The Road to Nineveh

That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity [Jonah 4:2b].

As I have related from time to time, during the 50s and early 60s, one of the mothers who played an important role in the biblical education of the elementary school-aged children at Olney Presbyterian Church (southern Gaston County, NC), was a frustrated thespian. She could, and did, turn most of the Old Testament stories into little dramas, with parts set out for every boy and girl. To her credit, she didn’t play favorites. At some point or another, every child got his or her chance to play the lead. Several times a year, we’d put on little 10-minute skits for our parents and the older members of the congregation. And believe it or not, some of the scripture stories actually sank in.

There was the time brother Jeff was given the part of Joseph. It felt a little weird for Todd and me to be part of the band of brothers that sold him to the caravan. There was the time that one of the girls about my age pulled baby Moses–actually a baby doll–from the make-believe Nile river. And there was the time one of the boys in the group–I think it was Douglas–played the part of Jonah, who was swallowed by the “huge fish [Jonah 1:17, NIV].

I’d venture that even if you didn’t take part in a similar childhood drama, you still have some sort of strong recollection of the Old Testament story of Jonah. It’s funny–at least to me–that many of us were taught that the creature with the appetite for prophets was a whale; the scripture is clear that it was a fish. How many of us remember why Jonah was in its belly and what Jonah did after the fish “barfed” him onto dry land?

We might recall that prior to his encounter with the fish, Jonah was “on the run.” Yahweh had told him to go over to Nineveh and preach “against it,” because Yahweh was tired of the city’s wickedness [Johan 1:1]. Now one would think that Jonah would have jumped at the chance to do that since he, like all the other Jews in and around Palestine, hated the Ninevites. Nineveh, after all, was the capital of the brutal Assyrian Empire, the superpower of the time. Yet Jonah fled in the opposite direction, heading for Tarshish, by boat.

Yahweh, of course, knew exactly where Jonah was, caused a storm to come up in the sea, and, shortcutting here a bit, at Jonah’s own bidding, the sailors tossed him into the sea to placate the angry Yahweh, “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” [Jonah 1:9]. Sure enough, as soon as Jonah hit the water, the sea calmed, the sailors were saved, and the fish had his supper.

We all remember that Jonah wakes up in the belly of the fish–he’s been swallowed whole. Chapter 2 of the short, 4-chapter book of Jonah, consists primarily of a a fervent prayer offered by Jonah to Yahweh. After three days and nights, Jonah’s “released” from his tomb (many see Christ references here) onto the shore.

Yahweh, wondering if Jonah has forgotten the original instructions–fat chance of that–tells him to head over to Nineveh and do as he has been told. Lesson learned, Jonah does so, preaching the shortest sermon on record: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” [Jonah 3:4, a portion of the alternate Old Testament reading appointed for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, RCL]. Sermon complete–there was no altar call–Jonah then perched himself on top of a nearby hill to the East. He wanted to watch the fireworks as Yahweh called down fire and brimstone upon his enemy.

Then, of course, disappointment strikes Jonah. His sermon works! The Ninevites repent, all 120,000 of them. The king tears his own royal clothing, dresses in sackcloth, and declares a mandatory fasting period. At the end of Chapter 3, we see that when God [interesting that the term used in this verse for the creative One is “Elohim,” whereas when the deity is speaking to Jonah, it’s “Yahweh”] hears what the Ninevites have done, Elohim changes His mind and decides not to bring down destruction upon the city.

And so, everyone lived happily ever after, right? The point has been made: if you don’t do what Yahweh says the first time, you may have trouble, so for heaven’s sake, if you get the second chance, obey! While that is where the Jonah story typically ends, it isn’t the ending of the Jonah story in Scripture. Everyone lives happily ever after, except for Jonah. He’s so angry, he can spit nails.

The irony (and humor) here is rich. Typically, Israel’s prophets are fiercely obedient to Yahweh’s law and commands, but the people are stubborn, sticking to their sinful ways. In fact, in the OT, the people are more likely to kill the prophet than do what he says. Yet here, Jonah’s message, short as it was, came through and was heeded. What’s more, Jonah’s message never mentioned mercy. It only spoke of doom. Still, the Ninevites turned from their evil ways. Yahweh has relented. This is theodicy in reverse. Instead of “Why do bad things happen to good people, Jonah’s question becomes, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”

Jonah, shaking his fist (so to speak) at Yahweh, cries out that this is exactly why he tried to flee to Tarshish, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God (again, Elohim is used), slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity [Jonah 3:2b]. Jonah is angry because in his own human omniscience, he knew that Yahweh, given half a chance, would act out of love and not vengeance. And that just doesn’t suit Jonah at all!

Can we see that Jonah is just like many of us? We desperately want a God who is gracious and compassionate with us, slow to anger, when we mess up. We want a God who abounds in love, when that love is directed at us, or at those whom we love. When God’s love and mercy is directed at our enemies, how many of us are overcome with joy?

Jonah wonders aloud, “Doesn’t Yahweh realize what He’s doing? These gentile pagans are purified evil; they are the enemies of Yahweh’s people, Israel, and they deserve to be destroyed. What good is it to be one of God’s people if God won’t destroy your enemies? And rather than provide an answer to Jonah’s angry outburst, Yahweh simply asks a question, “Is it right for you to be angry?” [Jonah 4:4]. The question, by the way, is not rhetorical.

Jesus asks a similar question in His Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard [Matthew 20:1-16, the Gospel reading appointed for this Sunday]. Attributing the words to the vineyard owner in the parable, the question is quite similar to that of Yahweh to Jonah, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with that which is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?” [Matthew 20:15].

Is God bound by our hatred? Is God’s sense of mercy always consistent with our own? Can God do what God wishes to do, without checking first with us? In a time and place where there appear to be deep divisions among the people of our land, does it make us angry that God might show mercy, Heaven forbid, even forgiving Love to those whom we consider hateful, vindictive, self-centered, and wrong? Do we begrudge God’s generosity?