"Seeing God's Mercy in Jonah"

With some of my time being freed from school it has allow to catch up with some personal Bible study time, and one of the passages I read through was Jonah. It is not a very long book, but it starts in chapter 1 of the 4 chapters book with God sending Jonah to Ninevah to call out their wickedness. Jonah did not want to go there, so he went from Joppa to Tarshish instead of Ninevah. He goes to Tarshish on sea by boat, and God sends storm that was so violent that everyman on the ship began to cry out to their gods. The captain of the boat found Jonah at the bottom of the boat asleep, and he woke him up for him to call upon his God to prevent them from dying. After Jonah woke up the men on the boat casted lots to know who was causing this trouble, and it fell on Jonah. They ended up throwing Jonah over the boat into the sea, and God prepared Jonah a big fish that swallowed him. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. In the belly of the fish Jonah acknowledge Salvation is of the Lord. The fish vomitted Jonah onto dry land, and he headed to Ninevah as the Lord commanded him to go to Ninevah to preach a message about their wickedness. Jonah arrived at the city gate to preach the message, and they repented for their wickedness. God spare the city, but Jonah was mad that the Lord did not cast judgment. It made Jonah so mad that he wanted to die. Even Jonah was mad God still provided Jonah with shelter with a huge plant to keep him from being scorched from the son, but the following day he sent a worm to damage the plant. Jonah took pity on the plant, but God used the worm and plant as way for Jonah to understand his mercy toward Ninevah. Jonah took more pity on a plant that he did not create, than the city of Ninevah.

Throughout Jonah we see God's mercy. In chapters 1 through 2 God provides Jonah with mercy when Jonah disobeyed him with a big fish that kept him from drowning, and in chapter 3 God spares the city of Ninevah when it repented of its wickedness. In chapter 4 God shows mercy to Jonah when he wanted to die, by providing him a plant for shade to allow Jonah to have his pity party.

One of the beatitudes of the sermon on the mount is mercy, and it is one of the spiritual gifts. God displayed that example of mercy through repentance in Jonah, and understanding of our fallen human nature as well.