The story of Jonah is a very popular story in the Bible and in many biblical children books due to the fact that people are in awe that Jonah lived in a huge fishes belly for 3 days and 3 nights and was vomited up onto the shore…ALIVE. However, is that really the best part of this story or is there a hidden lesson?
Just as a recap, God commanded Jonah to go warn the city of Nineveh of their wicked ways (Jonah 1:1), but Jonah ran away after he was commanded to do so and thought it was a good idea to hide on a ship (PSA: its never a good idea to try and run from God). God sent a terrible storm to the sea and caused all the sailors aboard the ship to be terrified.
Jonah had told the people on the ship that he was running from God and once they all realized he was the reason for the storm, Jonah volunteered to be thrown overboard because he knew the sea would then become calm. And this is when the huge fish swallowed Jonah. Jonah repents to God during those 3 days and 3 nights inside the fish and is finally vomited to shore (Jonah 2:1-10).
So God commands Jonah to go warn the city of Nineveh again, however, this time he obeys. The people of the city listened to Jonah and changed their wicked ways so God relented and did not bring the destruction on them he had threatened (Jonah 3:10). And here comes the crazy part…can you believe Jonah got mad because the Lord showed compassion on them?
The same man who disobeyed God and tried to hide on a ship, then jumped into a violent sea storm to what he thought was his death, then was swallowed by a fish to prevent from drowning, then was spit out on the shore ALIVE, that was given another chance to do Gods work, the reason a entire city turned their hearts back to God, got mad that God gave others another chance…JUST LIKE HE WAS GIVEN ANOTHER CHANCE!
As much as I’d like to throw stones at Jonah, I can’t. We’ve all wanted God to do something for us but got mad/jealous when we saw God do it for someone else. We should be thankful we have a forgiving God, who forgives people that we don’t even think deserves forgiveness, just how Jonah felt towards the city of Nineveh.
If God thinks someone deserves another chance, then who are we to say they don’t?
XOXO, Boost of Love
Boost of Love 