Jonah 4:10-11 Then the LORD said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons? (NRSV)
The kingdom of Israel was at war with the Assyrian empire — and they were losing. The empire would raid their cities and take their gold, treasures, and people. And if someone tried to stop them, they would not listen to their arguments or consider their point of view. Instead, they would kidnap them, or torture them, or kill them in gruesome, terrible, painful ways so that everyone would know what happens to anyone who tried to stop the empire.
As the Assyrians took over, Jonah saw his friends disappear in the middle of the night. Children were stolen. He saw loved ones suffer, he saw neighbors in the streets bleeding, he witnessed family members dying. And after the terrible things he saw, after the people he lost, he really didn’t know if he could go on living. His world was bleak, and his future felt meaningless. He was floating in a black ocean of misery and didn’t know if he would ever be happy again.
But then Jonah had an idea, an idea that became a mission, a mission that became a purpose, a purpose that captivated his mind and occupied his thoughts all day, every day: he was going to end the empire. And he knew how to do it, too. He had heard stories about Elijah and Elisha defeating armies and standing up to kings and priests. If they could do that, so could he. And so Jonah would become a prophet.
Jonah worked very hard. He prayed, fasted, hoped, and believed that his prayers would be answered. He listened, he strained, he contemplated, he waited to hear God’s voice. He would get a revelation, somehow, someway, he’d do it. He’d learn to call down fire from heaven and fight for his people. To save them from the empire. But day after day, as he prayed and listened, he just heard the birds outside, or the wind, or the people passing by. No voice from heaven.
But Jonah did not give up. Instead, he went to Prophet School and studied under the great prophet Amos. He graduated top of his class and opened an office and printed business cards saying, “For visionary, accurate prophecies, call Jonah.” And then one day, he got the call he wanted. It was from the king of Israel himself. The king was fighting the Assyrians, and he wanted to know who would win. And Jonah prayed to God and felt deep in his heart that Israel was going to win, and so he ran to the king and exclaimed: “You will win! Israel is going to win!”
But his teacher, Amos, gave the king a different prophecy. “You will lose,” Amos said. And the battle raged on, and in the end, Amos was right. Israel lost. And Jonah was confused and a little embarrassed. But still, he did not give up. And he prayed and prayed and prayed and fasted and prayed and fasted some more and prayed some more until finally, he heard something. It was soft, hard to make out, mumblings in the distance, and then all at once, it was clear as day, like God was whispering in Jonah’s ear.
“Jonah,” God said. “Together we are going to topple the empire.”
Jonah almost jumped with excitement. But he had to keep listening. He was not going to miss a word. This was everything he’d hoped for. And God continued.
“I need you to go to Assyria, to the very heart of the empire, and tell them to repent. Tell them to stop torturing and killing and doing all these terribly wicked things. Just stop it. Stop it right away, or else I am going to destroy them. But if they repent, I will bless them.”
And then the voice was gone. Jonah fell to the ground. This was nothing like what he’d expected. It made no sense. Had the empire not tortured and killed and plundered enough already? Had his friend and family members’ suffering meant nothing to God? And what about the children? What about the children stolen from their families? Was that a mere trifle? Something God could simply overlook?
Jonah was not going to be used this way. He had become a prophet to save Israel, not to save the empire. He hated the empire. His body shook, his chest grew cold, his heart beat fast. His hate for the empire was deeper than his love for his own people. Deeper than his love for God. Deeper than his love for himself. He’d willingly give his own life if it meant ending the empire. And so if Jonah was the empire’s last hope, then he’d go as far from Assyria as possible. If he couldn’t destroy them, at least he wasn’t going to help save them.
And so Jonah packed a bag and ran away. He ran all the way to the sea. But the sea wasn’t far enough. And so he boarded a ship and set sail. He didn’t care where he was going. He didn’t care if he could find a job or make a living or even survive. Whatever he did, he was not going to save the empire.
And as the ship sailed, Jonah’s anger turned to rage. And the rage filled his soul, and his mind caught fire. And his memories burned and shriveled, turning into ash. The soldiers in the street, the empire’s flag, the Assyrians’ songs pulsed in his mind. He hated them, every bit of them. He hated the king, the soldiers, and the armies of Israel who had fallen and failed to stop the empire. He hated the people in the streets who were too weak to fight back, the people like himself who survived and just continued living as if they could just move on. But most of all, he hated God who had let it all happen.
