Jonah and who deserves mercy?

Description: Are we merciful? Prophet Jonah thought he had the right to decide who deserved punishment and who mercy. God gave him two powerful lessons.

Introduction

The Old Testament prophet Jonah tried to escape from God. He’d been told to go into the city of Nineveh and preach against its wickedness. Back then, the city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire - the heart of enemy territory. Worse, the Assyrians were infamous for their cruelty, especially to defeated nations. They made no secret of it and displayed their barbaric acts in countless reliefs (i.e. wall-mounted sculptures).

Jonah not only reckoned the Ninevites deserved to be wiped out, he was probably scared rigid at the mere thought of delivering God’s message of destruction. He might well have expected the inhabitants to torture him before ending his life. Whatever his attitude and fears, his solution was simple. He ran away, intending to put as much distance as possible between himself and Nineveh.

Jonah and God's first lesson

Of course, Jonah soon learned there was nowhere to hide from God, but not before he’d boarded a ship and attempted to flee to Tarshish. God sent a powerful storm that terrified the sailors and forced them to throw valuable cargo overboard to lighten the ship. While they prayed to their own gods, Jonah lay asleep below decks. This (to put it mildly) upset them. He too should have been praying. Finally, in desperation, they cast lots to find out who among them was responsible. No surprise. Jonah was picked.

When they questioned him and found he worshipped the Lord God Almighty, they were even more scared and asked him what they should do. Jonah realised the game was up and asked to be thrown overboard. He felt the storm was his fault; that it would end if he was no longer onboard. With the storm worsening, the sailors did as Jonah asked.

Jonah's amazing rescue

Doubtlessly, Jonah expected to die, but God had other ideas. He sent a big fish to swallow him and Jonah remained inside for three days. During this time, he offered up a heartfelt prayer. He must have been astounded when the fish delivered him onto dry land.

If he thought for a moment God had let him off the hook, he was seriously mistaken. Once more he was told to go to Nineveh and preach against its wickedness. This time Jonah did obey and went into this very large city (apparently it took three days to cross it). Jonah began preaching after one day’s journey into the capital. He told the Ninevites God would overthrow their city in forty days.

Repentance shock

It must have come as a shock when they so readily believed God’s message. Even the king threw off his fine clothes, began wearing sackcloth, and decreed that everyone should give up their evil ways and call urgently upon God. His hope was Jonah’s God might show mercy, turn away his anger, and spare the city. And this is exactly what happened. God saw the way the Ninevites had repented. Moved to compassion, he didn’t bring down the threatened destruction.

Repentance and astounding mercy

Having delivered his message of impending doom, Jonah went off to an area east of the city and made a makeshift shelter. There, he waited to see what would happen.

Given the extent of Nineveh's wickedness, God’s gracious mercy is astounding. What counted was the people’s full-hearted repentance. Had they been stubborn, or only lukewarm about penitence, the ending might have been very different.

Unfortunately, Jonah didn’t see things this way. God’s mercy really angered him. In his eyes, God had made a huge mistake. For such a brutal people to escape their just deserts was utterly wrong. Taking out his anger on God, he said he’d at first run away precisely because he'd feared God would be merciful and relent if the Ninevites showed contrition. He was so upset he asked God to take away his life.

Jonah and God's second lesson

After asking Jonah if it was right to be so enraged, God provided a leafy plant to help shade the prophet’s head and make him more comfortable. This rather pleased Jonah, but his pleasure wasn’t to last.

By morning, the plant was dead. God had sent a worm to chew it until it shrivelled. God did more. He also sent a blisteringly hot wind to intensify the sun’s heat. As Jonah grew faint, he once again implored God to let him die and – once again – God had a question.

He asked if it was right for Jonah to be so enraged about the plant – and Jonah was enraged. He repeated his wish to die.

God then challenged Jonah about his angry despair at the loss of the short-lived plant he’d neither tended nor made grow. God pointed out that 120,000 people lived in Nineveh along with many animals. Some people were innocent; others had lost their way, yet had repented.

Conclusion

For us, God’s mercy on the Ninevites illustrates an amazing characteristic: his capacity to forgive people who don’t deserve it. That’s the thing about repentance. It’s not about saying sorry, then carrying on as before. It goes deeper. It calls us to recognise that God’s way is best.

Jonah thought he had the right and competence to decide who should be punished and who deserved mercy. He was wrong. It simply wasn’t for him to decide such things, and it’s not for us either. As Jonah’s story makes clear: such prerogatives belong to God alone. Our task is to do as Jesus commanded: to show mercy and forgiveness, even to our enemies.