Did you ever stop to think there may have been times in your life when you may have run from a divine appointment?  What would be the circumstances for doing something like that?

The book of Jonah is most often associated with the miraculous intervention of a whale, but there are so many other aspects to the story that are worth pondering.

For example, what really prompted Jonah to sail on a ship in a direction contrary to God’s leading?  After all, if you are prophet, isn’t doing God’s will part of the job description?  However, we can begin to appreciate Jonah’s reluctance to travel to Nineveh, if we better understand his world.

The people of  Nineveh were Assyrians — an especially  brutal nation to anyone who opposed them.  The records we have from the Assyrians indicate that opposing forces were subjected to extreme torture. This included public amputations or being left to die after being impaled on a stake.  The Assyrians considered these gruesome activities part of the process to achieve rule and order in the surrounding communities.  The end effect was very successful.  The testimonies of these horrific acts traveled far and wide.  People feared and loathed the Assyrians.

The Jewish people must have been profoundly troubled by the deities of the Assyrians. The picture below is a relief from the palace at Nimrud of a winged griffin-demon in the chamber of an Assyrian King.

Jonah had feelings of anger and wanted to reject his assignment:

1Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and became angry.a 2So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster. 3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

And one has to wonder if he had concerns for his own personal safety. At this point, we should all do a little self examination.  Is it possible God has placed us in a situation where we are earnestly trying to board a ship and travel far away from it?

The Jonah analogy to our own lives is very different for situations that are very dangerous, because it is good to flee from a harmful scenario.  In Jonah’s case, he had the clear promise of God’s providence on his journey.  This was made even more evident after he gained safe passage to his destination in the belly of a large fish.

For situations that aren’t dangerous to our health, the  story of Jonah might have something to teach us.  Perhaps there are difficult circumstances, such as a disagreeable coworker, that could be part of God’s plan for our lives.  If we recognize this mission, it might help to lower our level of angst. For example, we could look for ways to redirect our energies to be a messenger of  hope.

There is another inspiring nugget of information from the story, which occurs after Jonah resists God:

Then the word of LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Arise! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim the message that I will give you.” This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the LORD”

You get second chances. Thankfully God is wonderfully merciful to us.  We will be given opportunities to improve and then move in the right direction.

So  take heart! Our journey can be difficult, but the LORD is ever present and good. Lean on his grace.