Jonah's Vacillation

Jonah live in the ninth century B.C.E. The Bible indicates that he was a faithful prophet of Jehovah to the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel, sometime during the reign of Jeroboam II.  Yet he refused to accept a commission to go to Nineveh to serve a warning to the people.  The historian Josephus says that Jonah "thought it better to slip out of the way" and make for Joppa instead.  There he boarded a boat to Tarshish, likely modern-day Spain.  (Jonah 1:1-3) Why Jonah took such a pessimistic view of the assignment is explained at Jonah 4:2. 

Jonah eventually agreed to accomplish his mission, but he grew angry when the people of Nineveh repented.  So Jehovah taught him a fine lesson of compassion by causing the bottle-gourd plant to wither and die.  (Jonah 4:1-8)  Jonah's feelings of sorrow at the demise of the plant should more correctly have been directed at the 120,000 men in Nineveh who dd not "know the difference between their right hand and their left." -Jonah 4:11.

What can we learn from Jonah's experience?  Sacred service allows no room for pessimism.  If we discern Jehovah's direction and follow through with full confidence, we will enjoy success. -Proverbs 3:5, 6. 

Next time: Optimism Amid Adversities

From the Watchtower magazine, 1998