Every school of theology, every philosophical system, reveals its understanding of the character of God as it tries to interpret reality and the human response.

Think Calvin—a Sovereign God who has ordered (predestined) the destiny of the universe and its inhabitants; no one can thwart the will of a Sovereign God. Calvin is known today as the man who prepared the basis of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches the world over.

Think Friederich David Schleiermacher—an Immanent God who defined religion as "the feeling of absolute dependence"; the test of truth lies not in objective or external authority, but in a believer’s immediate religious experience. Schleiermacher is known today as the father of Modern Theology.

Think John Wesley—a God of Love and Justice who gave freedom to his intelligent creatures and who incarnated himself in Jesus Christ to exemplify his character. Wesley is known today as the headwater of the many branches of Protestantism that emphasize man’s free will and God’s ultimate judgment of how freedom is used.

Think Old Testament Israelites—a Holy God, high and lifted up, who demanded rituals and animal sacrifices to prove loyalty.

Think of Jonah’s head-on collision with the Creator God who loved mercy and dealt justly and even extended magnanimity to those who repented and sought forgiveness. What did Jonah really learn in his relationship as a spokesman for the Lord of heaven and earth?

Not many men or women have had the opportunity to learn the truth about the character of God in the way truth was presented to Jonah! Everything he had to learn about God seemed contradictory to everything he had known. Talk about a disconnect! He had become a perfect reflection of the God he worshiped!

The beautiful lesson in these forty-eight verses is that God took the time to take Jonah by the hand and turn him around—that God is not the kind of person that Jonah and so many of his contemporaries had made him out to be. God could really use Jonah as a faithful prophet whose messages could be trusted—if he learned his lesson!

In this short book, we today can listen in on God’s lesson to Jonah. Jonah should have caught on that God is a very personal Lord as interested in Jonah as he was with the Ninevites. He not only is "high and lifted up," he is very near and was most interested in the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles.

Lesson Two: God is not merely the "Uncaused Cause" or the "Holy Other," he is a very powerful personal God. He actively involved himself in working out his plans for bringing truth to both Jews and Gentiles. He even could provide a "great fish" to give Jonah free accommodations in a quiet place to think about the kind of God who is running the universe.

Lesson Three: God is not so omnipotent that he cannot be magnanimous and forgiving to people anywhere who recognize their sinfulness and his willingness to help them change the future.

Lesson Four: God is not only personal, omnipotent, and forgiving, he does not give up easily with stumbling men and women. Could God be any clearer or more reasonable than what we see in chapter four? That’s the way he deals with all of us when we get stubborn or so self-centered we can’t see how we can be a blessing to someone else—especially to those who may need extra time and patience to get the picture of God right!

I found Jonah to be a mirror image of all of us, one time or another. No wonder God is using another prophet to get his message out to those who call him Lord but have a hard time learning their lessons:

It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth.…

Those who wait for the Bridegroom’s coming are to say to the people, "Behold your God." The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them.1

Is it necessary to go through everything Jonah experienced to get the lessons right about the character of God and what he wants us to do with these lessons?

Notes and References

1. Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald, 1900), 415.

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