We strike a bargain, abet an unconscious one. “You are our God and we are your people; therefore, bad things should not happen to us. Bad things should happen to bad people.” If there was an empire that deserved the label “bad” (and there are many), Assyria was at the top of Jonah’s list. During the seventh and eighth centuries BC, they gobbled up territory, exacted tribute, and enslaved conquered peoples. Little Israel was no match for big, bad Assyria. Unfortunately for Jonah, Israel’s god, Yahweh, had other plans. Yahweh sent his reluctant prophet to preach judgement. Jonah not only preached judgement, he expected it because ruthless Nineveh deserved it. But then the unexpected happened; the people of Nineveh, from the king down to the street beggar, repented. They went the whole nine yards with sackcloth, ashes, fasting, praying, and pleading for mercy. What were the odds that “bad people” would respond with such conviction to the preaching of a foul-smelling foreign prophet? I spent the summer trying to get under the skin of the prophet Jonah. The result of that process was artwork, four retreat guides, and an essay. In the process Jonah got under my skin.