POEM ABOUT JONAH
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Long ago there lived a man,
Jonah was his name.
He was the son of Amitai.
Though that's no claim to fame.
I suppose a Prophet wouldn't need one.
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For that is what he was.
A Prophet of Almighty God.
Going about speaking God's word,
For a Prophet that was nothing odd.
Although I suppose you might say that Jonah was.
You'll see why in a minute.
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God said to Jonah, Listen, and listen well.
Go to the City of Nineveh,
This message them do tell.
If they don't mend there ways, I'm gonna Zap 'em!
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But Jonah decided that wasn't hip,
So he upped and he went to find a ship.
A ship in which to sail,
To Tarshish without fail,
And turning rather pale,
Coughed up the fare for a two thousand mile ticket!
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Now the captain might be aware,
That he could add a few bob on the fare,
'Cos Jonah did declare,
He was running away from God.
See what I mean by odd?
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So Jonah set sail from Joppa,
And a storm blew up a right whopper,
The sailors thought they'd all come a cropper,
Not to mention, the ship might break up.
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So they all prayed to their own Gods,
And chucked the cargo overboard, to even the odds,
And to make the ship lighter.
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Now Jonah had gone below deck. Good call!
Lay down and curled up in a ball.
Asleep so deeply, he didn't notice the storm at all.
You must admit Jonah thought he'd cracked it.
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Wake up! Wake up! Cried the captain,
Oh! How on earth can you sleep?
Get praying now to your God,
Perhaps He'll hear,
and we wont all end up in the deep.
Things were getting pretty serious.
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Then the sailors said to each other,
Let's chuck dice to see who's to blame.
So they did, and it pointed to Jonah.
Preaching against Nineveh now seemed pretty tame.
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Who on earth are you? They asked him.
Where do you come from? What's more.
What's your job? What's your name?
What's the idea? What's the game?
And by the way get up off the floor.
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I'm a Hebrew he said quite calmly,
And I worship Jehovah the Lord.
He created the Heavens The Earth, and the Sea.
Just by speaking the Word.
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At this they all began to quake in their boots
(Or should that be sandals?)
And it was nothing to do with the sea.
Which was tossing the ship like a match stick,
Starboard, Port, Aft and Lee.
(and any other nautical term you can think of).
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It's your fault they all said together,
Pointing at Jonah as one.
What shall we do to make the sea calm,
'Cos this billowing isn't much fun.
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Pick me up now, said Jonah.
And throw me into the Sea,
'Cos all this fuss and bother,
Is strictly down to me.
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The minute I land in the water,
The Sea will grow still and calm.
And you lot can continue your journey,
I know that you will come to no harm.
But the men took no heed of Jonah.
Poetic Justice?
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They all rowed flat out for the land.
And the Sea grew wilder and wilder,
And they all knew that it was God's hand.
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So they called to the Lord for His mercy,
For what they were about to do.
'Cos they didn't want retribution
for killing a prophet of the Most High.
I don't blame them. Do you?
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So Jonah went over the side.
Into the boiling seething waves.
And the Sea grew immediately calm,
And the crew knew that Jehovah saves.
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The sailors were very afraid.
They offered prayers and sacrifices to God.
They made vows and promises to him.
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Meanwhile...
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Poor old Jonah sank beneath the water,
With Seaweed for a hat.
And as the current tugged him under,
He must have thought that was that.
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There was only one thing left to do,
And no, that wasn't to swim.
'Cos Jonah was so far under,
It was certainly curtains for him.
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So he called to the Lord with all his might,
As his arms and legs he waved.
Cos Jonah knew already,
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord,
They will surely be saved.
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Well a BIG FISH swallowed up Jonah,
'Cos God had arranged for it to.
But I don't think that Jonah knew at the time.
I think he was to busy praying don't you?
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But the fact remains that Jonah,
A prophet who knew God very well.
Could have saved himself a whole lot of bother,
If the message to the Ninevites he did tell.
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But then the sailors might not have been converted.
Jesus would not have made reference to him.
You would not have been reading this poem.
Etc. Etc. Etc
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When we've done with the why's and the wherefore's,
One thing remains very clear,
God's hand was in these proceedings,
And it still is in others,
Time after time Year after year.
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Well let us get back to Jonah,
Still praying when he awoke,
But now in the belly of the GREAT BIG FISH.
That can't have been much of a joke.
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So he called on the name of the Lord,
And praised Him for what He had done.
And the fish dumped him on the beach like,
To lay there for a bit drying in the sun.
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Well it doesn't actually say he was wet in the Bible.
But I should think he must have been a bit damp mustn't he?
