The Story of Jonah

Yahweh instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against it because of its wickedness, but Jonah didn’t wanted to go. Instead, he boarded a ship for Tarshish to flee from Yahweh. On board, he stayed in the ship’s hold maybe thinking Yahweh won’t find him there. When the ship sailed, a mighty storm threatened to sink the ship which made the sailors throw some of their cargoes to lighten the ship’s load and they cried out to their own gods for their safety. When the ship captain saw Jonah asleep in the ship’s hold unmindful of what was happening above deck, he asked Jonah to pray to his God so that they will not perish. The sailors cast out lots to find out who is responsible for the disaster. The lot fell on Jonah, so they questioned him where he was from and Jonah told them his story. When they knew that Jonah was fleeing from Yahweh they were terrified and asked him what they shall do to make the sea calm down which was by that time getting more rough.

Jonah told them to throw him overboard, because he knew that it was because of him that there was a storm. But the sailors still did their best to row back to land and the sea became much rougher than before. Finally, after asking Yahweh’s pardon for having to do what they had to do, they threw Jonah overboard, and the raging sea calmed down. A large fish swallowed Jonah where he stayed in its belly for three days and three nights. There he prayed to Yahweh for deliverance and the fish upon Yahweh’s command belched him out into dry land. The word of Yahweh came to Jonah a second time and this time he obeyed and went to Nineveh to announce the message that God gave to him, which was the destruction of Nineveh if the people won’t repent of their wicked ways.

Jonah’s story maybe similar to some of our stories if we come to ponder on our lives. When trials besieged us that we come to a point of almost giving up, maybe we should ask ourselves if we are fleeing from something that God wants us to do. Perhaps, there is a task or a path that He wants us to do or follow but we want to pursue our own goals because we are deaf to his prompts and blind to His opportunities. So in following our own plans and ambitions, we encounter so many obstacles that we become bewildered why we are being tested so and everything seems insurmountable. Our rocking boat affects our relationship with family and friends too. And I’m sure that if we were at the same time and event like Jonah’s, they would like to cast lots too to determine who is the one responsible for their sufferings. How embarrassing it would be if the lot will fall on us! A soul searching will make us realize that there is something that God wanted us to do but we turned our backs on it. Then in utter dejection, we give up in surrender and abandon ourselves to God’s providence and we mope and cry with someone whom God sent to comfort us in our despair. It is during this time that we come to be still and reflect on what happened and what was possibly the cause. After reflection, comes submission to His will and then in obedience we become at peace with ourselves and with the world and everything falls into place. Which reminds me of the song, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you, Allelu, alleluia!”