Author: Admin

Jonah is a bad boy in the OT: “Dare to be a Daniel. Pray like Jabez. Praise like David. But don’t be a Jonah,” would go the modern Christian spin on these OT dramatis personae. Jonah is lowly esteemed; thought to be a scoundrel prophet. This is the moralism of popular OT study that reduces Jonah to a judgement-monger who we would all do well to stay far from in our exmplarism. This is the hermeneutic that excoriates the covenant storyline from the biblical character’s life to simplistically heroize or villainize their actions for modern hearers. In the case of Jonah, we get to pat ourselves on the back that we love and welcome strangers with the gospel while he wanted them to burn.

Jonah certainly sinned with a high-hand, and he does represent what is wrong with us in our fallen condition when we become provincial with the gospel or desire to improve upon God’s mission. But one thing Jonah was not is a coward. Nor did he weakly believe God’s covenant. He understood it very well- much better than we do when we read the book owning his name.

It was covenantally predictable envy and jealousy that keep Jonah from his mission- envy and jealousy that was prophesied long ago, (See Deut. 32:16-22).  While his story is historically true at every point, Jonah also lived out envy and jealousy as a covenant parable of a wayward Covenant People. His balking at God’s mission derived from his profoundly covenantal recognition that YHWH’s mission to Nineveh corresponded to YHWH’s rejection of Israel, which it did. So Jonah’s rebellion was less about preventing strangers from knowing God and more about forestalling the covenant curses on Israel signaled by YHWH’s mission with a new foolish nation.

But do we realize Jonah’s reason for not evangelizing is the opposite of yours and mine? He didn’t carry out his mission of God because he was convinced of the power and willingness of God to save strangers, Jonah 4:2. You and I don’t evangelize because we aren’t convinced God has the power & willingness to save strangers. Our problem is unbelief in the power and willingness of God to save. His problem was over-much love for his people whose judgement would be sealed by YHWH turning to the gentiles. He was convinced all along that God would do a mighty work of mercy. And so he shames us, all of us who shut our mouths to the Gospel because we aren’t sure if God will bless strangers with his power and willingness to save.

We think we come to Jonah to be proud we are not as bad as him, but our pride is blinding. He believed the power of God to save; we don’t. He believed plenty enough; ours is the problem of unbelief. What a pity that we see him so one-dimensionally, ignorant of his covenantal role-play in the drama of redemptive history and blinded to his faith and bravery which puts ours to shame!

The Scriptures refer to the Covenant People as children as both an encouragement and rebuke. We are the children of God. While God desires that we retain some childlike qualities and humble, child-like assessments of our own abilities, he does not desire that his people [corporately] go to Neverland to stay infantile or stagnant in our spiritual development.

Jesus set a high standard for all those who see themselves as mature when he took up a child to himself saying, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-4) Christ is calling us to the credulity of children. The Apostle Peter, too, commends children to us in that infants desire their mother’s milk as the Covenant People are to desire the Word of God. Peter calls the Covenant People to the earnestness of children in their need for nourishment.

Yet, paradoxically, the Scripture often challenges us to grow up from childhood. Citing the gifts Christ has given the Church from his Ascension, Paul states their efficacy changes the Covenant People so that they are “no more children,” with a gullibility that tosses them about in every wind of doctrine. (Eph. 4:14) Indeed the Covenant People are made into a new man in the new Man, Christ our Lord. (Eh. 2:15) So the Lord expects maturity from his people, and the Apostle Paul is disappointed with the Corinthian Church in that their fleshliness has held them back to the infancy of milk rather than the solid food of the Word. (1 Cor. 3:1-3) The Author of Hebrews similarly rebukes the Covenant People for having need of milk, charging that the reason owes to having become dull and lazy of hearing. (Heb. 5:11)

So then we are left with the paradox that the people of God must be childlike and yet not remain stuck in childhood.