Jonah Flees From the LORD

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The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” - Jonah 1:1-2

Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. He prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, the king of Israel from 793-753 B.C. He may have been a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha’s ministry (2 Kings 2:3).

 

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God told Jonah to preach to Nineveh, the most important city in Assyria, the rising world power of Jonah’s day. Within 50 years, Nineveh would become the capitol of the vast Assyrian empire. Jonah doesn’t say much about Nineveh’s wickedness, but the prophet Nahum gives us more insight.

 

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Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of:
1. evil plots against God (Nahum 1:9),
2. exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12),
3. cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12-13),
4. idolatry, prostitution, and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4)

 

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God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, about 500 miles northeast of Israel, to warn of judgment and to declare that the people could receive mercy and forgiveness if they repented.

 

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But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. - Jonah 1:3

Nineveh was a powerful and wicked city. Jonah had grown up hating the Assyrians and fearing their atrocities. His hatred was so strong that he didn’t want them to receive God’s mercy. Jonah was actually afraid the people would repent (4:2-3).

 

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Jonah’s attitude is representative of Israel’s reluctance to share God’s love and mercy with others, even though this was their God-given mission (Genesis 12:3). They, like Jonah did not want non-Jews (Gentiles) to obtain God’s favor.

 

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Jonah knew that God had a specific job for him, but he didn’t want to do it. Tarshish could be one of any number of Phoenicia’s western ports. Nineveh was toward the east. Jonah decided to go as far west as he could.