Valdez - Jonah and Nineveh: discovering the story Beyond the great fish

Jonah and Nineveh

Discovering the Story Beyond the Great Fish

Erbey Valdez

Copyright 2017 by Erbey Valdez.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016921457

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-5245-7289-1

Softcover 978-1-5245-7288-4

eBook 978-1-5245-7287-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

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Rev. date: 12/28/2016

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CONTENTS

This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife,
Maricruz, a gift of God like no other.

Your love and support has completed
me these past twenty years.

W HEN I WAS a sixth grader, growing up in the small West Texas town of Brady, a group of us started the Green House Club. In the back yard of my house, a small, green, wooden storage shed stood clumsily with little to no effective use other than to hold a few of my dads gardening tools. My older brothers had used it for a clubhouse and, after they had outgrown it, I decided to follow suit and invite some of my friends to join me. We brought in candles (it had no electricity), board games, an old sofa, and even brought in water guns just in case any defense was needed! At first, it was only three of us; but as word spread, others asked to join our club until there were over a dozen in the club. Each day after school, a few of us would meet at the clubhouse, play games, and tell stories. After a while, we began to feel so important that we began to reject and exclude others from entering. The privileged Green House Club continued for some time until a boy in our class was given a Nintendo game for his birthday. Overnight, our club was forgotten and the new thing to do was play Nintendo! Eventually, only one friend and I were the only stubborn ones left. For several days, we sat sullenly with nothing to do except play checkers and read comic books. Finally, we swallowed our pride, closed the doors on the Green House Club, and jumped on our bikes to go join the rest of our friends.

Through this experience I learned a valuable lessonanything of real value is more enjoyable when we have others with which to share. And what can be of greater value than Gods eternal salvation? Of all the OT books, there is no greater witness to this truth than the Book of Jonah. For a certain time, Jonah was the privileged member of his own cluband he relished in its exclusivity. As a member of the elect of Israel, Jonah had no interest in sharing Yahwehs love with others, but the Lord had a plan that would change Jonahs world. This book attempts to view the Jonah story of Gods love with two recipients in mind: Jonah and Nineveh. In each case, Gods redemption could be seen as both individualistic and collective, and reformative and salvific. In both cases, Gods sovereignty stands at the forefront.

There are two questions that have been presented to me in publishing this book, Why did you choose to write a book on Jonah? and Why did you choose to write a book on Jonah? In response to the former, it was in the midst of work on my book Second Chances that I developed a chapter uniquely dedicated to the story of Jonah. The story stood in great contrast to my other chapters as I discovered the great OT story on Gods restorative nature within its pages, but I soon realized it needed independent development. What many may presume is a story highlighting a great fish episode, Jonah now stood out as an OT witness to both Gods love for even the most rebellious of prophets and His desire to redeem all mankind, even in a place as wicked as Nineveh. My research on Jonah consumed me over the next several months, and I found myself standing in the midst of notes and material too great to contain within only a few pages in the chapter of a book. I eventually decided to postpone work on Second Chances until I had completed work on Jonah & Nineveh . All the same, I decided to preserve the Jonah story as an integral part of Second Chances , but it was presented in a much more concise form in comparison to the more thorough rendition the reader will find in this current publication.

In response to the former question, I will readily point to the caliber of scholars who have done brilliant work of expositing Jonahs story. I will also readily admit there are some grand resources on the subject of Jonah which contain a level of scholarship unmatched by its peers. This current work humbly seeks to join the conversation on Jonah by simply providing insight into the restorative aspect of Gods character, and is not intended to be presented as a complete authority on the subject. The greatest privilege I found in my research on Jonah was in the wisdom gained from the scholars referenced within this book, and I am most grateful to the scholarship that has been devoted to this classic of OT texts. My unique perspective on the topic is not based on my pastoral work nor in my theological training, although I do not minimize the impact of either in this work. Rather, my authority lies in the truth that I have, in essence, lived out many of the experiences contained within the story on Jonah. The comparison is made to my shame and to Gods glory, for it is in the connection to all of the rebellious efforts and attitudes Jonah displayed that I claim any authority to speak on the subject. Simply put, the story of Jonah is a story of my own life as a paralleled rebellion to Gods call, and it is from such authority that I examine the restorative message contained within the Book of Jonah. It is at this point that a brief testimony of my life is warranted

Before entering wholeheartedly into the ministry, I served as a teacher and principal for fifteen years. In 2007, my family and I moved to San Saba, Texas where I assumed my new role as middle school principal. We loved the small West Texas community and, not long after we arrived, I was invited, by a member of Calvary Baptist Church who had heard about my ministry background, to assume the interim pastors position. Operating without a pastor for about a year, the small, predominantly Hispanic church, was in danger of closing its doors, and I knew that God was calling me to serve the pulpit. I accepted the invitation and, over the next year, I was amazed to see the church grow and flourish. It was so exciting and humbling to see God at work in the church and to be a part of something so special. I soon met another young local pastor in the community named Josh, and we quickly become friends. At the time, it seemed as if my life was going smoothlyuntil the day God uttered a new message for my life.

I will never forget the day when I went to the local hardware store when someone shouted, Good morning Pastor! The greeting shocked me. This was the first time anyone had addressed me as anyone other than the school principal. It was as if God spoke through this person, I have chosen you. I am calling you to serve me! Up to this point, I had identified myself only with my professional career, and this was the only image I desired for my life. Even though I had been preaching for about a year, I had never seen myself as a pastor and, honestly, did not want to assume such an image! Perhaps this is how Jonah felt when he first heard the shocking call to leave his beloved country and enter into the darkness of Gentile country. I dismissed the comment and told myself, Lord, I will gladly help the church, but Im no pastor! My preaching is only temporary. Yet, the attempt was pointless, for I knew that God had spokenand the call to the ministry was awaiting my response.