A Heart for Nineveh

Jonah not only did not want to accept his calling from the Lord but he even tried to run from God to avoid doing it. However, God’s will be done and despite Jonah’s resistance, the Lord still used Jonah to lead many people to the kingdom and to bring God glory.

And in the process, God showed Jonah that the hardness of his heart was wrong and that he should have compassion on other people groups whether they deserve it or not.

Brothers and sisters, in these last days the church will not be able to effectively fulfill the great commission until we get over our personal feelings or preferences and start sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible so that as many would be saved as can be saved.

We must remember that it is not up to us to judge who deserves a chance at God’s grace because as the Bible tells us we have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. And furthermore that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. So since God shows us such grace and mercy and provided the opportunity for us to be saved who are we not to share the good news with all people regardless of their background.

Jonah’s Background

Jonah was one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament and also the son of Amittai the prophet from Gath Hepher (meaning “winepress of the pit”), a town in lower Galilee near Nazareth (2 Kgs 14:25). The town has been identified with the modern village of el-Meshhed, where the tomb of Jonah is still shown. Gath Hepher was within the tribal territory given to Zebulun (see Josh 19:10, 13), so it is likely Jonah belonged to that tribe. Jonah ministered during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (793–753 BC; 2 Kgs 14:23–25)

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

Jonah 1:1-6

Jonah 1:1–6 ESV

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

The Lord calls out to Jonah and tells him to go to Nineveh the great city and call out against it but instead Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord.

Not only does Jonah flee but he goes down to the Philistine port of Joppa looking for a ship to Tarshish which at that time was believed to be the edge of the world and if you went any further you would fall off the edge of the flat world. So, Jonah is trying to run as far away from God’s presence and instructions as humanly possible.

Brothers and sisters not only should we not run from the Lord, but in fact it is His presence that we should seek. Amen! Also, it is our obedience which He requires. In fact the word teaches us that obedience is greater than sacrifice. So fleeing from God and avoiding doing what you know He has told you to do is the opposite of what He wants from us.

Yes there may be times when the Lord is growing you and the calling or work he sets before you may seem greater than you are capable of. But remember that the Lord does not call the equipped but He equips the called. Said simply trust God, obey His word and He will equip you to do whatever He calls you to do.

Have you ever experienced a time when the Lord was leading you to do something outside your comfort zone which required you to trust Him to equip you for the task?

Something else to consider is that Jonah was a prophet of the Lord in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of King Jeroboam II (793-753 BC) so surely, he knew the importance of hearing from and obeying the word of the Lord.

So why was Jonah so intent on not following the Lord’s instructions?

A chief reason was because Nineveh was a great city of the Assyrian Empire who were the enemies of the Israelites.

The Assyrians were a sinful, powerful and violent empire known for their highly developed and fierce army. Some historians note that they were so brutal that they would even skin alive their captives and force family members to watch. In other cases, they would hang the heads of their enemies on spears along the road as a warning to those who would rebel against them.

And as we know, just a few decades after Jonah in 721 BC, the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria and carried away the citizens of the northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity.

The virtual destruction of Israel left the southern kingdom, Judah, to fend for itself and in 597 BC the Babylonian Exile of the Jews began.

So here is Jonah a well to do prophet of God who is now being asked to travel from his homeland to one of the most powerful and most violent cities in the world to tell them that either they turn from their sinful ways or that the one true God is going to destroy their city in 40 days! Furthermore, Jonah deeply hated the Assyrians and did not want them to get a warning because he knew that God may be merciful if they changed their ways and Jonah wanted them to be destroyed because in his eyes it would be justified due to the deaths they had caused.

So because of his hardness of heart Jonah flees from God to the edge of the known world instead of being obedient to the Lord’s calling.

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

Jonah 1:7-16

Jonah 1:7–16 ESV

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

Verses 7-16 explain how the Lord caused a tempest storm to disrupt Jonah’s travel to Tarshish. The other men on the boat were terrified and everyone prayed to their gods then Jonah explained that his God was the one true God and creator of the sea and that the storm was caused by his disobedience.

This left the men in a terrible dilemma because while they could easily throw Jonah back in the sea to calm the storm what if sending Jonah to his death in the sea would also displease God and then they would also perish.

So, after their own efforts failed finally the men hurled Jonah back into the sea. They were so fearful of the Lord after this event the Bible says in verse 16 that the men offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

This scripture reminds us that sin and disobedience to the Lord does not just affect the individual but has far reaching consequences to others as well.

However, the Lord being merciful was able to take an event which disciplined His follower Jonah and used it to save and convert the other men on the ship.

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

Jonah 1:17

Jonah 1:17 ESV

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

A great fish appointed by the Lord, swallows Jonah and he must stay there for 3 days and 3 nights.

The Great Fish is symbolic of death because of Jonah’s rebellion against the Lord.

Also, those who say that this is a myth and could never happen were proven wrong in approximately 1896 when James Bartley spent 36 hours inside the belly of a sperm whale.

