Why a Prophet Runs


The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.  Jonah 1:1-3

I can see him...
stomping through his room, stuffing things randomly into a bag. His hand grabbing his mantle. Then he freezes. His jaw clenched, he clutches his mantle in a tight fist and he hesitates . . . in the bag? leave it behind? The word God told him to take to Nineveh was the last straw.  "Find yourself another prophet!", rages through his head, but sticks in his throat. To leave the mantle, the symbol of his anointing and ministry as a prophet...it would be final, really final. Shaking his head, Jonah stuffs the mantle into the bag, and storms off, slamming the door.

We can guess pretty safely that he had been living in or near Samaria since he did in fact give Jeroboam the word about expanding the territory. I think that that word was the second-to-last straw. I thank that word to Jeroboam caused him to run away from the Lord. What I think (as I mentioned in the last blog) is that Jonah rankled at telling the evil king the word from God . . . what ever it was . . . that told Jeroboam to expand the borders of Israel. I think Jonah was angry before God ever told him to go to Nineveh. Filled with righteous indignation, Jonah wantd to spit words of judgment into Jeroboam's face. But he had done as God asked, delivering a word of expansion...blessing. Then God said, "Go to the great city of Nineveh...". I think it was way more than he could swallow to go tell Nineveh anything! So. . .Jonah runs. 

Comments

  1. alannaApril 27, 2014 at 5:54 PM

    I am always amazed in reading this story. So many times I read the Bible, the events seem far off...but the actions of Jonah and God in this story are so close to how I see God working in my own life. He was so GRACIOUS to Jonah, even in His firmness.

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