Modern Day Jonahs

Last week, we took a look at our children’s favorite prophet, Jonah.  He had been commanded by God to prophesy to his people’s enemy, the Assyrians, and he was not happy about it.  Even after he obeyed and went to Nineveh, he wanted God to wipe out the people of the city instead of forgive them.  God was not pleased with Jonah’s attitude, and as I watch my social media feeds, I can’t think that He is too happy with some American Christians and their attitude toward Muslims either.

Jonah: Beyond the Fish

Once upon a time there was a nation who believed that conquering neighboring people was a religious duty. Their god had given them a divine mandate, so it was an act of faithful obedience to punish nations that would not bow down to their rule.  Based on this belief, the aggressive empire built a huge army.  In order to frighten nearby kingdoms into submission, the conquerors committed unspeakable atrocities on any peoples who resisted their army, then boasted about it to further spread the word.