His mind was a storm with lightning, thunder, swells, wind, and torrents. But then a salty wave hit him in the face. The storm wasn’t in his mind at all. It was real. And the waves were getting bigger, the wind faster, and the thunder louder. This was the end. And Jonah understood: God was accepting his resignation. God had come to end his life.
“This is my fault,” Jonah told the sailors. “God is punishing me. Throw me overboard, and you will see. The storm will stop.”
So the sailors threw Jonah over, and right away, the storm stopped. And Jonah was once again floating in an ocean of desperation. He was ready to die. He stared at the sky and waited to sink down into the water where the waves and fish would claim him. But he did not die. Instead, a whale came and swallowed him whole, and carried him back to land where it spit him out on the beach, completely and entirely alive. And when Jonah woke up, he knew exactly what he had to do. God had come for Jonah — not to punish him, but to save him, and to put him to work.
And Jonah knew he didn’t deserve it. And if he didn’t deserve it, neither did the Assyrians. God was not saving them because they were good or because they hadn’t done bad things. They had done terrible things. But he was still saving them. He was saving them for the same reason he had saved Jonah. Because they were his, and they were in trouble. They were lost in the middle of the ocean. And he wouldn’t just abandon them.
And while Jonah didn’t understand it, he found the strength to try. He walked straight to the center of the empire, and he did what God had sent him to do. He told the Assyrians to repent, and he taught them about the God of his ancestors, who was powerful but compassionate, just but forgiving. And who hadn’t given up on the people of Assyria. It took everything Jonah had. All his strength. All his generosity. All his self-control. And he preached as hard as he’d ever prayed.
And when he was done, he left the city and went onto a hill to watch. And Jonah hoped he had failed, that the Assyrians would ignore his message, and maybe send an army to find Jonah and kill him like they had done to so many other people from the family of Jacob. Jonah wouldn’t even run. He’d be glad to die now, knowing the empire was about to be destroyed. Because if they didn’t repent, God would finally send a storm, or lightning, or a meteor to finish them off. And Jonah would have fulfilled his life’s goal.
And so Jonah fell asleep, exhausted by his preaching and anger and hope and desperation. And God saw Jonah sleeping, and he was proud of Jonah. Because for just a moment, Jonah managed to push down his hate. He’d preached a message of hope and forgiveness to his enemies. He’d worked hard. And now, he was sound asleep, the sun beating against his face, causing it to burn. So God grew a small bush to give Jonah shade.
And when Jonah woke, he sat in the shade and watched as his dream fell apart: the Assyrians were repenting. Was it possible? They were not going to kill or torture or sin anymore. And God was going to bless them for their decision to be good. And Jonah watched, not realizing he’d done it. He’d toppled the empire from within. Not with armies or lightning, but with forgiveness and redemption. But Jonah couldn’t see the miracle. He felt no joy or sense of accomplishment.
The bush covering Jonah withered and died, and he was left in the harsh sunlight. So he yelled at God, “How could you? How dare you take that shade away from me!” But God knew Jonah was saying a lot more than that. He wasn’t talking about a bush. He was asking some really big, hard-to-answer questions like, “How could you forgive the Assyrians after what they’ve done to my people? If you were going to save them, why did it have to be through me?” And Jonah wept, not understanding.
He was just floating on the surface of God’s big plan. His imagination could not stretch as big or as wide as God’s imagination. And his love was not as big or as strong as God’s love. And his forgiveness was not as deep or as pure as God’s forgiveness. Jonah was no whale. He could not live in the ocean or plumb the mysterious depths. If anything, he was a temporary bush that provided shade for a moment and then was gone.
And perhaps that is all any of us can be. But don’t forget that while a bush is no whale, it was also a gift from God. And so, if you can, even for just a moment, be a bush. Be like Jonah. Give shade when you can, as long as you can. And if you get lost, or feel yourself treading the infinite depths and fear you might sink, please know that God is sending a whale to save you. And it is big enough to swallow you whole.
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