The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-07-04

! selves up to mourning. When they
were not listening to the strange
| preachers message they were re.
hearsing to one another the things
which he said.
And that they believed his message
was certain, for they confessed one to
another that there were no gods OF
the people of Nineveh like unto the
great God who had spoken the words
of judgment against their city. And
believing this, all the gross and go-'
geous worship of the many gods OF
Nineveh was stopped, and instead
there was a turning in thought to the
great unknown God who was able to
destroy and was able to make alive
They knew this last must be true.
indeed, for had not the great God
snatched this strange preacher from
the very jaws Of death and preserved
his life when the sea had opened to
swallow him up, forever?
Jonah was not inSensible to tho
change which had come over the city,
but instead of s%oftening his heart
lOWd uo lnC pCOpIC ~ saw ouSi v
dent signs of repentance, it had the
contrary effect. In the seething heat
of his bitter bigotry all impulses OF
mercy and love we're burned up, so
that with increasing vehemence he
preached the certain destruction OF
the city. And with increasing fervor
the people sought after this great
God, saying over and over to each
other:
Who can tell if God will turn and
repent, and turn away from his fierce
anger, that we perish not?"
So 1t was that as the enc Of the 40
days drew near a very great cry went
UP from the city to the God of
heaven that he would spare them.
Jonah, hearing the cry, and behold
ing the great distress of the people,
was moved with still deeper resent
ment How could God hear such a
people? Would God spare? Impos-
sible. Were these people not outside
the covenant blessing of God? What
right had they to claim or expect
mercy from the God Of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob? And how could God
show kindness to Israel and spare so
powerful an enemy? Had not God
said that the coast of Israel was to
be restored and how could this be
brought about if Nineveh were spared?
YEA" exclaimed Jonah, bitterly.
How can God shew mercy to Nine,
veh to the hurt of his chosen people?
And yet-and yet" He did not fn.
ish the sentence, save with a half sob.
half angry cry, but it was plain that
the prophet feared that God would
show mercy instead Of executing judg.
ment as be had declared he would.
IF Nineveh is spared, what will!
ever my nation say of me? Can they
not we'll say that I have proved false
to them? Surely there will be naught
but condemnation that l should have
gone and preached to those who are
our enemies and saved them from de
struction. Oh, woe is me; woe is
me! Better that I had died than to
have come thither."
Thus, in bitterness of heart, Jonah
waited, but Notwithstanding his disap-
pointment he obediently went hither
and thither delivering his message,
and hoping against hope that God
would yet punish the great city for all
its wickedness.
So the days were fulfilled when the
city was to be destroyed.
From his vantage point on the east
side of the city Jonah watched and
waited. Would God send fire from
heaven to burn it up as he did Sodom
and Gomorrah, or would the ground
open and swallow it up? All through
the night he watched and waited. no
sleep coming to his anxious eyes and
troubled heart, and with the first
CLEAN of the morning light he was
straining his eyes towards the city.
YEA, it is just as l feared. Why
should I, a Jew, live longer when
mercy IL thus shown to these misera.
BILE, despised Gentiles? Oh, Lord" he
cried, lifting his eyes toward heaven,
take my life"
And as he waited thus with his face
lifted upward there came a voice from
above, saying:
"Doest thou we'll to be angry"
Jonah made no reply, but sank upon
the ground, and as the sun came UP
he became conscious Of the shade OF
the gourd which God had caused to
grow up during the night and which
gave him cooling protection all
through the day.
But that night God sent a worm
which cut the vine off and caused 1t
to wither, so that the next morning
the full ray of the hot eastern sun
beat relentlessly upon the head OF
Jonah. so that he cried in his misery
and anguish:
at is better for me to die than to
live
And the voice of God sounded out OF
the heaven saying:
"Doest thou we'll to be angry for the
gourd?"
"Yet, / do we'll to be angry even
into DEATH" impatiently cried the
prODhet.