The story as reported is that during a whaling expedition off the Falkland Islands, Bartley's boat was attacked by the whale and he landed inside the whale's mouth. He survived the ordeal and was carved out of the stomach by his peers when they, not knowing he was inside, caught and began skinning the whale because of the hot weather which would have rotted the whale meat. It was said that he was in the whale for 36 hours and it was also said that his skin had been bleached by the gastric juices, and that he was blind the rest of his life. He was, however, supposed to have returned to work within three weeks in some accounts. He died 18 years later and his tombstone in Gloucester says "James Bartley- a modern day Jonah."

So if someone tells you that the story of Jonah is impossible remember that it not only happened to Jonah as the Bible stated but has happened to others as well.

Another interesting point about Jonah being swallowed by the fish is that the Assyrians worshipped the false idol dagon who was a fertility god and resembled a merman or half man half fish creature. So if you can imagine Jonah coming from a fish with most likely some physical damage from the digestive juices of the whale it must have made quite an impact on them.

Chapter 2: Jonah’s Prayer

Jonah 2:1-10

Jonah 2:1–10 ESV

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Jonah cries out to the Lord in prayer. He declares he is distressed and was in the belly of Sheol when the Lord saved him.

Think about a time when things may have seemed hopeless but you cried out to Jesus and He saved you or moved in the situation.

In the older parts of the Old Testament the Hebrews believed that all living things people and animals went to a place called Sheol when they died which was a dark hopeless place, devoid of any sound, emotions or pleasure. It wasn’t until later in the Old Testament in the books of Isaiah and Daniel that the Lord revealed to the Hebrews and they realized there is an eternal place of paradise for the righteous and an eternal place of judgement for the wicked.

Jonah goes on to state in his prayer that those with false idols have no hope but those who trust in the true God, the God of Israel will be saved. In verse 9 stating that “Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Many bible scholars and even Jesus himself drew symbolic similarities from Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights and the Father saving him from death and how Jesus would defeat death hell and the grave by dying on the cross and three days later by the power of the Holy Spirit be resurrected from the dead to ascend to the right hand of the Father for eternity.

Said simply Jonah disobeyed God and was headed for certain death but God caused the fish to spit him out on the sea and save him. Then God used Jonah to warn the lost people of Nineveh so that they could be saved from the judgement of their sins.

We were all lost in our sins and rebellion and headed for a certain death but Christ showed us mercy by taking our place on the cross so that we are saved. Now He wants us to fulfill the Great Commission and warn the world of the wrath to come so that they can be saved as well.

Chapter 3: Jonah Goes to Nineveh

Jonah 3:1-5

Jonah 3:1–5 ESV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Chapter 3 begins with the Lord calling Jonah once again to go to Nineveh the great city and to deliver the message that the Lord tells him.

This time Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh.

Nineveh was a great city that took three days journey to tour. Most historians would say that its size was approximately 1,800 acres with 15 gates and perimeter walls that were wide enough for three chariots to travel side by side and several watchtowers with armed guards.

It is important to understand the deeper meaning of the word journey used in this section of Scripture because while we read the word journey the original word used was mahalak and that word was only used four times in the entire Old Testament. Twice in Jonah, once in Nehemiah and once in Ezekiel so it is not quite the same meaning as a typical journey.

Jonah didn’t begin preaching his first day in the city but conducted his mahalak which constituted a structured diplomatic mission in accordance with the rules of ancient oriental hospitality.

Day 1 wasn't for preaching -- it was for being received as an emissary, and as was customary, presenting gifts to the folks in charge. A mahalak isn't merely a walk in the park; it is an itinerary.

Day 2 is when the preaching began, and the message of the Lord was delivered that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown.

We can see that Jonah as an affluent prophet of God who was familiar with the proper customs of the time, was the perfect person to deliver the Lord’s message in a way that the Ninevites would receive, take seriously, and even deliver the message to the king.

This only added to Jonah’s frustration because he hated the Assyrians and the fact that he had to play nice, be political and give them a warning and chance to repent before God’s judgement took place was not what he thought they deserved at all.

Have you ever been in a situation where your flesh says give them a piece of your mind, but the Holy Spirit says love them like Jesus?

Of course, we all have been in that situation or will be, but Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us. To serve and love others and treat them how we want to be treated.

Just like Jonah many times we serve others out of obedience but not always out of genuine love for the people we are serving. This is spiritual immaturity and we need to pray and ask the Lord to help us love all people even those who seem unlovable.

The People of Nineveh Repent

Jonah 3:6-10

Jonah 3:6–10 ESV

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

You see Jonah was effective in doing what the Lord had commanded and the message got the whole way to the King of Nineveh.

The King fearing the Lord and His wrath to come, mourned and issued a proclamation for the entire city and livestock to fast from food and water.

Everyone had to mourn and repent and pray to the Lord for His mercies.

Even these people who did not know God had a hope that He would change His mind once the fear of His wrath was realized.

