Jonah's Hatred: A Whale of a Tale

As promised a few weeks ago, this is the second post in the series on hatred. See February 25 post if another look or first look is needed. This post focuses more directly on the hatred directed toward others. I have been thinking about, praying over and researching this post for several weeks now. With many different directions to take on the idea of hatred, it has been difficult to narrow the focus down to one single path. Possibly, this is because I have a great deal of trouble dealing with my own hatred toward others, and not just toward the ex. Everyone knows we should not hate. Children are taught from a very early age to not “hate.” They are taught to strongly dislike, but not to go as far as actual hatred. As adults, we realize that there is really little difference in the terms “strongly dislike” and “hate” although we don’t always realize the detrimental effects that hatred can have on our own personal lives.

Typically, a devotion on hatred would provide external reasons as to the importance in not hating. It would explain that we should love both our brother and our enemy just the same for reasons that are supported with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It would not, however, tell us why this principle is so important to us or our well-being. Just like my toddler who asks “why” to every statement directed at her, I want to know why it is so important that I not hate my enemy – or even my ex-husband.

The thought of toddlers brings up an excellent illustration. My three year old is obsessed with Veggie Tales. She has the theme song memorized and is very willing to recite the storyline of any number of Veggie Tale lessons. The Easter Bunny is even getting on board with Veggie Tales this year as her entire basket will be nothing but Veggie Friends and DVDs. (Shhh, that is a secret.) As a mother, I like the animated stories almost as much as the three year old does. They are short, teach a valuable moral or Biblical lesson and most of all they are interesting to both children and adults. What’s not to love?

The toddler’s current veggie favorite is Jonah and the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. In this tale, we see the story of Jonah, played by Archibald Asparagus, in a different light than you may remember as a child. Jonah is still the star of the show; he still receives a message from God to preach to the Ninevites. Jonah runs from God, gets on a ship where he is thrown overboard by the Pirates in order to stop a terrible storm and yes, the whale still swallows Jonah and spits him back on the shore three days later. Jonah, smelling awfully fishy, goes to Nineveh to deliver the message just as God asked him. With a terrible attitude Jonah tells the king, played by a large butternut squash, that if the king and his people do not start behaving in a more pleasing manner God will destroy the city and all those who live there. The king decrees that the immoral and criminal behavior will cease in hopes that God will spare them. But, Jonah, who is looking forward to witnessing God’s wrath on his enemies, goes outside the city to await the impending “fireworks.”

Coincidentally, the past few weeks’ lessons in Sunday school have discussed the same story of Jonah, minus the vegetables. After learning a little more about the circumstances between the Israelites and the Ninevites during the time of Jonah, it became easier to understand why Jonah did not wish to share his God with the people of Nineveh. Some research offered a even more insight. From the time of Hellenistic Greeks, the city had been a pagan center of worship. By Jonah’s time, around 793 B.C., the city was being built into a great and powerful capitol of Assyria. With their location on the Tigris River, the Assyrians had cut off trade routes in an effort to control the economic and political affairs of Israel. It sounds similar to an Old Testament version of the Cold War. Jeroboam II became king of Israel in 786 B.C. and was able to recover some of the land lost to the Assyrians. During the reign of Jeroboam, Israel prospered due to the peaceful relationships with the Assyrians but the Assyrians were still very much feared and hated. The Israelite’s attitude toward the Assyrians might have been similar to the attitude of my grandfathers toward Germany even long after the tensions caused by World War II had died down. Further, it didn’t help that a few generations before Jonah came onto the scene, the prophet Amos had foretold of the Israelites being taken captive by the Assyrians. And sure enough, around 722 B.C the Assyrians conquered the ten tribes of Northern Israel and scattered them all over the Middle East. According to archeological findings, the walls of the palace were carved with battle scenes, images of impaled Israelites and depictions of parading soldiers presenting the spoils of war to the king; it was gruesome overtaking of the Israelites. A century later in 625, the two remaining tribes of Judah fell to a power struggle between the Assyrians, Egyptians and Mesopotamians. Only the lower classes were allowed to remain at this time; the professionals or skilled tradesmen were forced to relocate. This was the end of any type of Israel until 1948 A.D. which is modern Israel as we know it today.

