The story of Jonah is one of the funniest stories in the Bible. But it’s not the funniest bit that is often told. The popular story that’s often told is that God commanded a huge fish to swallow him and deliver him along the path to where he was initially sent and he refused. 

Have you ever wondered what Jonah was sent to do and why he refused? Or what happened after he reluctantly agreed to his mission?

Guess what? Jonah wanted God to destroy people! He thought God should punish them because he had come all the way to warn them about impending destruction, and he didn’t think they deserved mercy. Jonah, a prophet, fervently desired the fulfillment of his words, irrespective of whether God’s divine will shifted regarding the people he addressed.

The concluding chapter of the Book of Jonah holds great intrigue for me. God demonstrated remarkable patience in guiding Jonah toward comprehending his perspective. The dialogues between the two individuals illuminated a nuanced aspect of God’s character, often overlooked in conventional portrayals. In contrast, Jonah explicitly communicated to God that his initial rejection of the assignment stemmed from his apprehension that God would exercise mercy and refrain from carrying out the intended destruction of the people. In essence, he perceived it as an unproductive endeavor to deliver a warning if God did not intend to proceed with the destruction.

If you have never considered the concept of God as a father, I highly recommend studying the book of Jonah. It is a concise four-chapter work that can be completed in a single sitting. However, its profound insights have the potential to completely impact your understanding of life and leave a lasting impression on you.

Frequently, individuals who have been saved by God’s grace and mercy inadvertently hinder others from experiencing the same benevolence. We often favor God’s judgement over His mercy due to our inability to perceive His perspective and our belief in our own significance compared to the message we bear. Consequently, we desire God to punish, destroy, and inflict pain upon individuals for their refusal to acknowledge God’s mercy and submit to His will.

Did you know that Jonah expressed a desire to perish rather than acknowledge God’s mercy towards the people he was destined to reach?

Indeed, God is patient, kind, full of mercy, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. A God who relents from sending calamity!

Did you know that God even considered the well-being of livestock as one of his factors in deciding to show mercy upon the people? YES! Livestock!

As children of God, it is needless to emphasize that God is the owner of the message, and we are just messengers. And the owner of the message has the sole prerogative to do whatever he likes with His message. He decides when to change the message or whether to have mercy and cancel the message without the consent of the messenger.

SELAH!