave me another lesson.
GOD grew a big vine, with big leaves that allowed me to sit comfortably in the shade. Then GOD sent a worm to eat the plant, which withered and died and caused me to bake unprotected in the sun. At that time, I really thought I was going to die. And, if that weren’t enough, GOD sent a scorching east wind to bake me even more. (Jonah 4:5-9) Then GOD asked me some questions: “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “If you feel sorry for yourself when your shelter (the plant) was destroyed, even though you did nothing to build that shelter, and it is at best short-lived, why shouldn’t I feel sorry and have concern for the great city of Ninevah, which has 120,000 people, who all live in spiritual darkness, not to mention all of the city’s cattle? (Jonah 4:10).” So, that’s what happened. That’s my story. The end.
Wait a minute some of you may be demanding! What do you mean “The end!” This story is incomplete! Where’s Chapter 5 of Book of Jonah! What happened after Chapter four!!! What!
To those demanding a “happy ending” or why my “Book” (my story) seems incomplete, I say to you, you miss the point. See, I told you from the beginning “I’m a real piece of work.” I am a racist. I’m flawed. I act in ways that are childish, foolish, illogical, insensitive, all of which sometimes and probably, more often than not, makes me ill-equipped to do GOD’s work or GOD’s WILL, which is to draw others to HIM. Although I, myself, am the product of GOD’s MERCY (through no effort of my own) and you’d think I would be in the best position to extend mercy, ironically, so often I don’t want to be merciful to others or I’m simply oblivious (as I was to those pagan crewmen)! I’m disobedient! So, GOD gives me time outs and lessons.
I have “half-baked ideas!” So maybe GOD tried to “bake” some sense in me, (who knows the mind of GOD!) so that I can become a better, clearer thinker about how GOOD GOD has been to me. I am given lessons in GOD’s GOODNESS and MERCY and GOD’s GIFT---HIS to give to whoever GOD chooses. Perhaps GOD lesson was to show me that sometimes I have more compassion for animals (Ninevah’s cattle or dogs) or more compassion for “endangered birds or other animal species” than humans, who are often physically or spiritually endangered. My story is “unfinished” because GOD was not finished with me yet! My lessons and education continued. GOD was still molding and shaping me.
To those of you who look down on me or feel that because I’m a racist I got what I deserved or that racists need to suffer trials, let me just ask you a few questions.
- Are you racist against racist? Hate them? Don’t want to be around them?
- What would you do if GOD asked you to minister and preach to the biggest racist you know or do something else contrary to “who you are—your nature”?
- What MERCY has GOD extended to you that you do not want to extend to someone else? What right do you have to demand the MERCY of GOD and yet ask GOD to withhold that same MERCY from others—even me?
And to you, who may criticize me or others for being “a piece of work” I say to you, “we are all pieces of work,” in the EYES of GOD. All of us are incomplete, childish, irrational, at times unloving and unlovable. So, GOD has to teach us all lessons---lessons about obedience, MERCY, GRACE, appreciating worship, being grateful, being thankful, being kind, valuing others, and loving others as much as we want GOD to love us. Some of these “lessons” feel like “trials.” But sometimes GOD’s lessons are BLESSINGS. Look around you –look at the good that can sometimes come out of the bad---like the salvation of those pagan crewmen, despite my own obedience!
Sometimes GOD gives us “time outs” to think and to appreciate HIS GOODNESS and MERCY and to learn. As long as our individual books of life are open and we live, we are all under GOD’s tutelage and GOD’s life’s lessons go on. We are all incomplete chapters.
So, my advice? When the lessons come, study hard! Learn. Think. Pray. Pray for wisdom and mercy. Study GOD’s WORD. Repent. Love others. Love GOD.
CHAIR EXERCISE
There are a number of great chair exercises. However, if you have a medical condition, you may want to consult your physician before trying these. First, find a sturdy chair.
- Neck Stretch- Seated in a chair, slowly tilt your head toward your right shoulder until you feel a stretch. Holding this position, gentle, extend your left arm down your side until you again feel a stretch on the left side of your neck. Release and repeat, performing two or three repetitions on each side. This is a warm-up exercise.
- Shoulder Circles- Sit in the chair. Then place your fingertips of your right hand on your right shoulder and the fingertips of your left hand on your left shoulder. Circle your shoulders forward 10-15 times then reverse and circle backward 10-15 times.
- Toe Taps- Sit up straight with your feet flat on the ground. Then bend your toes toward the ground and then up to the ceiling. Keep your heels on the ground as you bend downward and upward. A variation of this exercise is to extend the feet straight forward with the heels touching the ground as you bend downward and upward.
- Seated Jumping Jacks- Sit up straight in your chair. Extend your arms to each side and then above your head, like a normal jumping jack. Return your arms to your side before raising your arms above your head again. Start slow and then increase your speed moving your arms as fast as you can, performing 3 sets of 5- 10 seated jumping jacks.
- Knee to Chest- Sit up straight with your left foot firmly on the ground. Grasp the back of the right knee and slowly raise it toward your chest until you feel a stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat with your left leg.
If you feel pain, have balance problems, feel dizzy, or have other problems, discontinue the exercise, and consult your physician for a more appropriate set of exercises for you. For more chair exercises see https://www.vivehealth.com/blogs/resources/chair-exercises-for-seniors; https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/exercise-sitting-down/.
LEARN, REFLECT, LOVE
Sometimes we can learn from the lessons of others. Sometimes lessons help us grow in the image and spiritual likeness of GOD. (Colossians 3:10)
Some of GOD’s lessons may be to appreciate GOD’s GOODNESS. Perhaps things we have been told things or heard a thousand times before will suddenly have new meaning. And, after we make it through, because of the GOODNESS of GOD, perhaps we will have new testimonies or “stories” to tell others. Perhaps we will say: “I’d heard deacons, church mother and preachers “thank GOD for one more day” over a thousand times, but I never really knew for myself what that meant, until COVID 19.” Perhaps we’ll say: “I never understood until I sheltered and I woke up every morning, thankful and grateful “for one more day,” after hearing about the death toll in the news the night before.” Perhaps we’ll say: I never understood “give us this day our daily bread” until COVID 19, and I counted the meals I ate or went to stores with empty shelves.” Or, “I never appreciated family, friends, people who I see in grocery stores and who worked in hospitals until COVID 19.” “I never prayed as I pray during COVID 19!” If this becomes our nation’s testimony, then we perhaps will have learned some valuable lessons.
Pray all of us incomplete children of GOD continue to learn.
May we learn to extend love and mercy, be grateful, and BE BLESSED!
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1 It’s interesting to note that Ninevah is first mentioned in Genesis 10:11. It is one of the cities established by Nimrod, who some believe was the first of the kings and a mighty hunter. Nimrod was one of the descendants of Cush. Cush also spelled “Kush,” is also the name of the southern portion of the ancient region known in ancient times as Nubia. Nubia is in Africa. Many believe Nimrod would have been “classified” as a Cushite, who were known for their Black skin. See, Black History in the Bible, http://www.blackhistoryinthebible.com/tag/what-race-was-nimrod/ and Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Kush. Ninevah later became the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were feared and often hated by other nations
