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28th November: Biblical Case Histories: The Jonah Syndrome

Jonah ran away from the Lord... Jn 1:3 (NIV)

The Jonah syndrome is a curious and fairly common affliction. It has a severe crippling effect of quite early onset. Yet those who suffer from it do not always appreciate how serious and dangerous it is until it has reached an advanced stage. If treatment is to be effective at that advanced stage, it may need to be drastic and painful. It is better to deal with it when it first starts.

This syndrome is not described in modern textbooks of medicine, either under the name of the Jonah syndrome or under the alternative designation of Nineveh-phobia. However, a description is to be found in a very old but thoroughly reliable book which is still available in reputable book shops. In that Book the classical case history of the Jonah syndrome is recorded. This is it in brief:

• The word of the Lord came to Jonah: `Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me'. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and sailed for Tarshish.

The the Lord sent a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid... They cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah. So they asked him, `Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from?...'

He answered, `I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land'. This terrified them and they asked `What have you done?... What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?

`Pick me up and throw me into the sea', he replied, `and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you... Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm...'

But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah on to dry land. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: `Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you'. Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh... The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast and...put on sackcloth.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

This is relevant for us all. How it is relevant for any one of us is between us and our Lord. But he does expect us to listen for his voice and not to make excuses. If we have problems, he can deal with them. It does not help to run away: there many well be a storm and a big fish waiting for us around the corner. Beware of the Jonah syndrome.

There is a well-known old English prayer that sums it up:

Lord God, when you set us a task,
grant us also to know that it is not the beginning,
but the continuing of it to the end,
until it is thoroughly finished,
which yields the true glory.

Further reading: The Book of Jonah.

RRW