1. On
this day departed the great prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai. It was said
that he was the son of the widon of Zarephatah whom Elijah the prophet had
raised from the dead. Jonah followed Elijah and served him and gained the
grace of prophesying. God, blessed and exalted, told him to go to the city
of Nineveh to admonish its people and to tell them that after forty days
the city shall be overthrown. Jonah pondered in his heart saying, 'If God
wished to destroy them He would not warn them. I am afraid if I go to them
and preach this warning to them, they might repent and He would not
destroy them and I shall be a liar and no one will listen to me and maybe
I will get killed because I conveyed to them a false message from God. I
will arise and flee.' What did this prophet think of ? How could anyone
flee from the face of God ? By escaping, he wanted to get away from the
city of Nineveh because he did not want to admonish them knowing that God
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and repentant of the evil. He
thought that by staying away from Nineveh the Lord would send another
prophet to preach to this city. The escape of Jonah the prophet and his
having been cast into the city are to make manifest the miracle of his
remaining in the belly of the whale for three days and the coming out
safely. It is a symbol of, and evidence for, the resurrection of our
Savior from the sepulcher, unchanged, after three days. Jonah rose up to
flee from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa; he found a ship
going to Tarshish and sailed on it. The Lord sent out a great wind and
there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was about to be
broken. The people were all afraid, and cried every man to his god. They
said everyone to his fellow, 'Come and let us cast lots, that we may know
because of whom this evil has befallen us.' And when they had cast lots,
it fell upon Jonah. They said to him, 'What have you done that brought
such an affliction on us ?' He replied, 'Cast me in the sea and you shall
be saved.' They begged the Lord's pardon. Then they cast him into the sea,
and a great whale swallowed him. He remained in its belly for three days
and three nights and then he was cast out on the seashore. He rose up
straightaway and came into Nineveh. He preached to its people and they all
repented: The King, the nobles, and the poor, the old and the young. They
all cried to God with fasting and everyone turned from their way, and the
Lord accepted their repentance and had mercy upon them. Then Jonah rose up
and returned to the land of Israel and died there. He was more than 900
years before the advent of the Lord Christ. He prophesied in the days of
Amos and his son Hosea. He lived nearly 100 years, out of which he
prophesied more than 70 years. May his prayers and blessings be with us
all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
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