The Book of Jonah offers a lot of insight into human nature, namely how we tend to succumb to such blinding vices as pride and self-pity. Jonah, like many people who are chosen by God to do his work, is an unlikely candidate, for although he repents at one point, his natural tendency is to refrain from swallowing his pride. Despite this human characteristic of Jonah, there are moments of virtue in which Jonah acts like a man of God, such as his sincere repentance. We all try our best to act like men and women of God even though it is easy to instead act in a way that is below holiness, and the book of Jonah clearly conveys this message.
In the beginning of the book, God calls Jonah, but he is frightened and runs away. The heroic thing for Jonah to have done in this situation would be to listen to and obey God’s wishes, but instead he chooses to flee. This is understandable, for being called by God is not something to take lightly, but he does not act with grace by fleeing from God. Besides fear, Jonah soon falls into another vice: selfish ignorance. This flaw is manifested while he is on the boat, for while the boat he is on endures “a mighty tempest on the sea,” Jonah “lay, and was fast asleep” (Jonah 1:4, 5). It would be impossible for Jonah not to realize the storm outside, so like the way he flees from God, Jonah is attempts to avoid his responsibilities by trying to ignore them. Jonah is not a bad guy or a criminal, for the text takes special notice of the fact that he does not cheat because he paid in full for the boat fare. He is just a man who is prone to giving into selfish ways. Jonah then redeems himself by allowing himself to be cast overboard, but he only does so after he is forced to by the realization that there is no escape from the waves. What matters, though, is that he repents, which he does with great emotion, and Jonah is saved by God.
As soon as Jonah returns to the shore, he gets up and does as God told him to. This is similar to how Jonah volunteered to be thrown off the boat in the previous chapter: Jonah does the right thing with conviction, yet it seems as though he only does so after he reaches the point where he is forced to. Nevertheless, Jonah goes to Nineveh to prophesy, and the people of the city hear him, repent, and atone for their sins. This angers Jonah, and he starts being dramatic both by saying that God should have stuck to his word and killed the Ninevites, and by claiming that he is so angry and embarrassed that he could die. Jonah is still being selfish and prideful, for he tells God that he is unhappy with His decision and believes that God has purposefully embarrassed him. Jonah goes and sulks off into the desert, where God gives him a gourd to provide shade. He likes the gourd, but it soon dies from a worm, an intensely hot sun, and a raging wind. Rather than swallow his pride or even get up to go to city for relief and shade, Jonah wallows in self-pity and suffers the elements, probably because he wants God to feel bad for him. God verbally scolds Jonah for his actions by explaining his reasoning for sparing Nineveh in terms of the gourd, and His message is that in order for your crops to bear fruit, you must care for, trim, and cultivate them. This is a central theme of the book: that in order for people to be good, they must learn to be better from their mistakes and sins.
Although Jonah is not necessarily a bad guy, he gives in to lower, selfish actions frequently. One of the main messages of the book of Jonah, besides the aforementioned, is that man creates his own fate. The Ninevites were wicked, but they truly repented and even atoned for their sins, which leads to their being saved. Jonah on the other hand refused to embrace God’s forgiveness and punished only himself in both choosing to be prideful and remain in the desert sun, and by choosing not to put in the effort to cultivate the gourd which could have also provided relief. As the book progresses, Jonah’s actions become increasingly more petty and selfish to the point that at the end of the story, Jonah has allowed himself to be swayed by his own actions and now lacks the discernment to understand that what he is doing is totally wrong. Thus, God is a forgiving God who gives us every chance to truly come clean and receive his forgiveness, yet if we are not vigilant about our morals, it is all too easy for our conscience to become numb to what is right and wrong.
PJ
Yonkers, NY