So I am switching things up, I will be taking you on a journey into the lives of some of my favorite Bible characters, maybe not favorite but interesting, interesting is the word.
I have a knack for studying people and trying to think like them. Reading stories about different Bible characters has left me connecting with them, also figuring who i find more relatable than others and Jonah is relatable, Father Abraham is not, he is so perfect and sets the bar too high 😪 he sort of annoys me 🙃.
I’ve realized that most people only know the story of these characters from CRS/CRK 😫🤦🏼♀️ nothing deeper that’s why I’m here to help.
Before I get into this, I want to say a big thank you to everyone for your constant love and support. It’s been over a year and the love is amazing, I am grateful for those who have opened their hearts and have been touched in one way or the other, most especially grateful for the people I have come in contact with through this medium, y’all make every writing worth it. If this is your first time, you’re welcome to Fannie’s World.
JONAH
Jonah means “dove”. There are no records of his family except that his father’s name was Amittai. Jonah was a prophet. He was very important in history, not only was he chosen by God to take the gospel to the most powerful nation in the world as at then, he is also an author of a biblical book. Jonah was not just the man in the belly of the fish even though the three days and nights in the belly of the fish has a deeper meaning.
No fun thrill-ride could begin to compare with Jonah’s adventure. Ferris wheels, roller-coasters can’t match it. It’s one hell of an adventure, hope you’re ready ?
Grab your Bible let’s begin. There are four chapters in the book of Jonah.
CHAPTER 1- Disobedience & sinking your own ship.
In this very first chapter, God sent Jonah to the city of Nineveh to give them a message to warn them of the destruction to come because of their evil ways. But Jonah was afraid and decided to run away. Now why was he afraid ? And what made him run ? When Jonah thought about the people of Nineveh, he saw people who needed to be wiped out by God, people who didn’t deserve a second chance, so he disobeyed and ran. Unlike other bible characters Jonah is very relatable, paul as well due to his hot headed nature but you see the perfect ones like father Abraham I’m in awe every time of their story cuz I can’t relate. So Jonah is now sailing to another land called Tarshish, trying to get away from God, but Jehovah finds him I mean 😒 and sends a great storm. But here’s why Jonah is so interesting to me, he’s running away from God and still hides in the cargo 😂 as to say that God checks the ship but wouldn’t think to check the dark hold 😂.
So now the crew is fighting for their lives and they’re praying to their gods for help. They cast lots to figure out who is responsible for this and it falls on Jonah lol... of course it’s Jonah.
But now here is a selfless act, which I want you to keep in mind. He admits that he’s the reason and he offers a solution which is to be thrown into the sea. The part where you know from CRS/CRK, also the end of chapter 1 is where God arranges for a big fish to swallow Jonah (dramatic 😂) and he was in its belly for three days and three nights which is relative to Jesus‘s three days on earth before his resurrection.
Sometimes we bring a lot of trouble upon ourselves and our families simply by failing to listen to God— or having listened, by failing to obey. See link below for more elaboration on “sinking our own ship.”
https://stephheart09.wixsite.com/fanniesworld/post/let-it-go
CHAPTER 2 - Prayer & Thanksgiving
In this chapter we see a different side of our beloved Jonah. He is quite the man with different personalities. He is now in the belly of the fish and I cannot phantom what it feels like? I have questions about that experience.
He begins to pray, and what amazes me about Jonah’s prayer is that, it’s a prayer of thanksgiving. Mind you! Jonah had no idea God was going to send a fish to save his life, to him he was dying. So if you listen to the prayer he is thanking Jehovah for saving his life in advance while in the belly of a fish. He goes ahead in his prayer to assure God that he would fulfill his promises, remember Jonah is a prophet and a prophet of God is obligated to speak for God and guide the people. And after three days and three nights, God orders the fish to spit Jonah on the beach and it did.
CHAPTER 3- Thinking the worst & Repentance.
Here we see yet another side of Jonah, the side we had ought to see in the first chapter. An obedient servant of God. He went into the city and gave them the message that the Lord had given him, which was,
“Forty days from now, Nineveh would be destroyed.”
When the people heard this message they were afraid and repented from their evil ways and this surprised Jonah because he thought the message would offend them but the reverse was the case.
Now unlike other perfect men in the Bible (still referring to Abraham and his likes), he was excited to preach doom, he wanted to see these people destroyed.
Most prophets would even go out of their way to plead with God to have mercy, example, “Abraham” (Gen 18:24) or preach “repent or be destroyed.”
All that long talk wasn’t for Jonah, he wanted them wiped out of the face of the earth because their ways were too evil. I can imagine him shouting “Forty days from now, you will be destroyed” 😂😂 And honestly the people of Nineveh were something else even God was exhausted.
But when the Lord saw the hearts of these people, he had compassion on them and abolished his plans of destruction. And now this is what in modern times would send Jonah to a therapist. 😭
CHAPTER 4- Anger & Unforgiveness
God changing his plans of destruction on Nineveh had Jonah livid 😡😡 He was mad!!! He started to rant 😂 (this guy no dey fear). He was so angry because God forgave Nineveh and decided to give them another chance. Jonah was so angry he wanted to die ???¿¿
Jonah 4:3 - “Please kill me, Lord; I’d rather be dead than alive.”
Then God says something mind blowing, He said, “Is it right to be angry about this? ”
Meaning- this your anger now does it make sense ? 😂😂😭
I have started asking myself that question and you should too. When you feel anger building, ask yourself: Does this matter to God?
Jonah has it all backwards because of his feelings. He is character flawed and his a complainer. He thinks he knows it all but can you really blame Jonah? Nineveh was still destroyed by God because they went back to their sinful ways. So was Jonah right to have wanted them destroyed ?
So now you may be looking at Jonah like someone who doesn’t have human compassion and as someone who is unforgiving but that’s not who he is, remember in chapter one on the boat he offered his life for others. So.... far from it.
LESSONS
We need to be merciful and show forgiveness. Everyone is important and valuable in God’s sight. Most people are more concerned with material things than they are with other people, especially those who may have been unfair to them. God loves them all and we should too, no matter what they have done to us. Learn to forgive.
I really hope you enjoyed this.
Please like, comment and share 🦋