As a student of God’s word, one common issue I continuously encountered and was often confronted with, was the arduous task of reading old written Biblical translations. Many use that as an excuse to avoid reading a Bible. I believe one should constantly learn, especially “God’s Word”. In fact, I believe if you’re too old to learn, you might be too old to live. Thus I chose to challenge myself to use my God given poetic gift to write biblical events in a more palatable form, making it somewhat easier to absorb, while being very careful to avoid diluting it’s strength and message.
Herein is the very familiar story of the Prophet Jonah, who was commanded by God to go to Nineveh and preach. Nineveh was an Assyrian Nation, which was historically an antagonizing enemy of Israel. Jonah did not want to preach to them, mainly because, him delivering God’s word might cause some to repent, and God hears a repentant prayer. Jonah didn’t want God to hear their prayer and or show them mercy. He wanted God to judge and destroy his “enemies.
Raised in a racially hostile environment, I was challenged to learn to love my enemies. I now pose this question; will you go to your prospective present day Nineveh and witness for God, or do you hate your enemies more than you love God?
This is the Poetically Correct Story entitled:
“To Nineveh or Not” ? By: The ≠ Poet Joel.