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 4 of 14, was the first of four posts presenting several implications for the story of Jonah.
Preview of this Post
This is post 5 of 14 and is the second of four posts presenting implications for the story of Jonah.
- D. Jonah was biased
The plant episode might also demonstrate to Jonah that he was biased and that his reluctance to carry out the mission to Nineveh was motivated by animosity toward the non-believers of Nineveh. Since Jonah could care about a mere plant, it was not non-caring that motivated Jonah to resist the mission. If it was not non-caring, it probably was animosity, fear of the powerful city of Nineveh, and perhaps vengeance. God would not accept such attitudes from Jonah.
On the other hand, Jonah’s reluctance might be more solidly based on his belief that the quick repentance and self-punishment of the Ninevites[1] showed that they were not sincere and that God’s acceptance of the actions of the Ninevites was misplaced.
- God does not punish those who do not know better.
During the plant episode, God mentions that these people did not know their right hand from their left and then mentions beasts. Simon in the JPS Commentary associated with Jonah 4:11 states that the mention of “their right hand from their left” implies that they did not know good from evil. That would be consistent with the mention of beasts which do not know good from evil. Thus, God was saying that punishing someone for something that they did not know was wrong and God would not do it. A blind application of a rule such as all transgressions (and paganism is clearly a transgression) are punished is unreasonable, and God is not unreasonable. God is admonishing Jonah for not recognizing that and for seeking to punish for acts that were committed not knowing that they were wrong. Before they knew God, the pagans and non-believers of Nineveh could not be expected to know right from wrong. And God would not punish transgressions committed out of ignorance[2].
Preview of the next post
The next post, Number 6 of 14, is the third of four posts discussing implications of the story of Jonah.
[1] In Jonah 3:3-4, it is stated that Nineveh was a city that required a three-day walk to traverse, yet barely one day in Jonah declared the overthrow of Nineveh (in only eight words (“Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4)!) may have been correct, this is awfully fast to be sincere, plus Jonah had not been alerted that the repentance might be rapid, so from a practical and human viewpoint, he was properly skeptical. God’s acceptance of such rapid repentance would seem to leave the door open to deathbed repentances, of which we are generally skeptical; however, as this story shows, it is God who makes the judgment as to whether repentance is genuine or not, and even rapid repentances can be accepted if they are genuine.
[2] In Jonah 3:8, the people of Nineveh were instructed to “call mightily to God” which seems to imply that the Ninevites were instructed to accept Jonah’s God and further implying that they had not accepted Jonah’s God previously. Thus, the Ninevites did not know Jonah’s God and thus did not know “their right hand from their left” and were thus like the beasts in not knowing right from wrong and thus could not be held responsible for purposes of punishment and consequences.