Jonah ran from God, but not because he just didn’t want to do something, in general. Jonah was a true patriot! He loved his nation of Israel. And when God commanded Jonah to preach to Nineveh, Jonah fully, totally trusted that God could and would forgive them if they repented. And he believed that if he preached, they most likely would repent like many others had in his life.
And he didn’t want that to happen. He wanted Nineveh destroyed! He believed he could choose which nations were worthy of receiving God’s love and grace.
His sin was the sin of Nationalism… putting his love of the nation of Israel over the love of God. What are the callings that God has placed on OUR hearts that we run from? What are prejudices in our hearts keep us from seeing others the way God sees them? We must remember that we are not the gatekeepers of God’s mercy. God will forgive and love whomever God chooses to forgive and love. Let’s check it out deeper here!