Jonah
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1
So big details here. Jonah was a prophet during the reign of a couple evil Israelite kings during a time of great suffering and war. Jeroboam Sr. and Jr. were spiritually disastrous to Israel. They led a split between north and south kingdoms, they set up golden calves to worship instead of God, corruption, luxuries and exploitation meant that the term “sins of Jeroboam” were the negative benchmark for every leader that would come after. They were so bad. But Jonah brought them good news from God. In spite of themselves, God was rescuing Israel, and they got some land from the enemy, the evil Assyrians. God is good to these evil Israelite kings, his mercy is here and Jonah is at the middle of it all.
2
Imagine being Jonah, head wrapped in seaweed at the very bottom of the watery grave in the belly of the fish. This is about as far down as a human can experience. Imagine thinking with Jonah, of course, this is how God works, I am out of his view, gone, tossed away. He assumes God is out to kill him, that God is tossing him, that God is mad at him. But then Jonah discovers that God’s intent is very different. God’s intent, and plan, is mercy.
The Hebrew word used for Mercy is related to womb. Not God’s judgement stayed last minute by an Judge with his gavel. No, Mercy is God taking on the wellbeing and very life of the person in God’s care.
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