Jonah knows

How much does God love us?

People who know Him personally should know the answer to that question.

If you would put the above question to Jonah of the Bible, would he know?

Investigating Jonah's experience will be productive in answering the question.

Let me relate some part of the story below:

All Jonah was supposed to do was "go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before"¹ God but he went the opposite direction towards Tarshish. We all know what happens after this. A storm came and Jonah ended up being thrown overboard a ship. He was swallowed by a big fish. He repented in the fish's stomach.

After his fish experience Jonah went to Nineveh and "proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.""² The whole of Nineveh repented when they heard this.

You will notice that God "had compassion and did not bring... the destruction he had threatened" upon Nineveh after they had "turned from their evil ways".³

Then the Bible says "Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."⁴

How much did God love the citizen of Nineveh? A whole lot, since He sent Jonah to warn them of the coming destruction.

Jonah on the other hand fled to Tarshish because "knew that" God is "a gracious and compasionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity"⁵ He wasn't concerned about the people of Nineveh, instead, I think he was more concerned over what people would think of him when what he has spoken would not come to pass, since God is so gracious. Can you believe it - Jonah gets angry at God and argues God over this.

I mean, if I was a preacher and the whole city turned to God because of just one statement that I made then it would make me very happy not angry at God. I would be gloating somewhat when I pray to God that night. But no not Jonah.

So God had to teach Jonah a lesson: "But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"

"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?""⁶

So, again, if we ask Jonah about God's love for us, he would know.

Friend, whatever you think of me should not concern me much, but your answer to the above question is something that I am very concerned about.

God loves you very much! It may be a surprise to find out, but He is full of love, grace and mercy toward you. Yes, the Bible says that we deserve worse and worser still for our sins but the same Bible says that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die as a ransom for us; to give us a free gift, a chance at freedom from the coming destruction of our lives, i.e death and hell that we deserve as sinners.

Did you know that you can stand before the Almighty God right now with an strong assurance that all you sins are forgiven, and have a real personal relationship with Him?

If you wants this in your life then pray the following prayer and mean it:

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. Your Word says, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). I am calling on You. I pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life according to Romans 10:9-10. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." I do that now. I confess that Jesus is Lord, and I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead.

What next?
- Tell someone else what happened to you just now.
- Attend a church regularly and stay committed.
- Get yourself a Bible and study it.
- Learn more about walking with God and practice what you learnt.

One last thing: Welcome to the family God! Let me know so I can remember you in my prayers

(The story of Jonah is in the Book of Jonah, it has four short chapters. Here are two links to online Bibles http://www.biblegateway.com/ and http://www.htmlbible.com/)

1. Jonah 1:2 NIV


2. Jonah 3:4 NIV


3. Jonah 3:10 NIV


4. Jonah 4:1-3 NIV


5. Jonah 4:2 NIV


6. Jonah 4:4-10