Jonah: the reluctant prophet

Jonah is one of the biblical prophets best known for his resistance to God’s call. When God commanded him to go and preach in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, Jonah decided to flee. Not only did he fear the people of Nineveh for their cruelty, but he was also reluctant to bring them the message of salvation, knowing that God, in His mercy, could forgive that city if it repented. Jonah did not want the Assyrians to receive God’s grace.

So, instead of obeying, Jonah boarded a ship headed toward Tarshish, in the opposite direction. But God did not let him escape easily: He raised a violent storm that threatened to sink the ship. The sailors, shocked, threw Jonah into the sea, and immediately the storm calmed down. But God did not abandon him: He had a great fish swallow him, which kept him safe for three days and three nights.

After praying and acknowledging His mistake, Jonah was vomited onto dry land. This time, without any more excuses, he went to Nineveh and proclaimed the message God had given him: “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” The people of Nineveh sincerely repented, and God, in His great mercy, spared the city.

Jonah, however, was not happy with God’s mercy, and he became angry. But God taught him a lesson about His infinite grace, showing that He is ready to forgive anyone who sincerely repents, regardless of their faults.

We, like Jonah, can be reluctant to follow God’s will, especially when He asks us to do something we don’t understand or that seems unfair. But God has a plan that is beyond our understanding. When we obey, we see His grace in action, and we learn that His love and forgiveness are for everyone, even those we think are unworthy of God’s grace.