M-G: 9.28.19 // Some Observations in Jonah 1:2

Sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) illustration by Uko Gorter

(Jon 1:2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.

The LORD’s command (v2a) included three urgent imperatives: (1) arise, (2) go, and (3) cry [this same Hebrew verb qara is found in Jon 3:2 and translated preach, the Heb. verb occurs 8x in Jonah]. What is the rush for Jonah to go to Nineveh? For their wickedness has come up before Me (v2b).

What does that mean? Well, it does not mean that this is the first time Yahweh is hearing about Assyrian wickedness (cf. Psa 7:9; Isa 3:10-11; Jer 17:10; 32:19; Rom 2:6-8; Gal 6:7-8; Heb 4:13). Succinctly, in this context, it means that judgment is pending but conditional. It is a determination made only by divine decree to address unrighteousness, not according to man. 

The iniquities of the Assyrians were renowned and completely absent of moral and spiritual values! If an enemy was to engage or tangle with the Assyrians, the best advice given (speculating not quoting) was not to get captured alive, for they show no mercy to their enemies! The Assyrians apparently never figured out that their enemies might respond in kind! Their atrocities were not only a reflection of their moral depravity but served as an effective psychological weapon against any who would oppose them. What makes their brutality even more chilling was that they probably enjoyed it.  

“…the Assyrians were a cruel and heartless people who thought nothing of burying their enemies alive, skinning them alive, or impaling them on sharp poles under the hot sun” (Wiersbe) or the stacking of skulls.

Something in that commission got Jonah’s blood pressure elevated and spooked him to run like a jackrabbit (v3), and it wasn’t fear, by the way (cf. Jon 4:2)! Here is what we know for sure. According to the biblical record, Jonah was the only prophet in the OT commissioned to go to a heathen nation and preach repentance! It just so happened to be the ruthless and barbarous Assyrians who Jonah would rather see destroyed than saved (cf. Jon 3:4, 10; 4:1).

Another first for Jonah was being the only prophet to run from his divine commission (v3). There are several reasons offered by commentators; I will allude to one in v3 in the next article, but for now, I prefer to focus on the truth that there is never a valid reason for us to disobey the will of God. The devil would have us believe through our rationalizations, that there is a logical reason to disobey – it is only in His interests, not ours… This contradicts Romans 8:28.

Before going whole-hog in criticizing Jonah, how would you feel if God wanted for you to preach repentance to members of the Islamic State, the Taliban, Al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram, to name a few, who only want to bring death and destruction to anyone opposing their extreme, intolerant, inhumane, and belligerent ideologies? That would be a very challenging commission!

I will confess to you that there are times I am enraged by the manifestation of evil by terrorists, at home and abroad, for their egregious and heinous crimes against humanity that I find myself desiring to be a part of the posse of recompense! But I know that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). 

With that said, we also should exercise caution in condemning righteous indignation in the spirit of the imprecatory psalms (e.g., Psalms 69 & 109) among the brotherhood. Personally, I wish there was more animation of righteous indignation in the body of Christ against unrighteousness rather than being content in living among the unrighteous and remaining silent out of fear of offending them, like Lot.  

Should you think that righteous indignation is contrary to love (agape), I strongly suggest you take it up with Yahweh because the imprecatory psalms are under inspiration, God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Eccl 3:7b).

I would rather all those who do not know Christ be saved, but I also desire speedy and thorough handling of such evil in the world. I thought of Jonah and his feelings toward the Assyrians. I could relate somewhat to how he must have felt about their death and destruction. But it was Jonah’s own prejudice that prompted him to disobey God’s will and flee to Tarshish, Spain.  

There are two elements with the last two imperatives that got Jonah’s blood pressure up, causing him to bolt: go to Nineveh and cry or preach. The angry prophet elaborated on that in Jon 4:2. We can visualize from this encounter when the word of the LORD came (v2) the contrast between the smallness of Jonah’s heart toward the Gentiles and the greatness of God’s heart for the Gentiles (cf. Rom 3:29).

This commission, when the word of the LORD came in v1-2, does not automatically mean that this was all of the conversation involving Yahweh and Jonah (cf. Jon 4:2). God in His wisdom used an economy of words for inscripturated revelation. What we have written down is providentially intended (cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17). It comes across as a one-way conversation; we are not privy, if any, to Jonah’s conversation with Yahweh concerning the mission objective.

It is probable that he remained silent because as we know from our familiarity with the book of Jonah that he had strong feelings that ran contrary to the divine commission. Yahweh, who is all-knowing, did not make an issue of it. His will is not up for negotiation. Jonah was to arise (v2), and Jonah arose alright (the only thing obeyed in the commission the first time Yahweh approached him [cf. Jon 3:1]), but he disobeyed to go to Nineveh that great city (Jon 3:2-3; 4:11) to avoid preaching repentance to the evil and cruel Assyrians.

Under Sennacherib, Nineveh was made the capital city of the Assyrian Empire and was located on the east bank of the Tigris River in the modern town of Mosul in Iraq. Conservative population estimates were over half a million. Nimrod built Nineveh (Gn 10:11); Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 612 B.C. As the crow flies Nineveh was ~550 miles NE from Jerusalem.

Have you ever had mental consternation and reservation about something God wanted for you to do? Maybe you didn’t agree with Him at the time. Sadly, that is a common and disrespectful occurrence among many of us as believers concerning the will of God. Because God is omniscient, He already knows our thoughts and reactions before we do! Though we may keep our lips zipped in a matter, our thoughts give us away. This could be what Jonah referred to in Jon 4:2, or it is also possible there was some discussion during the commission Jon 1:1-2 to go to the Assyrian capital city.

It is those mental machinations that often undermine our ability to do God’s will because of all of the negative self-talk, and we wind up creating a negative attitude and dealing with it in our own strength. What a contrast in how God’s will is being carried out in heaven: immediately and completely! What a major challenge those adverbs (immediately and completely) are on this side of eternity (cf. Mt 6:10b)! Believe it or not, doing God’s will is never an ability issue (cf. Php 4:13) but a positive attitude of trust and obey (cf. Prov 3:5-6).

I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart (Psa 40:8, emphasis mine).

Witnessing is our responsibility; saving or judging is His. Though God so loved the world, He will judge unrighteousness in His timing of those unresponsive to repentance. Ungodly thinking always resists God’s will; love (agape) keeps it (Jn 14:15). <><