In Jonah's day, Assyria was as bad as it got. It was a ruthless nation, which decimated the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and besieged Jerusalem 20 years later. The Assyrians were feared throughout the world, and Nineveh was its capital city. Thus, when God called Jonah (whose name means 'dove') to go to Nineveh and give its people the chance to repent, Jonah could hardly believe his ears. Giving the Ninevites any sort of break was absurd, and Jonah decided that he would not do it. No, he wouldn't do it- not even if God wanted him to do. So, instead of going to Nineveh, he boarded the first ship to anywhere, to get as far away from God as he could possibly get. But God is everywhere. The "dove" should have known that. He couldn't hide from God. None of us can, and Jonah discovered that for himself when they encountered a life-threatening storm at sea... and the sailors on the ship threw him overboard. Trying to run from God is surely a mistake, and in Jonah's case it would've been fatal... if God hadn't sent a big fish to gobble him up... and spit him out... right back where he had been in the first place. Hey Jonah, God called again, how about going to Nineveh and giving them a chance to repent? Well, Jonah was more obedient this time, and he soon found himself walking up and down the streets of Nineveh, calling both the "great and the small" to repent and turn to Yahweh. And they did! The Ninevites repented. Every single one of them repented... and Jonah was outraged! He couldn't accept the fact that these hated people would not be punished. He threw a fit and pouted, and waited to see what would happen to the city. God, on the other hand, told Jonah that He had to be concerned about the 120,000 people in Nineveh... because they didn't know "their right hand from their left." (4:11) Like the men who would crucify Jesus, they didn't know what they were doing. They didn't have a clue... and God has a special place in his heart for the lost.
Thus, we begin the Lenten season by encountering a God who is more forgiving than we are... which is hardly surprising because most of us are afraid of grace. We may give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, but we are prone to be critical and unforgiving of others. Unmerited grace (and all grace is) embarrasses us. We protest when it's offered to us and we resent it when it's offered to others. To most of us, grace seems unfair, and even though it is not Biblical, we tend to believe that God helps those who help themselves! We talk about grace and grace alone... but we expect others to earn the love they get (and we suspect that this is also true for us). Years ago, one of my professors suggested that the book of Jonah is a fictitious work of humor. He said that it was written as a joke- one that we just don't get because we don't appreciate how much the Hebrews hated the Assyrians. He noted that there is no record that the Assyrians ever repented... and he was convinced that the whole scenario was meant to be unbelievable.
I don't know what the author's intent was, but I do know that grace is not a joke... and our refusal to give it to others is not funny! Expecting God to forgive our deepest sins... while holding our neighbor's slightest misstep against him... is not a laughing matter. Friends, let us a) accept the fact that we are forgiven and b) forgive others to the point where it seems silly! Pray that God will show you how to give grace. Pray that God will help you become a more forgiving person... and praise Him for being more forgiving than you are. Amen.
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