The story of Jonah is far more than an account about a big fish swallowing a man and then spitting him back up on the land. That is certainly the most memorable part of Jonah, the one which fascinates and stirs the imagination, but it is only a small piece of a much more profound narrative. It is a story about the call of God, about disobedience and mercy, about jealousy and anger, about compassion, and, of course, the lack of it. It begins by telling us the Word of the Lord came to Jonah and said, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” Jonah is sent as a prophet of the Most High, to proclaim His wrath against the wickedness of the entire city of Nineva. So, Jonah gets up and goes… in the exact opposite direction. The text says he fled “to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” This is not exactly what you would expect a prophet of the Lord to do. He tries to escape from the presence of God. In fact, he goes to great lengths to get away.

Of course, there is no escape. There is a storm, a massive fish, and a three-day journey through the depths of the sea in the belly of the leviathan that puts Jonah back on his given course toward Nineva. But why does he try to flee in the first place? Why did he not want to go to Nineva as God had told him? These questions get to the heart of this text. We may guess he was afraid, that he thought the task was simply too much, too overwhelming. But we do not need to guess the reason, for Jonah himself tells us. His reasoning probably seems shocking when we first hear it. In chapter 4, he says, “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” He knew God was merciful and this is why he did not want to go to Nineva. His struggle, it turns out, does not seem to be with a fear of the Ninevites, or the heavy burden of the task of condemnation. His struggle is with the mercy of God.

In many ways, this is the one thing Jonah knows. He recognizes God is gracious and merciful, that He will relent from disaster, and abounds in steadfast love. But there is so much more he does not know that he longs to know, that he hopes to know but cannot know. His call is strange among God’s prophets. After all, he is not called to the lost sheep of Israel, but to Gentiles, to outsiders of the children of Israel. No doubt he is familiar with the regular words of the prophets, for Israel to turn from their idolatry, to come back to their God in repentance. So, he longs to know why the history of his nation is a record of a people of God who remain in rebellion, who refuse to repent, or if they do repent it is short lived and shallow. Over and again, they turn away from their God. They reject His commandments and fall to ruin. Perhaps, if he could only preach to them, if he could speak a forceful Word of God to them, they might finally get it. But no, he is sent to outsiders, and he does not know why. It does not make sense. Why does anyone care about the Ninevites?

Who knows why those Jonah loved continued to rebel, and to stand in opposition to the Lord. Of course, you experience this reality with those you know and love, with friends and family members who simply will not hear the Word of God, who will not turn to Him no matter what. You can break down the intellectual barriers, appeal to history, science, or art and still they will not trust in God. They will not turn to Him, even though He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Therefore, like Jonah, you wonder, “Why some and not others?” Why are there outsiders, degenerates, people who have lived in constant opposition to God who end up repenting and believing while there are those you love and know, people who are good, kind, and compassionate who steadfastly refuse to turn to our God? Why does God’s mercy find one and not the other?

Nineveh was a great Assyrian city. Not only was it a seat of power, but along with that power came corruption and decadence. They were known for their violence and brutality. They practiced idolatry and cruel customs such as infanticide. Like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the whole city was held accountable for their disobedience and God promises they will be overthrown. Jonah is sent to deliver this judgment. Their ignorance of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is about to end. And with their new knowledge of God will come the knowledge of their sin, of their wicked ways. It is the light that reveals how dark the transgression is. It is the truth that makes known the lie. It is the promise of real life that displays the corruption of death.

But remember what Jonah knows. He knows God is merciful, and that is the problem. He knows if there is repentance, if there is a confession of sin from the Ninevites, God will forgive. He now knows he cannot run away from God, that there is no turning for him from the task he is supposed to do. So, having been convinced about going to Ninevah through a three day stay in the belly of a fish, Jonah begins to make the Word of God known to the Ninevites. It takes him three days to traverse the great city, and all throughout it he preaches. He preaches the most lackluster and boring sermon you have ever heard. He does it without love for the Ninevites, without any compassion at all. It is only eight words long in our text (just six in the original Hebrew). From one end to the other he says, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

That is it. That is the sermon. Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And what happens is shocking. What happens is what Jonah has feared. What happens is unexpected, to say the least. The Ninevites repent. They hear this Word and actually believe it. They believe God is going to destroy their city and they are terrified, so terrified they do everything they can to avert their doom. They call for a fast. They put on sackcloth. Their king even removes his royal robes and sits in ashes. They go as far as covering not only every man but every best with sackcloth. Perhaps, if they do enough, if they display their humility, their grief over the sin, if they truly turn from their sinful actions and seek righteousness, maybe God will not do this thing. In fact, the king actually says, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

Who knows? Could there really be room for hope? But Jonah knew. He knew how God responds to repentance. He knew of the Lord’s mercy and His steadfast love. What is happening is precisely what he did not want to happen. Of course, God knows. He knows the totality of what is happening. He knows the unstoppable mission which is unfolding and will come to a crescendo in His only begotten Son. He knows that all repentance will find its hope in the death and resurrection of Christ. He knows you are sinners who cannot save yourself. He knows. He knows you sin in thought, word, and deed. He knows without His actions, without His mercy, without His gifts you too are overthrown like a rebellious city.

So, God turns from His wrath. He turns from His proclamation of doom. And God knows that this message, this good news cannot and will not be constrained within the walls of Jerusalem. It will go out to the ends of the Earth. It will stretch across the sea and make its way right here, right now. He knows you will be here, and that you will need to hear this. He knows you, for He calls you. He washes you. He feeds you. He forgives you and loves you. Repent and believe the Good News, for you know our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.