Revisiting Jonah: Judging Too Quickly

On 12/04/2020, I posted the blog Jonah-The Adult Version. Reading the Book of Jonah in its entirety had given me insight beyond the children’s version of Jonah and the whale. I was excited about these new revelations. However, since completing my graduate work in Biblical Studies, I must apologize to Jonah.

In my post about Jonah, I harshly and naively stated:

Jonah’s behavior in chapter 4 was hypocritical. He loved God. He sought forgiveness from God. He was thankful for God’s mercy. Although the people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s warnings and repented their wickedness (just as Jonah had done), Jonah wanted God to destroy Nineveh. The people of Nineveh accepted God as Lord, yet Jonah sulked and pouted when God chose to spare them. Jonah had sought mercy for himself and offered a song of thanksgiving for that mercy but was angry that God showed that same mercy to others. Although Jonah had been given a chance to repent and obey God, he did not want the same for Nineveh. That God wanted to save Nineveh, a non-Hebrew people, should have been enough for Jonah. It was God’s will be done, not Jonah’s. It might have been God’s way of shining His light beyond the borders of the Israelites. God is Lord of all and for all. Salvation is offered to all.

My error: When I read the book of Jonah then, I did not know the full context. Context includes knowing who was speaking to whom for what reason. Context is understanding the political and cultural-societal norms of that era. Context is considering the geographical landscape. All these influenced Jonah’s actions. Let’s look at what was happening.

• From a geographical point, Jonah would have to travel roughly 600 miles from his hometown in Israel to Nineveh. No planes, trains, or cars. God had commanded Jonah to travel 8-10 days by foot[1] to prophesy to a population that Jonah felt would not listen to him. In his estimation, it was a fruitless mission. As it was, because he fled on a ship headed to Tarshish, he added approximately 2,000 miles to his journey to Nineveh.
• Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Assyria constantly besieged Israel. Assyria was a violent country purported to torture captives to control and warn other nations. Assyria would eventually overtake and destroy Israel, scattering the Israelite people throughout the Assyrian empire. But that’s a later discussion…. I liken God sending Jonah into Nineveh to prophesy to God sending me into a white supremacist enclave with the message “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” I, too, might try to “flee from the presence of the Lord.”

[1] I calculated the 8 days using GPS from my location to a location 580 miles away.

My error: I disparagingly described Jonah’s behavior as hypocritical. How can he ask for forgiveness for himself, but not expect forgiveness for others? My mistake was imposing my current worldview on an ancient event. Again, I was unaware of the context of Jonah. I judged him on what I knew of his story rather than on what his story actually was. I erroneously viewed Jonah through a Christ-centered lens. Jesus directs us to forgive just as God has forgiven us. (Just recite the Lord’s Prayer if you need proof.) Jesus’ sacrifice allows us open access to the mercy of God. Jesus was sent to offer global forgiveness. Because of His sacrifice, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NRVSUE) Witness the thief on the cross.

But that was not the model of forgiveness in Old Testament times. God’s forgiveness was essentially for God’s covenant people. Jonah could not fathom how God could convey that same mercy to Israel’s nemesis. I would suppose that Jonah believed that the oppressors of God’s people had no right to that people’s merciful God. The relationship between Assyria (Nineveh) and Israel was adversarial, so maybe Jonah would rather the enemy be destroyed, not saved. Calling Jonah hypocritical is an inaccurate description. Bewildered. Confused. Uncertain. Maybe a little sanctimonious. Definitely angry, especially when God pardoned Nineveh (Jonah 4).

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Lessons learned from my original post are still relevant:

• God is omnipresent; I cannot run from him.
• When God calls, I must be willing, trusting He has paved the way.
• God deserves praise at all times.

I want to add one more lesson: don’t be so quick to judge. This axiom is not new. We have all heard it, but do we heed it? I did not when I initially read Jonah’s story.

• Have you judged, devalued, or criticized someone because you failed to understand that person’s story? Have you disregarded their history? Have you, like I did with Jonah, failed to be empathetic?
• Have you formed an opinion about someone based on your story, e.g. your experiences or culture, which may differ from theirs? Have you, like I did with Jonah, formed your opinion about them based on your belief system?

With Jonah, I can answer “Yes” to all of them. In your day-to-day dealings with people, have you judged too quickly? Have you judged without getting all the facts? God provides a remedy: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:13 NRVSUE) Those traits are the guard gates against judging too quickly.