Once upon a time, God told Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was jealous of the people of Nineveh. He knew that if he went and preached to them, God could forgive them, because the people of Nineveh would likely repent. Jonah did not want them to repent. He wanted them to continue sinning, so that God would ultimately destroy them. That was how much Jonah hated the people of Nineveh. And so, when the command of God reached Jonah, instead of going to Nineveh to preach to the people there as commanded by God, Jonah hurried to Joppa. At Joppa, he paid the fare and hopped aboard a ship bound for Tarshish, away from God.
God saw what Jonah was doing and laughed. How could Jonah hope to escape the God that could see all things! Immediately, God sent a very terrible storm to rock the ship. The ship swayed from side to side, and threatened to split in two. Everyone on board was afraid. They began to throw the ship's cargo overboard in order to lighten it, but to no avail - the storm continued to place the ship in grave peril. And all this while, Jonah was sleeping in the hold of the ship! The Captain would have none of it. He went up to Jonah and shook the guy awake. He said: "Come on, man, what are you doing asleep? Everyone is trying to save the ship - we're at the verge of sinking, man!" Jonah promptly got up.
The ship's passengers and crew decided it was appropriate in view of the situation to cast lots to see who was responsible for the terrible misfortune they were facing and, when they did, the lots fell on Jonah. Which means, Jonah was responsible for the storms wracking the ship. Everyone turned to Jonah. "Tell us," they said, "Who are you, where are you from, and what is your business?" Jonah told them who he was, where he was from and what his business was - he was running away from the God of earth, sky and sea. The people aboard the ship were horrified. Jonah was doing a very bad thing. They said to him: "What shall we do with you, so that the sea may quiet down for us?" Jonah asked them to throw him into the sea.
The people aboard the ship did not want to throw the poor guy into the sea. They expected he would die. They knew he had sinned against God, but they were hesitant to take his life. And so they continued to try to keep the ship afloat. Without luck. The storms grew even more turbulent. And so they prayed. They asked God not to hold them responsible for taking Jonah's life by throwing him into the sea for, after all, it was God that made the situation as bad as it was, and all because of Jonah. And so they seized Jonah and threw him plop into the sea! Then the sea quieted down for them and the people aboard the ship continued their journey in peace. They went all the way to Tarshish, without Jonah.
Meanwhile, Jonah was in the sea. Promptly, God sent a whale to go and swallow Jonah. The whale saw Jonah falling into the sea and, opening wide its mouth, the whale swallowed Jonah alive. Jonah found himself in the belly of the whale. It was very dark and scary. Poor Jonah. He was sad and distraught. And in the belly of the fish he repented and called on God. He begged God to have mercy on him. And after spending three days and three nights in the whale's belly, God commanded the large fish to spit Jonah out onto the shore. And so the whale spat Jonah onto the shore, and the poor guy was relieved. Phew! After three days and three nights in the captivity of the belly of the whale. Anyway. Serves Jonah right for trying to run away from God on a ship to Tarshish. Ha ha ha!
No comments:
Post a Comment