Jonah - the prodigal prophet!

Jonah grew up near Nazareth at the village of Gath Hepher, and lived about 800 B.C. or a little after during the reign of Jeroboam II, the king of Israel (2 Kings 14:25). Jonah was therefore a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose predecessors were Elijah and Elisha. Hosea and Amos would likely have been Jonah’s contemporaries.

His previous message was one of restoration of boundaries to Israel, now he was called to preach against a city and its wickedness.

Jonah may have been as gentle as a dove, as his name implies and spitting "hell fire and brimstone" was way out of his comfort zone.

Also, He didn't want to preach repentance and for God to offer forgiveness to the undeserving nation of Ninevah.

But 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." Jonah 4:1-2


4:4 But the Lord replied, Have you any right to be angry? Jonah doesn't answer but sulks and waits to see what would happen to the city.


God gives him shade and provides a vine, then he takes it away, Jonah's reaction is one of seething anger - he wants to die. Through this God shows Jonah that He has compassion on the people of Nineveh, people who don't know their right hand from their left.


Holding onto anger is a stumbling block to offering forgiveness. When I am feeling like Jonah I need to remember what God asked Jonah "What right have I to be angry"

2 Corinthians 2:7-11 gives us great insight into forgiveness. If you don't forgive, Satan will outwit you and you open the door to his schemes.


"7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs".

Tarshish is a well known port