Show me in the book of Jonah where it states that he repented, specifically in his attitude towards what God wanted him to do. Nowhere to be found. That is not to say that Jonah did not repent of the sins of his life before taking on this mission.
The Holy Spirit has been guiding and comforting me in my life-long repentance process since 1969.
God has assigned tasks and appointed leaders, whether perceived to be good or bad. In my personal opinion, Jonah was worthy of the task that God appointed him to do.
Your accusations are uncalled for. Hopefully, you are better than that.
Hey Tourist,
I would never accuse you of anything... I've always known you to be a good Christian gentleman.
But people do sometimes see things differently, and disagree.
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It seems to me, and historically it has seemed to many, that the entirety of Jonah Chapter 2 is a prayer of repentance and reconciliation.
Here are excerpts on Jonah from the great Matthew Henry, in his commentary:
"He had been fleeing from God, but now he sees the folly of it, and returns to him; by prayer he draws near to that God whom he had gone aside from, and engages his heart to approach him."
"He covenants with God that he will honor him in his devotions with the sacrifice of thanksgiving;"
(This is very clear repentance: to change direction, to stop going away from God and turn back to Him.)
Here is an excerpt from the great John Gill, in his commentary:
"for though he had sinned against the Lord, and had been sorely chastised by him, yet he did not take his lovingkindness from him, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail, or break his covenant with him; covenant interest and relation still continued; and Jonah had knowledge of it, and faith in it; and as this is an argument the Lord makes use of to engage backsliders to return unto him,"
(Here Gill is saying that God's mercy, in keeping Jonah alive during his punishment, was the particular grace which God used in bringing Jonah to repentance.)
Here is an excerpt from Albert Barnes, in his commentary:
"Jonah cried aloud to God out of the fish’s belly, out of the deep of the sea, out of the depths of disobedience; and his prayer reached to God, Who rescued him from the waves, brought him forth out of the vast creature, absolved him from the guilt. Let the sinner too cry aloud, whom, departing from God, the storm of desires overwhelmed, the malignant Enemy devoured, the waves of this present world sucked under!"
(Here Barnes explains the clear theme of repentance: Jonah is disobedient, then he prays as a sinner, and God absolves him of guilt."
These are old commentaries, some going back many centuries, and we see they all viewed Jonah Chapter 2 as a passage on repentance.
People are certainly free to hold other views, but this seems to be the traditional understanding of the passage... as well as the most straightforward interpretation of the text.
We shouldn't divide over this issue, but it's ok to dig into it, and have a good discussion.
I truly hope you've been well.
God Bless.
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