CHAPTER FOURTEEN
He Learned a Lesson in Mercy JONAH would have plenty of time to think. Before him lay a journey of more than 500 miles, an overland trek that would take him about a month, perhaps even longer. To begin, he had to choose between the shorter routes and the safer ones and then steadily make his way through valleys and over mountain passes beyond counting. He likely had to skirt the vast Syrian Desert, ford such rivers as the mighty Euphrates, and seek shelter among foreigners in the towns and villages of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. As the days passed, he thought about the destination that he so dreaded, the city that drew closer with each step he took—Nineveh. 2 One thing Jonah knew for certain: He could not turn around and run away from this assignment. He had tried that before. As we saw in the preceding chapter, Jehovah patiently taught Jonah by means of a windstorm at sea and a miraculous rescue involving a huge fish. Three days later, Jonah was vomited out alive onto a beach, an awed and more compliant man.—Jonah, chaps. 1, 2. 3 When Jehovah ordered Jonah to Nineveh the second time, the prophet obediently headed east on this long journey. (Read Jonah 3:1-3.) However, had 1. What kind of journey lay ahead of Jonah, and how did he feel about his destination? 2. How had Jonah learned that he could not run away from his assignment? 3. What quality had Jehovah shown toward Jonah, yet what question arises? 116