The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-24
THE REAL JONAH.
Rescued From Friends and Foes Alike
The Book Prose Poem with II Moral
The Opinion of n Layman.
JONAH

feIllllC ldytldn TO COME W tine leS-
cue of the Prophet Jonah, who, between
the Ingersolls, who declare him fraud,
and the Moodys, who hold him up as
an awful example, and the Commenta-
tors, who pronounce him a hypocrIte,
seems to be having a harder experience
than he had with the whale, which,
though as unable to digest him as the
critics, at least dismissed him without
abuse.
The idea that the story is literal his
tory is of course absurd, and either at
tack or defense from this point of view
is equally ridiculous. AS to the theory
that it is a satire, that view will bear
examination no better. 1t is said that
satire appears in attributing to Jonah
the idea that he could escape from the
face of the Lord by going fifteen miles
to Joppa. No such idea is attributed TO
him. Jonah started for Tarshish, the
extreme end of the then known world,
and he only went to Joppa to lind
ship. In any case if a literal interpre-
tation to the phrase escape from the
presence of the Lord" be insisted on in
a semi-poetical story, it may be said
that such an idea would not have been
inconsistent with the popular belief OF
the ancient Hebrews that Jehovah
dwelt among his chosen people. Anoth-
er satire is discovered in the account of
Jonah mingling his prayers with those
of l,o haY I1,1,inos tha storm
but this is just what Elijah did when he
held a praying match with the priests
of Baal. AS to the satire which turns
on the view that even fish's stomach
could not endure a hypocrite, the &C
count is that the fish did not reject the
prophet until commanded by God to do
so. The whole story and the spirit of it
are inconsistent with any such narrow
construction as that of satire.
The book of Jonah properly under
stood, and especially when viewed in
connection with the time and the coun-
try in which it was written, is one of
the most impressive and admirable OF
all the Scripture writings 1t is prose
poem with a moral. It's lesson is re-
buke to that religious and race intoler-
ance which prevailed among the wri-
ter's fellow countrymen in holding that
they were the specially chosen children
of God to the exclusion of all others. 1t
teaches the grand, broad doctrine of the
fatherhood of God and the brotherhood
of man, and it is as worthy of study to-
day as it was then by those who believe
that some creed which they call ortho-
dox, and some sect which they call
saints have a monopoly of Gods favor,
and are alone elected to salvation.
The story was undoubtedly written
centuries after Jonah died, and his
name Is merely used as that of an in
! tense Hebrew patriot and religionist to
represent an ideal parsonage of that
| character. 1t depicts such a man COM
manded by God to go and preach the
gospel of mercy and forgiveness to the
enemies of his nation and the haters of
his creed, and revolving at the mandate.
1t represents him as using every effort
to evade such a mission. 1t shows the
futility of his attempts, the eye of God
following him. and the hand Of God
holding him even when he thought to
escape by having himself thrown into
the sea. 1t exhibits the divine forbear-
ance and forgiveness extended to him
when penitent, and at the same time
the memorable character of the divine
| command which is renewed, to go and
preach the gospel to the Ninevites.
And when the command is obeyed by
the reluctant prophet it shows that
aliens and infidels may be as open to
the call of duty and conscience as those
| who make more pretensions to holi-
ness, the Publican as well as the Phari-
see; and that Gods mercy and forgive
ness will be as readily extended to them
when penitent as towards his own chos-
en- people.
The grief and anger of Jonah at this
result discloses the reason of his unwil-
lingness to undertake the mission and
his remonstrance strikes the key note
of the story: WAS not this my saying
when I was yet in my country?
Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish,
for I knew that Thou are a gracious
God and merciful," ETC., etc. The re-
Ipentance and salvation of the Ninevites
was the very thing that he had feared.
He would have preferred to have them
remain in their sins and be over
whelmed with destruction. So perish
all heretics and all our enemies. This
spirit of inhumanity is beautifully re-
buked by the episode of the gourd in
which the slight physical discomfort en-
dured by Jonah through it's loss is en-
ployed as an object lesson to explain
and justify Gods compassion toward
all his children, extending even to the
brute creation.
That such an allegory should have
been produced by a Hebrew writer five
hundred years more or less before
Christ is indeed remarkable. Hardly
less remarkable is it that it should be
at this day SO little understood. Had 1t
been found outside of the Scripture
canon its purport and beauty would
have been universally recognized; and
SO far from being a theme of ridicule by
skeptics it would have been extolled
and cherished by them as one of the
noblest of ancient writings
STUDENT.