Jonah 1:2-3 

Well, Jonah, “got up” alright, but not to do what God told him to do.  He made up his mind he was going to Tarshish.  Now, don’t confuse “Tarshish” with “Tarsus”—that’s where Saul (Paul) was from. Tarsus is inAsia Minor, at the northeast corner of theMediterranean Sea.  Tarshish, on the other hand, is 2,000 miles away from our hero’s hometown, on the southern coast of Spain.  You have to go all the way across the Mediterranean Sea and through the Strait of Gibraltar to get to it.

In the ancient world, it was pretty much as far west as you could go before you fell off the edge of the earth.  Jonah didn’t just hop a bus for the next town, he was getting as far away from Nineveh as he possibly could.

Tarshish was a bustling seaport, a hub for exports to Israel and other points east. …

Jonah 1:2-3

After Jonah’s “wake up call,” God clarified what He wanted Jonah to do.  God was calling Jonah to travel from Gath-hepher 500 miles northeast to Nineveh to call the people to repentance.  500 miles.  No planes.  No trains.  No automobiles.  This was going to be a stroll across a hot desert either on foot or possibly on a camel or donkey.  (Somehow, I seem to be strangely drawn to these guys who wander around in the desert! :0)

Back in the day, the average amount of ground people covered on such excursions—“a day’s journey”—was somewhere around 20 miles a day.  So a 500 mile trip took about 25 days of travel.  Throw in a few Sabbaths (when he would have to have parked and rested), and he would have been on the road for about a month.

Nineveh was built by Noah’s great grandson, Nimrod (Yes…

Some of the principles of good hermeneutics (interpreting Scripture) are to know who the author of the book was, when he wrote/when the action took place, where he lived, and the historical/cultural context in which he wrote.  So let’s start off with a little background:

Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (as opposed to the Southern Kingdom of Judah).  The events described in the book of Jonah took place in approximately 760 B.C., during the reign of King Jeroboam II.  This would mean Jonah prophesied after Elisha and before Hosea and Amos, despite the fact that the book of Jonah actually comes after both of these books in the Old Testament.

During Jonah’s tenure, Israel was experiencing greater prosperity than at any other time in its history.  Though previously attacked and oppressed by the Assyrians (of which Nineveh was the capital), the power of this enemy kingdom had weakened…

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.
I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.
You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you..
Exodus 6:6b-7a

Never forget.

We will remember.

The words jump off the page, off the screen, from our lips. A haunting breath whispering of unspeakable tragedy and heart rending grief.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 did something to this country. It changed our history. It changed us.

It was a despicable act of cruelty. People innocent of any crime against their executioners were brutally slaughtered in service to a god who demands the death of infidels.

It was egregious. Horrific. Abominable. And we will never forget. Nor should we.

Do this in remembrance of Me.

The words lie quietly on the page, beckoning us back to another day. A day dusty with the passing of centuries. But it changed our history. It changed us.

It was a despicable act of cruelty. Jesus, innocent of any crime, was brutally slaughtered by executioners serving a God who demands the death of infidels.