Jonah: Servant, Prophet, Man Overboard

The prophet Jonah is a servant of the Lord. Jonah receives a direct call from God to "arise" and "go" to the great city of Nineveh to preach repentance to the people. He is to call out the sin and evil of the Assyrian people, of which God is keenly aware. Yet, Jonah rejects that call of God. Jonah instead, "arose" and fled aboard a ship bound for Tarshish, in the exact opposite direction. His own fear, pride and sinful rebellion cause him to flee "from the presence of the LORD". There is much to learn and apply from this forty-eight verse minor prophetic book.