Sometimes I get frustrated with preaching because there is so much good stuff in every passage of Scripture and I have so little time to share it with the congregation. So this week at least I thought I might post a further thought from the book of Jonah.

The thought is simply this - I find it fascinating and refreshing how Jonah's book communicates God's care not just for the "souls" of people but for the well being of the whole of the physical creation too. It is interesting how animals are right there in the middle of the mix as the action of the story unfolds.

First there is the great fish of course who, as we saw when we looked at this passage, is the faithful servant of God. The fish is an ironic foil off which Jonah's disobedience is played communicating to the reader once again that Jonah is the one with the issues here - even the fish of the sea obey God when they hear His voice.

Then there is the way the animals of Nineveh are incorporated into the fasting. I think there was a recognition here that if the city is indeed destroyed as Jonah is prophesying, it's their necks on the line too. They are also there to show us to what lengths the people of Nineveh go in their repentance making sure even their livestock fast and don sackcloth.

And finally in chapter 4 the climactic statement of the book - God says to Jonah essentially, "Nineveh is a great city full of thousands of people why shouldn't I care about it." But the way God says it is just incredible he says, "Nineveh is filled with men and women who don't know their right hand from their left...and also much cattle." I love that - "and also much cattle." God sent Jonah to call the city to repentance because He is the God of life and He does not want to destroy anything that He has made (mind you He would if forced to - but the point I am making is that He doesn't want to). Here we have the cattle lumped in right there with all the ignorant people. God loves them too and doesn't want to see them punished for their owners' evil deeds. That is just wonderful.

I think taken as a whole all of this has an important message for us who identify ourselves as evangelicals in today's world. So often we get so caught up in concern for men and women's immortal souls (which btw - I think our conception of that as some disembodied part of a person that goes to heaven when they die is flawed as well - but that is a topic for another post) that we fail to remember that we serve a God who cares about the physical well being of people...and Who even cares about the well being of the animals He has created. We need to question the cultural assumptions of our day which see inanimate nature and even sub-human species as a means to an end (cultural assumptions which I fear the evangelical mindset have contributed to). We need to recapture the compassionate heart of God for all that He has created...not because we are hipppies, but because we are God-fearers.

Just a thought - I would love to hear what others think on the subject.