When We Run from God’s Will
In the book of Jonah, we see the prophet making an intentional choice to move away from God. Jonah had been told by God to go to the great city of Nineveh, which was part of the Assyrian Empire. But instead of moving toward God’s will for him, Jonah did an about-face and headed far away from God’s plan for him both geographically and spiritually.
Nineveh was on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which is about 220 miles north of present-day Baghdad. It was an important (“great”) city (Jonah 3:3). However, the Ninevites did not serve the Lord. Jonah had no interest in preaching to the wicked inhabitants of Nineveh. And so he made a mad dash instead to Tarshish. However, we aren’t told until a few chapters later the explanation for his decision to disobey God. He was aware of God’s compassion and forgiving character, but in spite of being a sinner himself and a recipient of God’s grace, Jonah had no desire for God to grant pardon to the inhabitants of Nineveh (Jonah 4:2). This caused him to move away from God’s will for him.
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