Something we say when doing evangelism training and is absolutely true is that if people don’t see anything wrong with their sin, they won’t feel the need for a savior.

That’s one reason why it is absolutely critical in these last days for the Church to stand up for the word of God and not compromise.

Doing what is right is defined by the Holy Bible, the living and active word of God not by culture or human interpretations and we cannot be so afraid of hurting someone feelings or not being socially acceptable that we withhold the truth of God’s word meaning the promises of love and life through Christ and also the expectation of turning from sin and living according to the Lord’s holy word.

We can see in verse 10 that when God saw what the people did and how they turned from evil He did not bring destruction upon them.

As believers we do not know who Christ is calling to Him and it may be people that we would least expect so it is imperative that we demonstrate and articulate the good news of Jesus to all people with love.

Chapter 4 Jonah’s Anger and the Lord’s Compassion

Jonah 4:1-11

Jonah 4:1–11 ESV

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” 5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Jonah is angry that the Ninevites repented and turned to the Lord.

This blows my mind because the Lord just had mercy on Jonah earlier when He saved Jonah from the whale.

Now Jonah is saying he would rather die than see these people repent and turn to the Lord.

God says to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah continues to ignore the Lord’s counsel and goes outside the city so he can see what will happen to Nineveh still holding out some hope that they will get what he feels they deserve.

The Lord blesses Jonah with a plant for shade and Jonah is very happy because of it.

But the next day God appoints a worm to kill the plant. He then brings a hot day with a hot breeze and Jonah is so miserable he wants to die.

So, the Lord asks him if he is right to be angry about a plant and Jonah says yes.

God tells Jonah that he pitied a plant which he didn’t work for who was here one day and gone the next yet doesn’t understand why God had pity on Nineveh. A great city with more than 120,000 people who were truly ignorant and didn’t understand who He is.

We can truly see Jonah’s hardness of heart toward those who he feels did not get what they deserved.

There are several lessons here but quickly just a few are.

Christ alone makes us righteous

First, don’t get mad like Jonah when someone doesn’t get what they deserve because none of us should want what we deserve.

The Bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death and that all have fallen short of the glory of God so therefore what we really all deserve is death because of our sins.

But the grace of God is so holy and perfect that He has compassion on us and forgives us when we repent and turn from sin to following Jesus and living in His ways. The blood of Christ and our faith in Christ is the only way we are made righteous.

We must never forget or it will be incredibly difficult to love and serve others the way that God has instructed us to.

Some People Don’t Know the Gospel

The other thing we can see here is that people don’t know what they don’t know. God describes Nineveh as a great city with people who don’t know their right hand from their left hand.

Meaning the people didn’t know right from wrong but once they felt the fear of the Lord their sin became obvious to them.

Only God is Perfectly Omniscient

Lastly this story reminds us that we cannot fully know the plans of the Lord therefore we really do need to operate in complete trust and obedience to Him because only God is perfectly omniscient.

For example to Jonah the Assyrians were just bloodthirsty wicked pagans who needed to be destroyed. However, God knew that while not all Assyrians would not repent that the people of Nineveh would repent and believe if given the chance.

The Lord also knew that when the Northern Kingdom was taken into captivity that some of the Ninevites would be of some helpfulness and comfort to the exiled Jews.

Even more importantly and truly amazing to me personally is that the Ninevites remain to this day as Assyrian Christians living in a predominantly Muslim extremist area of the middle east primarily in northern Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. They are the indigenous people of these locations and have been there for over 2,000 years and are an ethnic minority group tracing their origins back to the Assyrian empire. In fact, the city of Nineveh is located inside the Iraqi city of Mosul.

The Assyrian Plains is the area where they primarily are located and have been under great attack by Islamic extremists in recent years. Currently their population is between 2-4 million people in that area but do have a diaspora all over the world. For example, there are approximately 100,000 Assyrian Christians living in the US some of which came to escape the attacks of Isis.

The Kurds in Northern Iraq as well as the US and Great Britain are helping to arm local Christian militias in towns such as Alqosh and some progress is being made. There are even US and British soldiers who are Christian and are traveling back there to join these militias and defend the other Christians. The US won’t make comments on this officially, we have been supplying weapons to the militias and the Kurds to help the people defend themselves from attack for the past few years.

Assyrian Christians also still speak Aramaic as the official language of the church which is the same language that Jesus spoke while He was on earth.

While Assyrian Christians have been under attack many times in history and approximately 60 % have now had to leave Iraq there are still Christians there who refuse to leave and are willing literally fight and possibly die so their families have the ability to worship Jesus.

Just as Jonah had no idea that these people would turn and still follow the Lord thousands of years later despite attack and persecution, we have no idea the mighty plans God has in the lives of others that He calls us to minister to.

Closing:

See People with Jesus Eyes

Let us renew our focus to see people with Jesus eyes and serve wherever the Lord calls us. Let us have compassionate hearts and demonstrate the grace to others that the Lord has shown us. And may we operate in love with our words and deeds when delivering the Gospel to the world around us.