LEARNING DAILY

Jonah 1:1-2, Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

The next few days I would like to share some questions I have been considering as a result of the eclipse that occurred on April 8 of this year. This past weekend, I had some quiet time when I read the first three chapters of Jonah to see if I could get some answers to what some have said about Jonah’s day and how it relates the eclipse that just occurred. But first, let me share some things about Nineveh.

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River; It is located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. Nineveh is first found in the Bible in the Genesis 10:11. There we can read that Nineveh was built by Nimrod. Nineveh became known for its great power, wealth and prestige. The city included many temples including one to the Assyrian goddess Ishtar. The people of Nineveh also worshipped the god named Dagon and his female goddess, Nanshe; they were half fish and half man creatures. In addition to their idolatry, it must also be written that the Assyrians were known for their great cruelty.

That very short description gives a little background to why Jonah was sent to Nineveh with the warning they must repent. “For their wickedness has come up before Me.” Perhaps their great wickedness is why Jonah decided to try to run from God’s mission. But God

 knew where Jonah was, interrupted his plans and got him back to Nineveh. There are a number of miracles found in the first two chapters of Jonah.

The first one is found in chapter one verse 4, “the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea”. God had everything under control in this situation; He wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and not continue on in disobedience. Proverbs 3:11 tells us, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction”. There is the idea of punishment involved here. However, chastening involves teaching or training rather than punishment for wrongdoing. I find it interesting that Jonah was “fast asleep” during the storm.

In verse seven the Bible tells us that the crew “cast lots” in order to find out who had caused this trouble to come upon them. The lot fell on Jonah. God, still in control, made sure that the outcome of this would fall on Jonah.

Moving on to verse fifteen, Jonah is thrown into the sea and “the sea ceased from its raging”. As soon as Jonah hit the water (my sanctified imagination), the storm stopped, and the water became calm. As a footnote, those on the ship who were terrified of the storm, now “feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice and took vows”. These vows were probably promises to offer more sacrifices when they returned safely to their homes. They would have quite the experience to share.

Chapter two begins with “the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah”. Again, this was not for punishment but to discipline Jonah and restore him to the plan God wanted him to accomplish. God always wants to restore those who step off the narrow way – just a reminder!

Veres 2-5 of chapter 2, Jonah expresses thanksgiving to God for keeping him alive in the belly of this fish. Jonah understands that God knows all things. I can’t really understand what Jonah must have experienced at this time!

Jonah 2:10, “God spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land”. Again, I write I can just imagine what this must have been like. God gets him where He wanted him to go. Don’t you believe God does the same for us. Think back to when you ran from God. Do you see His hand in your life getting you to where you are now walking on a narrow way into His kingdom for eternity?

So, in the next page of the blog, I want to go the questions I have regarding the eclipse and its relationship to the part of Jonah’s message to Nineveh.