Sitting with Jonah

January 5, 2007

By William E. Richardson

“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48, NKJV).

You’d think being spared from drowning would be enough. You’d think getting rescued from the stomach of a giant fish would do it. You’d think receiving a second chance to heed God’s command would suffice.

Jonah needed more. He had to have something beyond those examples of God’s mercy to him before he could find it in his heart to extend mercy to others. A slow learner? A strong-willed prophet? Didn’t that time in the stomach of the fish offer sufficient guidance?

In his desperation, Jonah called on God. The words he prayed from inside the fish sounded like a change of heart.

“The deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. … When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord. … I will pay what I have vowed” (Jonah 2:5,7,9).

God forgave Jonah and provided him a new opportunity to obey. The fish deposited Jonah on a dry beach. Jonah walked to Nineveh. There he preached a sermon for repentance. To the prophet’s surprise, the people of Nineveh repented.

God was glad. The Ninevites were glad. Jonah was angry. He didn’t think they deserved God’s mercy. Jonah went outside the city, sat in the heat, and sulked.

Again, God showed His goodness to Jonah by causing a plant to grow to provide shade for His upset servant. Then God killed the plant.

While popping out in sweat, Jonah’s anger heated up. God spoke. He’d given Jonah plenty of mercy. He’d kept him from drowning, saved him from the fish, and protected him from heat stroke. God had shown His mercy to both Jonah and the Ninevites. But Jonah failed to pass on the mercy God had granted him.

Jonah identified the God he served as “a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness” (Jonah 4:2). Yet, the servant refused to be as gracious as the God he served.

Do you find yourself sitting with Jonah? Are you elated to receive God’s blessings, but unhappy, even upset, when God blesses someone you think doesn’t deserve it? Do you find yourself more willing to accept God’s mercy than to give it to others?

Isn’t it time to stop sitting with Jonah? Isn’t it time to lovingly represent the God whose servant you are?

Jesus described a cycle of blessing for all who serve God by mirroring His graciousness. After receiving God’s mercy, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain [more] mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.