I should think that wet camel hair would sink like a stone.
There's not many fish would take a liking to it,
No wonder the fish was sick.
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Oops I digress.
Now where was I? Hah yes.
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Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah.
He didn't get much chance to rest.
But then God's work is rather urgent,
So remember to give it your best.
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So at last Jonah went to Nineveh.
To give the task his best shot.
It was a very important place like,
It would take three days to give it all that he'd got.
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On the very first day of his mission,
He fed it to them straight.
You've got forty days 'till Nineveh is overturned.
Boy he just couldn't wait.
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The lot of them deserved zapping,
Zapping good and true.
And if it wasn't for what he'd promised God,
he wouldn't have warned them,
No not after what he'd been through.
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Well any way it isn't very likely
that they'd listen to him.
Ex fish food.
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But here's another lesson.
Jonah's book is full of them.
It might be you that acts on God's word,
But only God can soften the hearts of men.
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The Ninevites believed God.
And they declared a fast.
Every single one of them put on sackcloth
From the first right down to the last
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Now when the news reached the king of Nineveh,
He rose up from his throne
Took off his royal robes, put on sackcloth,
sat down in the dust, and began
a Royal proclamation to moan.
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The Proclamation read
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By decree of the King and his nobles
(That's the high ups in his court)
Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock,
eat drink or taste anything.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
(That included the king).
Let everyone call on Godand give up their evil ways and violence.
Yes just like they ought.
Who knows God may in fact relent,
And with compassion, turn from His anger and fierce intent,
Specially when He sees that we repent,
and no longer carry on in the same vent,
perhaps we will not perish as first was meant.
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Now I must admit I find the thought of some bloke
chasing animals up and down
to cover them with sackcloth, pretty funny.
But when you think about it,
they involved everything in their repentance.
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When God saw what they had done.
How they had turned from their evil way,
He spared the whole city.
Which made Jonah sick,
not to mention angry.
So he began to pray
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-I knew it! I knew it! I knew what you'd do.
I knew it! I knew it! It's just like you.
So gracious, compassionate,
Abounding in love.
Slow to anger, slow in sending
Destruction from above
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I knew it! I knew it That's why I went
A ticket to Tarshish, Money well spent.
I don't understand it, I don't want to live.
To take my life permission I give!
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The Lord replied to Jonah,
Have you a right to be angry?
Have you a right to be mad ?
Get your act together.
Wake up and smell the coffee lad.
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Jonah went out and sat in a place,
You know just east of the city.
He made himself a shelter,
and sat there looking pretty,
Waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.
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Now if you've ever sat waiting,
You know what a bind that can be.
And as the Sun grew hotter,
he sat waiting more uncomfortably.
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God saw this and provided a vine,
to grow up over Jonah.
To give him shade,
So his strength didn't fade,
And it more comfortable Jonah made.
And the sun on his scalp no longer played.
Cos that can give you a right headache, can't it?
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Jonah was well pleased about the vine.
But at dawn the next day,
God sent a worm that way.
a hungry one at that,
already pretty fat,
determined to get fatter.
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And on the vine it chewed,
as if nowt else could matter.
And the vine withered.
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The sun most hot did remain,
and a scorching east wind blew,
without a hint of rain,
poor Jonah grew faint again,
and wished he could pop his clogs.
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Jonah said to God,
something I find odd.
It would be better for me to die than live he said.
Mind you he was getting a bit hot headed,
so I suppose that's the way he felt.
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God said to him,
Do you really think deep down, that you have a right,
to be angry about the vine, angry with all your might?
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Jonah answered without a care,
That's right I do.
I really don't know how he dare.
Specially after God had literally
brought him back from the dead.
I'm angry enough to die, he said
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God's answer to Jonah
sums up his book.
Such care and compassion
is there if you look.
There's plenty of Jonahs around here today,
Perhaps a bit like me and you
wouldn't you say?
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But God's hand was on Jonah.
Do you find that strange?
God's hand is on you,
He doesn't change.
He will bring about His purpose and fulfil His plan,
nothing can stop Him, specially not man.
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God said to Jonah,
You show concern for the vine,
even though you didn't water
or tend it, or feed it,
in the way you ought'ter.
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You were happy in the shade
and sad with it's fade.
It sprang up over night
and faded. What a plight.
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But the city of Nineveh important and great,
Why shouldn't it be that I care about that city's fate?
Over a hundred and twenty thousand people,
but what of them?
Animals as well as Women, Children and men.
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God always has the last word,
That's because He is the first and the last.
It makes you think.
Doesn't it?
Praise Him.
Copyright Jack Brown © 1996