Jonah The Prophet Biographical Essay

Jonah was the disobedient prophet who decided to do his mission by taking a route that was not according to God. The story of Jonah was published during the reign of King Jeroboam II probably between 792-753 BC in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. During his period, God was acting too human errors immediately. Thus he did not hesitate to punish Jonah by making him spend in the whale for four days (Willmington n. p.). After the fish spat him on the shores Nineveh, Jonah repented and urged the people of Nineveh to follow his way by repenting and wearing ragged clothes as a sign of remorsefulness (2 Kings 14:24-25).

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Jonah had been commissioned by God to convey a message of judgment to the Assyrians in the Capital of Nineveh. Jonah was informed, "arise and go to Nineveh the great city and wail against it due to the wickedness that has been seen before me" (Jonah 1:1-2). However, Jonah did not see the essence of God forgiving the people of Nineveh by letting them repent their sins. Just after the God had commissioned Jonah to lay a message of repentance to Assyrians, Jonah decided to defy the word of God by running away from God's presence by going to Tarshish. Even though Nineveh was about 500 miles, Jonah chose to go to Tarshish which was about 2,500 miles West of Gath-Hepher his hometown. Indeed, Jonah had planned to defy God. According to the difference between the two cities, Jonah was genuinely putting a distance to avoid giving the message of God to the Assyrians.

Jonah was not happy about the Assyrians since they were idolatrous, ruthless and proud. Additionally, Assyrians were a threat to Israelites thus Jonah wanted them to be punished by God. According to Jonah 4:2, "I knew you are God of Grace and compassion," and that "you would relent sending calamity," it is clear that Jonah wanted Assyrians to be destroyed by God (Mann 20).

Jonah was judgmental and wanted God to convict the people of Nineveh instead of giving them a second chance to show their remorsefulness and change according to his will. Later, God's punishment to Jonah and the reason why the whale spat him on the shores of Nineveh was to show that God's purpose cannot be manipulated. The theme portrayed in the situation is connected to the fact that Jonah did not know that the mercy of God cannot be delayed or corrupted by human imperfection (Mann, 21). It was also outlined that God is slow to wrath and giving judgment. Even though humans can have enemies, the situation of Jonah and the Assyrians shows that the mercy of God extends to both good and bad people. Additionally, Jonah and the aspect of repentance for the Assyrians indicates that God's plan of salvation is open to all irrespective of the life that people have ever lived.

Conclusion

According to Jeremiah 23:24, Jonah learned that at no point can one run from the face of God. The verse mentions the words of God that "do I not fill heaven and earth?" (MANN 20) According to Jonah 2:2, God heard the prayer of Jonah inside the whale and offered him protection to fulfill his mission.

Works Cited

Mann, Steven T. "Performative Prayers of a Prophet: Investigating the Prayers of Jonah as Speech Acts." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 20-40. EBSCOhost, www.thecampuscommon.com/library/ezproxy/ticketdemocs.asp?sch=suo&turl=http://search.ebscohost.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiG0V170206001649&site=eds-live.

MANN, STEVEN T. "Performative Prayers of a Prophet: Investigating the Prayers of Jonah as Speech Acts." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 79, no. 1 (January 2017): 20-40. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed June 22, 2018).

Willmington, Harold. "Jonah at a Glance." (2017). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=owners_manual