This Is Not a Fish Story!

God can use people who do not want to be used to do his will. That’s the story of Jonah’s life. God commanded Jonah, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." (Jonah 1:2)

There were many reasons why Jonah didn’t want to preach in Nineveh against the Assyrians. They were political and military enemies of Israel, having sent war parties into Israel to capture and take spoil. They were a hated vicious foe with a reputation for extreme cruelty. And, the Assyrians worshiped foreign gods and had heathen practices.

Clearly God hadn’t given up on Nineveh. God wanted His prophet to warn the Assyrians that if they did not repent, He would judge them. But the reluctant prophet was not ready to receive a message of God’s love for the Assyrians. Judgment Yes! But not God’s love!

The book of Jonah is a message that God had compassion on the heathen and would forgive the pagan Assyrians if they repented. At the end, God tells Jonah, "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left -- and much livestock?" (Jonah 4:11)

There are always those who claim the Old Testament is all about the wrath of God and His judgment on sin. Yet God demonstrated His love for unlovely people. God sent Jonah to preach to a people that everyone thought would reject the Lord God of Israel. That was surely Jonah’s response. Instead of going to Nineveh, he booked passage on a ship going in the opposite direction.

Have you ever noticed how God won’t let you run from His plan for your life? God sent a storm (Jonah 1:4). The sailors threw Jonah overboard to appease the prophet’s God. God sent a fish to swallow Jonah (1:17). In the belly of the fish, Jonah repented. The fish spit up Jonah and he went to Nineveh and preached against their sin. To the surprise and consternation of Jonah, the city listened to his message and repented.

The message Jonah preached was true, but Jonah’s heart was not in his preaching. How do we know? Jonah sulked in anger because Nineveh escaped God’s punishment. He was unwillingly used of God.

Jonah went up on a hill overlooking the city to watch the fireworks—-the fiery judgment of God-—but the fireworks show didn’t happen. Instead the blistering sun punished Jonah. Then God prepared a plant—-a large vine-—to shade him from the hot sun. Jonah enjoyed the cool shade. Then God prepared a worm to kill the plant and brought the scorching sun back into play. Jonah then complained about the destruction of a plant instead of being concerned about the souls of 200,000 people in Nineveh.

God is concerned with our negative emotions. The Lord asked, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" (Jonah 4:9). God not only wants us to do the right things, He wants us to do things rightly. That means God wants our attitude correct, while we correctly do His actions.

Everyone thinks this is a story about a fish, because most people only remember the fish (the world calls it a whale, while the Bible calls it a fish). But this is a story about Jonah and his rebellion against God. Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh against his will, and preach a message he didn’t want to preach.

This is a story about a stubborn servant. The story tells of God preparing a storm, a fish, a vine and a worm. But look again, this is not a book about the things God prepares. This is a story of God preparing His servant for service. This is a story about yielding to God.

God who had mercy on the lost people of Nineveh, also had mercy on His unwilling servant. At any time of the story, God could have left Jonah to die, but in mercy He gave Jonah another chance after the storm. And another chance after the fish. And another chance after the goodness of the shade of the vine. And another chance after the worm. God does use unwilling people who reject His direction at first, but later repent and do His will.