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~ JONAH ~
Why did God choose Jonah?
If God knows the future and the contents of a man's heart why did he choose disobedient, Jonah to deliver the message to the residents of Nineveh? Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.' Why did God use Jonah, a man who did not like, nor wanted the people of Nineveh to repent of their sins. Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve."
The Lord uses our disobedience to his advantage. Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." The Lord used Jonah's disobedience to make Himself known to the people aboard the ship Jonah boarded in Joppa. Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no God was formed, nor will there be one after me. He used Jonah to witness to the people aboard the ship. He told them that his God was the creator of heaven and earth. The people on board feared God and offered him a sacrifice. There is no doubt everyone aboard the ship witnessed to others, when they reached their final destination without the goods they had to throw over board.
Another way God used Jonah's disobedience was by allowing the great fish to swallow Jonah then vomit him on the beach. Thus, the Lord's messenger made a "GRAND ENTRY" to the city. HABAKKUK 1:5 "Look at the nations and watch-- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. Had Jonah been obedient, he would've gone straight to Nineveh, either by foot, camel, donkey, or the common form of transportation used in those days. Then the delivery of his message would've taken place by a common man. God's thoughts on the other hand were higher than men's. Isaiah 55:8-9 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
God told Jonah that he was going to destroy the great city of Nineveh, if they didn't repent and turn away from their sins. Jonah would've been guilty of MURDER, for not warning the residents of Nineveh of their inevitable destruction. EZEKIEL 3:18 When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.