Day 191 – Jonah: Character sketch
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.” Jonah 1:3 NLT
Few Old Testament personalities can compare in transparency with the prophet Jonah – we can see right through him. And most of what we see, we don’t like or agree with. He reminds us too much of ourselves: selfish, spiteful, angry, unforgiving, and proud.
Even when he wasn’t physically running away from God, he was still resisting Him in his heart. He was quite capable of putting on a show of obedience to cover a seething internal mutiny. When he entered the city of Nineveh with God’s message, he delivered it as a summary judgment and offered no way of escape. Jonah flatly declared the city’s destruction. God bluntly confronted Jonah (as he does us) with the reality of his disobedience, the pettiness of his demand for comfort, and the sinfulness of his blatant disregard for others. The wonderful character of God that Jonah wanted to withhold from the Ninevites, he had been taking for granted.
Strengths and accomplishments
Jonah was sent (and finally went) to an enemy nation with God’s message and was instrumental in the repentance of the population of a huge city.
Weaknesses and mistakes
Jonah thought he could avoid God’s call by running away, sacrificing himself, belligerently obeying, and sulking to nullify God’s will by sulking.
Life lessons from Jonah’s life
God cares deeply for us and for the people we resent and hate. He will accomplish His purposes, even through reluctant and unwilling servants. God is patient with sinners and with His servants.
Prayer: Father, thank You for teaching us deep and valuable life lessons from Jonah’s story and for circumcising our hearts to understand Your love for this world. Amen.
