Harboring anger, hate, and bigotry, Prophet Jonah refuses to acknowledge the compassion and sovereignty of God, disobeys God’s command to preach repentance to sinful Ninevites, and flees to a foreign land, risking God’s wrath in a raging sea and in the belly of a great fish. 

SYNOPSIS:

SYNOPSIS – JONAH: RUNAWAY PROPHET, Full feature, 93 pages

In 753 B.C., God Most High commands His prophet Jonah to go to the Assyrian capitol of Nineveh, bitter enemy of the Jewish people, and warn them to repent and change their ways.

In rebellion with hate and bigotry toward the people of Nineveh, Jonah refuses to obey God’s command, lies about his identity, and boards a ship for Tarshish, going in the opposite direction.

To get Jonah’s attention, God sends a Biblical storm to prevent the ship from reaching Tarshish. Recognizing the hand of God, Jonah admits to his lies and rebellion and asks to be thrown into the sea so it will become calm.

At first resisting Jonah’s plea, the crew ultimately complies and experiences a conversion of its own when they see the sea become calm. Their repentance far exceeds Jonah’s.

God sends a great fish to rescue Jonah, which swallows him whole. Jonah is so hardened against the Ninevites it takes three bitter days in the fish’s belly before Jonah repents.

When he does, God commands the great fish to vomit Jonah onto a beach where he is rescued by a Ninevite couple and nursed to recovery by people he hates. Jonah proceeds to Nineveh though his heart is still not in the mission.

Jonah encounters God a second time and makes another attempt at true repentance but struggles against his sins. God hints at His reasons for granting compassion to the citizens of Nineveh.

Jonah spends three fateful days in Nineveh preaching repentance, confronts followers of the goddess Ishtar, and preaches to the Assyrian King, Ashur-nirari. The city repents in sackcloth and ashes and the king commands a great fast.

Jonah’s old sins return, however, to haunt him as he waits with hopefulness that Nineveh will be destroyed. God pardons the Ninevites instead because of their repentance and His great compassion. Jonah is angry about the outcome.

On his way back to Israel, Jonah reconnects with a familiar Ninevite who God commissions into service as a prophet. God uses the new prophet to bring Jonah to a place of true repentance, teaching Jonah how self-destructive and evil are his sins of hate and bigotry.