Thoughts from Jonah/Part 2

"Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah...But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."

Jonah 1:1,3

God spoke clearly to Jonah concerning his desire for the people of Nineveh to hear the message of repentance. But Jonah refused to obey. The reason for Jonah's refusal is found in Jonah 4:2, voiced by Jonah himself: "...for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster." Jonah will not heed the command of God because he does not want the hated Ninevites to receive grace and mercy! While we might be quick to condemn Jonah for his blatant disobedience, we have to confess our own acts of rebellion concerning taking the word of God to those in need. Consider the parallel of God's word to Jonah and the words of Jesus found in the Great Commission. Our disobedience is just as disturbing as Jonah's. Jonah tried to flee; we often do, too. But we know we cannot flee from the presence of God. His word remains true and binding regardless of our location or surroundings. But rebellion makes us out to be fools. When we refuse to obey God, we think foolishly, we speak foolishly, and we act foolishly. The manifestation of this foolishness is not a matter of "if", but rather a matter of "when". Jonah's rebellion made him look like a fool; ours will as well.