Running from the God of Second Chances
Version: RSV
Jonah 21. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2. saying, "I called to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice. 3. For thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me; all thy waves and thy billows passed over me. 4. Then I said, `I am cast out from thy presence; how shall I again look upon thy holy temple?' 5. The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6. at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever; yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit, O Lord my God. 7. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy temple. 8. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty. 9. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!" 10. And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
God told Jonah to go warn the Ninevites to repent or they would be destroyed. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? The problem is, the Ninevites were about to defeat Jonah's homeland--and Jonah really wanted God to go ahead and punish them, so his people wouldn't be defeated in the war. Jonah did what most of us would have done: he ran away!
He told God, "No way am I going to help my enemies. Not in this lifetime will I warn them to change their wicked ways and be saved by God's mercy and love. Nope. Not gonna happen!" And who could blame him? And what happens? God let's Jonah know exactly who is in charge! He sends a huge fish (a whale?) to swallow him up -- to give him some "time out" time to think about his decision! The prayer in today's scripture is what Jonah prays after he's had some time to think about it.
Even after being saved from death -- literally and spiritually -- Jonah argues with God's plan to save Ninevah. And more, he doesn't really think it's a great idea to use him as the messenger--what if the people kill him because they think he's a spy. What if they ignore him, thinking he's insane! What if . . . what if . . . what if . . . Two of the most common words used together in a sentence when God tells us what to do. What if . . .
Well, the Ninevites do believe Jonah. They repent. They are saved. That's the end of the book of Jonah. We're not told what happens next. We're not supposed to worry about that, though! We can assume that Jonah's homeland was preserved--this time. He still is not too happy with God. He thinks God should destroy the Ninevites because they're evil--they don't know God's word, so don't follow His laws. But wait a minute. . . God asks Jonah a rhetorical question -- He does that a lot doesn't he? I hate when people do that!!! "Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. . . I showed you mercy, forgave you, saved your life, gave you a chance to make a fresh start. Why should I show the same mercy to the people of Ninevah. I am the God of Second Chances.
Four short chapters--lots of lessons. Don't waste your time and energy plotting revenge -- or hoping God will punish those that have done wrong by you -- or who might -- or who you think did or might! Pray that God reveals your own sinful nature to you, that you recognize it, beg for forgiveness, hope for mercy and make amends. Let God deal with "them." And expect that he will extend the same mercy, love, and forgiveness to others that he does to you. We are all His beloved children. If we expect mercy, expect to give it to others, and expect God to do the same!
I hope you spend your day praying for mercy -- for yourself and for your "enemies."
Mary
