Jonah

The book of Jonah is nestled in towards the end of the Old Testament. It's easy to miss- in my 1,334 page you'll find the book of Jonah on pages 916,917. The story of Jonah is a popular one. Follow the Lord, or you might end up in the belly of a big fish. I think even Disneyland has a ride that takes you into the mouth of a fish, doesn't it?!? David and I have spent time talking about our experience in Ann Arbor as our running from God to avoid where God had called us: Detroit.... but this small tale has had more impact in my life than I imagined. So first I am going to summarize the book of Jonah before I babble on with my experience.
So God calls Jonah to Nineveh, but he ran from the Lord to Tarshish and went to Joppa and goes on a ship. While on the ship massive storms come and the other people on the ship are scared and know Jonah is running from God (he told them). The storm gets worse and worse and the only way to make it calm is to throw Jonah overboard--- so over he goes and God saves him by putting him in the belly of a fish... then Jonah calls on the Lord and rededicates himself as a servant of God. So God commands the fish to vomit out on dry land. (There's a sketch for you, Sue!) Off Jonah goes to Nineveh proclaiming that the city is going to get overturned because of what they're doing... well eventually they turn back to God and He spares the city. The End. Nope... that's where I thought it ended, until I read with more care yesterday. Ch. 4 JONAH'S ANGER AT THE LORD'S COMPASSION
There's a title for you. How can he possibly be angry at the Lord's compassion? ?
So Jonah leaves the city and is outside pouting about God's compassion- how he is slow to anger and abounding in love. So he's out pouting in the sun so God provides a vine to shade him from discomfort and Jonahs was happy about the vine. The next day God provides a worm to eat the vine so it dies away leaving Jonah exposed to the heat of the sun. So the last verses in the book are, 10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" I think God is talking about the number of people (perhaps children) in the city who are in need of a moral compass. Anyway... you can write your thoughts about that interpretation in comments if you want.

Ok now read the other post.