Jonah and Ethno-Centrism

The Prophet Jonah and Ethno-Centrism

            Ethno-centrism refers to favoring one people group to the detriment of another. For example, just 50 years ago in the American South there existed a deep racial divide between Blacks and Whites. The poor conditions that Blacks were forced to live under have yet to be fully eradicated. Another example would be the apartheid in South Africa that fell in the early 1990’s. As I hope you are beginning to realize, in the Bible God is not ethno-centric. Yes, the Israelite people were chosen to carry His Name and to be the ancestors of the Messiah, Jesus. However, none of this was to the detriment of the peoples around Israel.

Yet today many Christians, especially in the West, are ethno-centric and do not even realize it. What I mean by this is that they unilaterally support the modern state of Israel, even though under the current political and economic situation, this is deeply harming the Arab nations, especially Palestine. In the same breath I must add that most unilateral supporters of Israel are not aware of the human rights violations occurring all throughout Palestine. I have enough faith in humanity and the values of justice, integrity, and mercy that God has hard-wired into every one of us, to believe that if more people were aware of the human rights violations that the current Israeli government is committing against Palestinians, American citizens would demand that their government cease giving federal aid to Israel until its policies are in compliance with international law.

God is not ethno-centric. But people are. In fact, many people who call themselves God’s people are ethno-centric and fully believe that they are right in feeling this way. One example is the Old Testament prophet Jonah. Jonah was an Israelite who was diligent and faithful to bring God’s word to the Israelite people. One day, however, God gave Jonah an unexpected order: Go to Nineveh and tell the people that unless they repent from their wickedness, their city will be destroyed. Nineveh is in modern-day Iraq, the same location as the city of Mosul. It was known to be pagan, with a large pantheon.

Jonah, being an ethno-centric Israelite, did not like this command. What he said regarding his task clearly conveys man’s ethno-centrism, versus God’s lack thereof: “I know that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah 4:2b In other words, “I know that You wanted to have mercy on the Ninevites. But I did not want them to receive any mercy.” For this reason, Jonah tried to run away from God. He went to the seaport of Joppa and boarded a ship headed for Tarshish.

Most of us realize that it is impossible to run away from God. King David said, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.” Psalm 139:7-12

Of course God knew where Jonah was, and He made a great storm come up that threatened to overturn the boat. All of the sailors began praying to their different gods, when Jonah, emboldened by the fear of imminent death, declared, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” Jonah 1:9 He confessed that he was running from God, and that that is why the storm came. So everyone on board decided to do the most sensible thing: throw Jonah overboard. Immediately the storm was silenced.

Because of God’s abounding and great mercy, Jonah did not drown. Instead, a giant fish swallowed him whole. Inside the fish, Jonah repented of trying to run from God. Three days later, the fish threw him up onto dry ground. He immediately set out for Nineveh.

When he arrived, he preached a rather simple sermon that sent the entire city, from servants to the king, into repentance: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Sure enough, because of the people’s repentance, God did not destroy Nineveh. Jonah did not like this at all. He actually sat on a hill overlooking the city, hoping to watch the city’s destruction.

God said to Jonah, “Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:11 In saying that 120,000 people could not tell their right hand from their left, I believe what He is saying is that there are 120,000 young children.

I have to wonder what He thinks of the current situation in Palestine. My thought is that He is in heaven, watching our ethno-centric ideas about Israel and saying, “Palestine has 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left. Should I not be concerned about that nation?”

 

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

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