Dogs, Jonah, and Mosul

Tonight I listened to some horrific tales coming out of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. One particularly sad story was about a live dog wrapped in an electric cord in a tree, enduring electrocution. A cameraman watched helplessly, unable to get to the dog or safely attempt a rescue.

If the loss of an animal can be this heart wrenching, how much moreso is the loss of human life.

Such a perspective on the value of human life was exactly what God was getting at with Jonah when He questioned the runaway prophet about his whining. Remember the story? After Jonah preached his unenthusiastic “Get right or get left” message to his Iraqi (near modern-day Mosul) enemies, he parked on a hillside under some shade to watch and wait for God to wage some destruction. But the people repented, so the Lord showed mercy. And Jonah hopped and danced over the biggest single revival in history, right?

Uh, no. He got torked! He was irate that God had spared his enemies.

Not only did Jonah discount the value of human life. He prized something far less important—the gourd that had shielded him from the sun. That gourd withered thanks to a worm. And there sat Jonah crying about his own sunburn, angry that God hadn't fried the hated Iraqis. So God asked Jonah a question:

"You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But 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?" (4:10).

If you’re not going to care for the grownups, Jonah, (God tells him) at least have compassion on the children…and the animals.

May God have mercy in New Orleans on animals and people. And may He have the same mercy on Mosul...not just on our own troops stationed there, but also on the Ninevites whom God has tended and grown, people made in His own image.