We begin with a new prophet, Jonah. Join me on this new exploration of another one of God's interesting men that He chose to carry His words to the people. But not the chosen ones! The disgusting ones! Pagans!
Let's see where this takes us!
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Jonah knew God. Jonah heard the call. But before we dive into what that call was, and what Jonah’s response was, let’s explore what Jonah’s name means. It says a lot about the nature of Jonah’s call and how God is going to use him.
Names in the Bible are not simply markers of identity. They identify characteristics of the person, as well as his or her relationship to God. What does Jonah’s name mean? It means “a dove.” Let’s look at doves in the Bible. They will give us an insight to Jonah’s mission.
Doves are a kind of messenger. After the great Flood in Genesis, Noah wants
to know the world’s condition. What does
he send out?
Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. (Gen. 8:8-11)
The dove was a messenger not only of the receding waters but also of God’s receding wrath against the earth. The flood waters were disappearing and the trees were again sprouting. A dove announced to Noah and his family that the days in the ark were drawing to a close. The dove announced the dawning of a new day in the life of mankind.
A dove announced God’s Son and the ministry He would embark upon:
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17)
God had enveloped Himself in our frail human flesh to
provide the sacrifice for our sin. This
Dove’s arrival, God’s Holy Spirit, confirmed to everyone watching that the
Messiah was here. His life would be an
offering to His Father. Jesus would
bring back the olive branch of redemption.
Doves were also used as sacrifices in the Old
Testament. When God wanted to impress
upon His people the seriousness of sin, the creatures sacrificed were utterly
innocent. Bulls, sheep, lambs and doves
were used. They had no fault of their
own but they would die on behalf of the person making the offering. Their blood would be a stark reminder that
“without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). The person stood there, watching in horror as
the priest pulled back the neck of the lamb and slit its throat, or killed the
quietly cooing dove. God’s hope was that
this person’s heart would be softened, feeling remorse for the sin committed as
well as grief for this innocent animal’s death.
What was God’s lesson for His people? We must recoil from sinning again. Why? Sin breaks the bond between God and us. This is the greatest horror of all: We are out of fellowship with the Father, and He with us.
When Jesus hung on the cross, He cried, “My God, my God, why have You forgotten me?” (Matt. 27:46). At that moment, when Jesus bore the weight of the world’s sin, His Father turned away from Him, and it was more than Jesus could bear. The physical pain of the cross was nothing compared to the pain Jesus suffered when His Father, Who cannot look upon sin, turned away from Him.
The death of an innocent animal for an offering foreshadowed
what God would ultimately demand of His innocent Son: an offering for all of our sin, for all
time.
Many kinds of offerings were given in the Old
Testament. What kind of
animal could be used? If you were really
poor, a dove was sufficient for a burnt offering as well as a sin
offering.
So, we of whom Jesus has said, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit” (Matt. 5:3), see this Dove as a messenger of God’s love for us. In our spiritual
poverty, God’s forgiveness is not out of reach. He makes provision that all may
come and receive it.
Finally, doves are messengers of an innocence of
spirit. Jesus commands His disciples to
be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).
Innocence doesn’t mean ignorance.
Innocence means understanding sin’s alluring power and yet,
in His power, keeping ourselves away from it.
If His disciples were to have credibility in preaching love and
forgiveness from sin, they had to maintain a walk that pointed to the Father:
“…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise
your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
Our sinning puts the focus back on us. When others see our failures and our
hypocritical behavior, their view of God comes to a screeching halt. We are to shine His light so that He can be
praised. We are to be His candle, with
His light emanating from us. How can others see this relationship between this
God we profess and us? By our
deeds! What we do is a louder witness than all the fine words we say.
Jesus also mentions a snake along with the dove. Snakes navigate through the tall grasses. They
don’t run into stones. They are constantly on alert as they travel about. They move with intention.
We are to be alert and aware of our surroundings (like the
snake), being in the world but not beholden to its values. Our innocence of spirit (like the dove) will
be proof enough that God is in us. We
navigate with His wisdom.
The world enjoys watching innocence be corrupted. How many actresses or singers want to spice
up their image, from innocent girl to someone who gets noticed by sexualizing her
image? Then, after they lose their
innocent image, we see a downward spiral into more and more dangerous and destructive
behaviors. Some end up broken, having
lost everything.
The world has an agenda and is always asking, “Hey! What’s in it for me?” How utterly opposite from this are we to be
as Jesus’ followers.
So, let’s summarize the dove idea, and tie it into
Jonah. A dove is a messenger that:
v
proclaims God’s mercy and receding wrath;
v
proclaims God’s provision for our sin by
confirming that Jesus is the Messiah;
v
proclaims how serious sin is, and how the poor
are provided for;
v
proclaims how we must be to the world: innocent
(not corrupted), aware of sin without being drawn into it;
v
proclaims His light in the darkness.
Now, let’s see how this applies to Jonah. He is called to proclaim mercy and
forgiveness to an evil pagan city called Nineveh. He will show that God’s desire is for all to
come to Him and that none should perish, just as it says in John 3:16. Even the lowliest person is not beyond God’s
reach.
Jonah must walk in obedience in order to be a good witness. He is called to share the light of God to
those who sit in darkness.
Let’s follow this “dove” on his journey.
What’s in a name?
Apparently, quite a bit.
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