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. 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 4:10-11
We all know the story of Jonah and the Big Fish, but as I have been meditating on the book recently it seems that this narrative is incredibly rich and relevant. We begin with God calling Jonah to deliver his message to the evil city of Nineveh, in present times this is a bit like asking an American to go preach to Al Qaeda. Nineveh, being a city of the Assyrian empire, represented the downfall of Israel and so it should come as no surprise to us that Jonah does not want to accept this calling.
As we know, God is relentless in his pursuit of Jonah, and after a great squall and some time spent in the belly of a fish, Jonah arrives in Nineveh to preach repentance to his enemies. Whenever I discuss biblical ideas of peace and nonviolence with people, many are quick to point to books such as Joshua where we see violence done under the direction of God on a large scale (which I will admit is troubling and difficult to understand). Here though in Jonah, God extends his call for repentance to an enemy land.
Jonah is understandably perturbed by God's acceptance of the city, these people who conquered God's people deserve the Lord's vengeance, right? After the city repents in sackcloth and ashes, Jonah is greatly distressed and we begin to see his true motives. Jonah did not run from God to avoid a difficult task, he ran because he was afraid God would spare the city. If he ran away from his calling, he could thwart God's plan to send a messenger and disaster would come upon Nineveh.
Jonah goes out from the city to a place where he can wait and watch to see if God will destroy the city. While there God has a plant grow up over Jonah to give him some shade, but then the next morning sends a worm to kill the plant. Jonah becomes angry over the loss of comfort, and God uses this moment to show him how crazy he is being.
God cares greatly for the city of Nineveh (and apparently for the animals there too). The story is not centered on God trying to convert the Ninevites, but on God attempting to convert Jonah to the Gospel of Enemy Love. The scene reminds me of Genesis 18 where Abraham is interceding for Sodom. Abraham manages to haggle with God down to 10 righteous people (and some commentators have questioned whether Abraham could have asked God to spare the city even if none righteous were found). In Jonah however, God is trying to convince Jonah to spare the city of Nineveh in his heart.
God states that the people of Nineveh "do not know their right hand from their left" in a way that makes it rather unclear how accountable God is holding the city for its excessive evil. What does seem to be assured is that God cares for the city desires it would be saved. While this is not explicitly declare it seems that Jonah is the one who actually needs to repent and so do we.
Holy God who desires that none would perish, teach us how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Raise up your prophets to preach the Gospel that your enemies would repent and your children would seek peace. Amen.
