Deconstructing Jonah

As if with any story you’ve ever heard or read. There is more than one side to the story and I believe the story of Jonah deserves to be looked at with a different perspective, with at least some context. You’ve probably heard one of two versions. The kid friendly version with the drawings of a beautiful whale and Jonah comfortably praying on his knees inside the whale’s belly, or the adult version where an angry God will send a storm your way to punish you for not doing his will and then still gets his way after He has you vomited from a sea beast, and the stubborn and unhappy prophet who is dissatisfied to the end with his mission because he wanted to see destruction. If we read carefully we find there is a lot more to the story than that.

What does it mean to be a regular man or woman? It means we get upset when things don’t go our way, it means we get tired of trying and trying without success. That is why the Bible is full of promises of God giving us strength. Some of my favorite Psalms are 138:3, 46:1, 59:16, 73:26, 138:3 and I could go on for pages. God keeps telling us not to be discouraged or afraid because He is our strength and our refuge. What we see in the book of Jonah is a God that doesn’t tire of us acting like humans.