Jonah's Calling
Jonah's Calling
A vision of Jonah I did not see,
Nor did I hear the Lord speak
(Who pitied the wicked city of Nineveh)
When He said to His servant, Jonah,
“Arise and go to Nineveh for me.”
“Set me free!” Jonah cried,
And said to himself,
“They are but strangers to me.”
And the Lord heard Jonah’s heart,
And turned.
In shame, Jonah ran away
To Tarshish, where he boarded a ship,
That got caught in a tempest.
And lots were drawn,
And Jonah was thrown overboard
And was swallowed by a huge fish
(Jonah prayed, and the Lord hearkened to him.)
Who, after three days, vomited him onto dry land.
And the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time,
“Arise and go to Nineveh for me.”
This time Jonah obeyed
And the Lord’s anger was abated
Because, the debaucherous city of Nineveh
Repented.
However, Jonah was jealous
Of the Lord’s compassion for Nineveh
And sulked under the shade of a tree.
“It is so cool under the gourd,” thought Jonah,
“Why should I leave? Where is my love?”
Then, a worm ate the plant.
Causing Jonah to suffer from the heat,
Who then turned and cursed the Lord.
And the Lord spake to Jonah a third time,
“And yet, you did not plant the gourd,
Nor did you tend to it.
You know not hence it lives
And canst not say when it shall die.
Shall I not have compassion for the people of Nineveh
Who cannot tell their left hand from their right?
Doest thou well, to be angry with me?”
And I remembered, written in the Book of Isaiah, 1:18;
Of the Lord’s abounding love and patience.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” saith the Lord:
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow;
Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
***
References:
Book of Jonah (Old Testament)
Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)
Copyright © Dennis Spilchuk | Year Posted 2018
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