Where Did God Send Jonah?

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Where Did God Send Jonah?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

According to the Bible, God ordered Jonah to go and prophesize in a place called Nineveh.

This was the name of a city which was located in the land of ancient Assyria.

In the Book of Jonah, the place is referred to as a city of great wickedness.

Where did God send Jonah

Biblical scholars agree that Nineveh would have been situated on the eastern shore of the Tigris.
The modern-day location associated with this region is Mosul in Iraq.

Unfortunately though, the entire extensive area is at present one vast area of ruins.

Jonah's orders from God

Jonah came from a village known as Gath-hepher. It was located in Galilee, close to Nazareth (the hometown of Jesus).

In the Bible, Jonah flees to Joppa and then sails to Tarshish to avoid God's orders. He doesn't want to see the wicked people of Nineveh receive God's word and be saved.

This is when a raging storm arises.

Seeing that this particular storm is no ordinary one, the sailors proceed to cast lots, and find out that Jonah is to blame.

Jonah admits this, and states that if he is thrown overboard, the storm will cease. Thus, he is thrown overboard, following which the seas calm.

Jonah is not so lucky, and ends up being swallowed by a large fish (or whale).

In the end, Jonah prays for forgiveness and God commands the fish to heave Jonah out.

Answer 2

The story in brief: Jonah became a prophet in 793 BC and ministered in Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II.

God commanded Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and warn the Assyrians of imminent judgment because of their wickedness. But Jonah, reluctant to see Nineveh spared, makes his way to Joppa (meaning beautiful), a seaport, and took a ship bound for Tarshish.

But on the way came a big storm. Jonah was cast into the sea because the storm was his fault. A great fish which the Lord had prepared came and swallowed Jonah.

It is wrongly said that a whale swallowed Jonah. It was not a whale but a big fish sent my God. The event is portrayed as a miracle and should be understood that way. In fact, the whale is not a fish, it is a mammal.

Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights before it disgorged him on the sea shore.

God re-commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah went, reluctantly. From Jonah's or human point of view, there are reasons why Jonah thought Nineveh deserves to be punished.Nineveh was the capital city of the vast Assyria Empire. It is located about 500 miles northeast of Israel.

For a period of 300 years (911-609 BC) Assyria was the greatest political power in the Near East. Warfare was an essential aspect of the Assyrian way of life. They worshipped many gods and goddesses but their king was their favorite god. Drunkenness was a severe social problem and prostitution flourished.

Jonah hated the Ninevites, but God loved them and want them to change their evil ways of life. Jonah finally reached Nineveh and delivered the message of imminent destruction. The city repented, from the king to the last person, and the judgment of God was stayed.

Don't assume that Jonah had a primitive idea of God and that if he (Jonah) could get out of the land, he would get away from God. Jonah knew God too well and that is why he tried to flee.

Jonah 4: 2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
Note: The story ended abruptly and we are not told whether Jonah changed his mind-set and hatred for the Assyrians.

The repentance of Nineveh saved it from destruction for nearly 100 years. But apparently they returned to their evil ways. Nineveh was completely sacked by the combined forces of the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 BC, and has lain in ruins to this day.