BibleWorm

This week we continue with our summer series “Disputing with God” with the story of the prophet Jonah in Nineveh as told in Jonah 3:1–4:11. While we have often read Jonah as a comedic parody of Israelite prophecy, this time we explore what happens if we take Jonah’s concerns about God’s mercy seriously. The Ninevites are, after all, the very people who will destroy the northern kingdom of Israel some 30 years after Jonah’s prophecy, so God’s compassion for them ultimately has disastrous consequences for Jonah and his people. This leads us to the question of the cost of compassion. What do we do when God has mercy on enemies who mean us harm? And how should we respond when God calls us to do the same? Like the book of Jonah itself, our conversation ends with an unresolved question. But what an urgent question it is.