Review of Previous Posts
The posts in this Jonah Series of the Prophets Section explore meanings for the story of Jonah. The previous post, Number 7 of 14, was the fourth of four posts discussing implications of the story of Jonah.
Preview of this Post
This is post, Number 8 of 14, discusses what the story of Jonah means to those who should know better, i.e., those who “know their right hand from their left.”
- What the story of Jonah teaches those who should know better.
How do the lessons of Jonah apply to those who already accept the God of Israel and do know right from wrong yet still chose wrong actions? The story of Jonah does not answer that question[1]. That is why we are not told what happened to Jonah at the end of the story. Jonah did know right from wrong, he had been given a warning when the ship was nearly sunk, and he apparently did consent to his mission. But at the end of the story he is unrepentant, and still stiff necked with respect to the issue of sparing Nineveh. In fact, a case might even be made that Jonah did not trust God as Jonah believed that the Ninevites would revert back to their ways and ultimately make trouble for the Israelites which implies that God would be assisting them in their transgressions against the Israelites. Jonah did not want to be part of that. Jonah did not want to be a prophet that saved Israel’s enemies or a prophet that predicted their doom if it was not going to occur (which showed he did not trust God). Jonah’s mistrust of God could be at the heart of why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh in the first place: he was afraid for his life. However, a true prophet would trust God to protect him, even in a hostile city such as Nineveh.
The story ends without telling us what happened to Jonah. We do not know Jonah’s fate, hence we do not know what this story tells us regarding repentance by those who do know right from wrong (their “right hand from their left”) and still choose to do wrong. Supposedly, the reader of this story will know right from wrong. Thus, this story is very relevant to that reader, not only from the standpoint of the Ninevites but especially from the standpoint of Jonah since the reader, like Jonah, will (or should) know right from wrong.
Preview of the next post
The next post, post Number 9 of 14, discusses the concept of repentance in the context of the story of Jonah.
[1] That question is clearly answered elsewhere, such as in the stories of the Judges.