With that history lesson under our belts, it is easy to understand Jonah’s hatred toward the Ninevites. In Jonah’s mind there was nothing about the people of Nineveh that should allow them the favor of God’s second chance. So, as the story continues, Jonah goes out to the edge of the city and waits. He waits and waits and waits – in the blazing hot sun. God felt sorry for pitiful Jonah in the hot sun, so He made a vine grow to shade the cocky preacher. Jonah was very pleased with his vine, but the next day a worm eats the vine and God caused the sun to be even harsher. Jonah becomes faint, becomes terribly enraged that the vine is gone, and wishes that he could die. This is how the conversation went according to the book of Jonah:

God: "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"

Jonah: "I do. I am angry enough to die."

God: "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left... Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

And that is where it ends. Seriously, the whole book of Jonah, the entire story is finished with those words. We don’t know anymore. We are left with an image of a once great man sitting in the desert to rot. Jonah allowed his hatred of the Ninevites to rot his soul, his very being. This hatred had turned him into a bitter old man, from whom we never hear again.

As with almost everything God requires of His followers, He does so with good reason. God tells us to forgive, essentially let go of our hatred, in order that we don’t allow that very hatred to consume us. By not offering forgiveness to our enemies or our ex-spouse or whomever, we allow that hate, and by extension the enemy to mentally, emotionally and spiritually kill us. In the case of Jonah, it seems that his hatred did not stop at killing his soul but physically killed him in that scorching hot desert.

I don’t pretend to know exactly how we are to reach a point where we can offer our enemies forgiveness. I think that is something that has to be done very carefully after spending many hours on your knees in therapy with our Savior. And, I believe that God offers us some suggestions to offering forgiveness, some of which I will discuss next week. In the mean time I leave you with a prayer from Christian Word Ministries. Let this lead you to God’s lap and in turn allow God to lead you to that place of forgiveness – not just for the sake of your enemy, not just because God has told you to, but for your own personal healing.

Prayer to Help Against Anger

Lord Jesus I truly regret my sin of anger, I come to You in humility and lowliness of mind. I acknowledge my sin of anger and I repent, I turn from that way to walk in Your chosen paths of Righteousness. I ask You to forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness, pride, self-centeredness, hate, rage, bitterness, resentment, strife, contention, taking offense, giving offense, misplaced hostility, indifference and all forms of anger in my life.

Lord Jesus, Your Word says that Your anointing destroys all yokes of bondage (Isaiah 10:27) so I ask You now to cause Your anointing to break and destroy any yokes and strongholds of pride, self-centeredness, hate, rage, bitterness, resentment, strife, contention, taking offense, giving offense, misplaced hostility, indifference, and all forms of anger in my life along with all of their works, roots, fruits, tentacles and links that are in my life, the lives of anyone that I have prayed for today according to John 14:14, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

I ask You Lord to force out all spirits of pride, self-centeredness, hate, rage, bitterness, resentment, strife, contention, taking offense, giving offense, misplaced hostility, indifference, control, and anger from me and any replacements of evil spirits trying to come back from the Abyss, bound till they are judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire. Lord Jesus fill me in all these areas that were set free with Your Love and Your Holy Spirit. Amen.








The story of Jonah and the Pirates who Don’t Do Anything comes from the Big Idea, Inc feature film titled Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie.

Dates and historical information directly associated with Jonah, Jeroboam II and the Israelites are taken from The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History: History for the Thoughtful Child by Rob and Cyndy Shearer, published by Greenleaf Press. All other dates and historical information are taken from from A History of the Ancient World by Chester G. Starr, published by Oxford University Press.

“Prayer to Help Against Anger” is used by permission, Christian Word Ministries, Lexington, Kentucky.