jonah.

here is a paper i wrote for my old testament class. enjoy! also here is a picture of my new bangs!

Jonah

Jonah is a man, a prophet, who lived around the time of around 788 _B.C. Although he was a highly respected Hebrew and prophet of the Lord, Jonah was very much an average person. While it may be hard to imagine what life would have been like around 788 B.C., it is really easy to understand the way Jonah felt about the city of Nineveh.

To Jonah, the city of Nineveh did not deserve to repent and be saved from destruction. At the time, he probably would have gone anywhere but Nineveh. In fact, he decided to flee to Tarshish to escape the Lord’s commandment to call Nineveh to repentance. C.F. Keil and F.Delitzsh give a little insight into the life in Israel during the time of Jonah. They said,

“...It was very natural for the self-righteous mind of Israel to regard the Gentiles as simple enemies of the people and kingdom of God, and not only to deny their capacity for salvation, but also to interpret the prophetic announcement of the judgment coming upon the Gentiles as signifying that they were destined to utter destruction...The attitude of Israel towards the design of God to show mercy to the Gentiles and grant them salvation, is depicted in the way that Jonah acts, when he receives the divine commandment, and when he goes to carry it out. Jonah tries to escape from the command to proclaim the word of God in Nineveh by flight to Tarshish, because he is displeased with the dispel of divine mercy to the great heathen world...”

As I was learning more and more about Jonah, I compared him to people of the present day. It seems that sometimes we have the attitude as the Israelites, almost as if God doesn’t really love you unless you are a Christian. That is so incredibly false. God loves every single person on this earth. Everyone. God loves Jews, Muslims, atheists, Mormons, teachers, doctors, taxi cab drivers, people of Las Vegas, He loves every single one of us. We are all sinners in this world. It’s evident, though, that He loves all of His children in so many ways, but concerning the story of Jonah we know He loves everyone when He extends His mercy upon even the wicked people of Nineveh.

Because Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh, the Lord decided to, let’s say, humble him in a very unique way. Jonah was swallowed by a giant whale. He stayed in the belly of the giant whale for three nights. After Jonah was released from the whale he declared repentance over the people of Nineveh. Because the Lord loved them very much, the once wicked Assyrian city was saved from destruction.

The Old Testament Student Manual explains the symbolism behind Jonah’s experiences. “Jonah, in his extremity, finally turned back to God. His prayer was one of sincere and meaningful repentance. His use of hell adds to the parallels with Christ’s burial.” The manual also says, “The story of Jonah was referred to by our Lord on two occasions when he was asked for a sign from heaven. In each case, he gave ‘the sign of the prophet Jonah,’ the event in that prophet’s life being a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection.” Because the Savior Himself used the examples of Jonah being in the belly of the whale, we know that this story is not just a parable, but it actually occurred.

The story of Jonah fascinates me. The idea of a man being inside of a whale seems very much like a fairytale. But, I have a testimony that it is not. While studying out the story of Jonah, I have grown a deeper understanding and testimony of the reality of this famous Old Testament story. As I learned more about the story of Jonah, I couldn’t help but relate the actions and thoughts of Jonah to my own personal life.

At times, it seems like I struggle thinking of people I don’t necessarily get along with as children of God. But, when I do, I tend to see them in a different light. It is evident to me that once I recognize that the Savior loves each and every one of us the exact same, I tend to love a ‘non-friend’ more, even if it is just a little bit. We are all saved through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. He is the Savior for the entire world.

Just like Jonah, we may think certain people don’t deserve to see and feel the forgiving powers of the Atonement in their lives; but they do. Everyone deserves to feel the unconditional love of our Savior. Everyone deserves to see the Lord’s tender mercies in their lives. Everyone deserves to feel like a child of God. Although it would be cool to witness, I hope we don’t need to experience being in the belly of the whale to understand Heavenly Father extends His mercy and love upon every single individual on the earth.

Works Cited

Church Educational System. “Old Testament Student Manual : 1 Kings-Malachi”.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2003.

I also watched parts of Jonah, the Veggie Tales movie :)

The Scriptures

carmel apps.

yesterday i woke up at noon.
i haven't done that in a long time; i felt like a goon.

we made crepes with bananas and strawberries.

when wendy was going to her car, her laundry i helped her carry.

we went to idaho falls and went to target.

a trip to my favorite store winco is never a regret.

a carmel apple party was next on the agenda at approximately eight twenty.

fuji was my choice, with carmel, reese's pieces, and m&m's a plenty.

then came a bon fire, which was kind of a flop.

kate told me she liked my car. she even asked if we could swap.

my day might not have seem too special or sweet.

but it was and it will always will be a memory treat.

me, a nurse.

after i graduate from byu-idaho with my bachelors of science degree in health science i plan on going to nursing school.

i want to be a nurse.

that's what i want to be.

chemistry isn't that bad after all.

(picture of my on a rip chord type of funness during our fitness retreat)

i am finally beginning to understand the basic concepts of chemistry. biochem to be exact. it actually kind of intrigues me. who knew that i would have so much fun finding random elements on the periodic table and bonding them together. it was like a game! started bonding them together to see if they would be polar (charged) or nonpolar (neutral). haha.. thank you taylor, my roommate, for helping me! i think my friend winnie would be proud.

i just kind of feel like writing. i'm not doing very well at blogging everyday... but i mean, it's okay. i am over it.

life is going great here in idaho. i am on a steady track to graduate! so that is always good.. right? my roommates are hilarious like always. they crack me up so much. they come up with this silly little sayings that get stuck in my head, then i find myself saying them. that's what college is all about right?

we went over to watch the office with j&j (jennifer and justin) tonight. such a great show. i still don't know how they are going to go on without michael.

as a group project we are designing a health promotion program for the city of rexburg employees. i am kind of excited. it's an interesting perspective.

i really like the book of hosea in the old testament. it is really interesting and has a great message in the text. i would recommend reading it and studying it with a prayerful heart.

also, the assyrians... they were NUTS. they would just torture people. ugh.. so sad. one of my favorite stories (i have many) in the old testament is when the 185,000 assyrian soldiers died before attacking jerusalem. all i can say is hezekiah knew exactly what to do... pray, and rely on the Lord to help deliver them from their trials (which just happen to be a huge army getting ready to kill them all). The Lord will bless you if you turn to Him. I know that to be true and to be a fact. The scriptures say it and I testify of its power in my personal life.

here is a link to the assyrian story in 2 Kings 19. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_kgs/19

like i said, i just kind of felt like writing.

have a great night.