Murmurs of Grace ~ A
Jonah's mission was without precedence. It published murmurs of grace to the world of the Ancient Near East, to be developed at the Cross. Even gentiles can be saved.
Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa ... boarded a boat and sailed ... to flee the Lord. (Jonah 1:3)
Tarshish was geographically opposite to Nineveh.
Jonah chose a sea journey of 5000ks instead of a land sojourn of 1000ks. He had certainly decided to make life difficult for himself.
Jonah refused to enter the great city of Nineveh, so he entered a far greater storm. This he just could not refuse.
The cost of obedience was too great for him, so the cost of disobedience became far greater.
Disobedience makes the 2nd state worse than the 1st.
The Last Word:
St Augustine observed there can be only 2 basic loves - the love of self unto the forgetfulness of God, or the love of God unto the forgetfulness of self.