LEFT: Five-Minute Friday

Four Lefts That Reveal God’s Compassion

The Old Testament book of Jonah is one of the shortest books in the scriptures. But the length of the book doesn’t diminish the impact. Even Jesus called Jonah as a witness for an amazing statement about his own death and resurrection. In Matthew 12:40 Jesus says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Why not four days? Because death did not win. This is God’s compassion for sinners. There are four lefts in Jonah that reveal God’s compassion as well.

The Prophet Who Left His Job

There was a prophet in the Old Testament who was told to go to Ninevah. In Jonah 1:1-3, he records this: “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.’ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.”

God and Jonah certainly knew Ninevah’s evil. It was unparalleled. Jonah knew who was telling him to go to Ninevah – after all, he was a Hebrew prophet (Jonah 1:9). Jonah does the “reasonable” thing: he decided to leave where he was to flee from the Lord. He left. But it did him no good. His escape failed. But God left Jonah no room for his escape. You cannot outrun or outwit a compassionate God.

The Prophet Left the Fish as Vomit

You know the story. Jonah was thrown overboard by terrified sailors. A large fish had him for dinner. Jonah is probably the only person who ever held a prayer meeting in a fish. But after he prayed, he was deposited back on the land. Just imagine how he must have looked and smelled. Jonah 2:9 says, “And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” Don’t miss the Lord’s compassion.

The People Left Their Evil Way

Jonah left the coast and traveled to Ninevah. He preached the message God gave him. Then Jonah 3:5 reports, “And the people of Nineveh believed God.” Better yet, they repented. Verse ten of that same chapter says, “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” God gave them grace, mercy, and compassion.

You would have thought that Jonah would have been delighted. God used his preaching and the people repented. Sadly, Jonah tells us he had a temper tantrum.

Left or Right Hand?

Jonah was angry. He was “displeased exceedingly.” Jonah’s complaint was that he did not like the reality of God’s forgiveness. He said he knew the Lord was a “gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” He should have been pleased but he wasn’t. He was not pleased that God had pity on Ninevah.

Chapter four ends this way: God says, “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:11

“Here’s the thing,” to quote Monk. Jonah did not have any compassion for those who deserved to be punished, not remembering, or realizing he needed the same undeserved grace, mercy, steadfast love, and saving from God’s wrath. How do I know this is true? Romans 3:9-20 makes it very clear that we all stand before God deserving wrath and eternal death.

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

They know they don’t deserve God’s kindness any more than anyone else does. But they also know something wonderful. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.