A generation is defined by the English dictionary as the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time. It spans a range of 20-35 years.

Some of our generations that are alive on earth are the Baby Boom Generation (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), Millennial Generation (1981-1996), Generation Z (1997-2010), and Generation Alpha (Born after 2000) (Parents).

Each of these generations is unique in its own way with different personalities.

The type of generation that this post is referring to is not defined based on years but on Christian values and characteristics.

How do you define the Jonah generation?

You will clearly understand the definition of this generation when you look at the characteristics of Jonah.

Jonah was one of God’s prophets. The biblical prophets are God’s spoke persons or the voice of God in the earthly realm.

The Lord gave Jonah a specific instruction.

“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

(Jonah 1:2 NLT)

Jonah’s only mandate was to warn the people of Nineveh of the impending judgment of God upon the land.

The Lord did not tell Jonah to preach repentance. He was only to warn.

However, Jonah refused to obey God and decided to go in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go.

So he boarded a ship that was going to Tarshish hoping that he would run away from God.

Run Jonah! Run!

Why was Jonah running?

Jonah believed that the wicked people of Nineveh should all die and go to hell for their crimes.

Jonah also knew that if he warned the people and they repented, God would forgive them because God is merciful and it is not His will that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

In Jonah’s mind, the people of Nineveh did not deserve salvation.

Pride also consumed Jonah’s heart because he thought that he could disregard God’s command and get away with it.

Deception follows pride!

So, Jonah deceived himself into thinking that he could stop the plan of God.

When you deceive yourself you will make foolish decisions.

Hence, Jonah foolishly decided to hide from God.

So he ran in the opposite direction to the furthest place that the ship was going hoping that God would change His plans and just simply pour down fire and brimstone upon the city of Nineveh.

But, God never carries out an act of judgment unless He first sends a warning. Thus, Jonah’s mandate was quite necessary.

Can Jonah escape the presence of God?

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

(Psalms 139:7-10 NKJV)

Jonah ran straight into the merciful arms of God inside the belly of a great fish in the depths of the ocean.

Jonah did not know how he got into that predicament but had enough sense to desperately cry out to God for help.

Repent Jonah! Repent!

The Lord mercifully forgave Jonah and commanded the fish to vomit him out on the shore.

A grateful and relieved Jonah was ready to obey the Lord. But, the story did not end there.

Immediately upon entering the city, Jonah walked the entire streets and shouted seven words of God’s impending judgment upon the city.

And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

(Jonah 3:4 NKJV)

Suddenly, something remarkable happened.

The entire nation from the king’s palace to the poorest hut was convicted of their sins.

Everyone put on sackcloth, covered their heads with ashes, and fell on their knees crying out to the Almighty God to have mercy upon them.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

(2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)

Yes, the Lord heard their cry and forgave their sins, and relented from His harsh judgment.

But Jonah had no compassion for the people of Nineveh.

Jonah warned the people but expected that God would still execute the punishment.

So he found a comfortable spot outside the city and made himself a shelter hoping to get a first-hand view of the destruction of Nineveh.

Jonah received forgiveness from God because of his disobedience but He refused to forgive the people of Nineveh.

God provided a plant to shelter Jonah but when He destroyed it the following morning Jonah became angry wishing that he would die.

The story ended abruptly when God reprimanded Jonah for his behavior.

But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.  And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?

(Jonah 4:10-11 NKJV)

What happened to Jonah? Did he repent of his sins? Or did God grant him his wish to die with an angry unforgiving heart?

The Jonah generation

The Jonah generation consistently receives mercy and forgiveness from God but does not show mercy and forgiveness towards each other.

The Jonah generation preaches the gospel of salvation to a sinful world but prefers to see the wicked perish in an everlasting burning hell where the fire cannot quench, and the worms do not die.

The Jonah generation categorizes sin and considers some sins more devious than others.

The Jonah generation is prideful, stubborn, and disobedient. These demonic spirits lead to deception and foolish behavior.

God is not pleased with the behavior of the Jonah generation.

Repentance is necessary!

Repent backsliding Church!

‘Return, backsliding Israel (Church),’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

(Jeremiah 3: 12-13 NKJV)

God is pleading to the Jonah Generation

• Wash and be clean (Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:8-10).
• Return unto Him (Zechariah 1:3).
• Love and forgive each other (John 13:34-3; Matthew 6:14-15).
• Renew your mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2).
• Receive the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
• Return to your first love (Revelation 2:4).
• “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (Joel 2:12)

Let us consider our ways and build our bodies as God’s holy temple.

Are you part of the Jonah or Joshua generation?

Read The Joshua Generation.