Explain why Jonah attempted to run from God's assignment?

First, ask yourself why you or I have run from what God wanted us to do? Before we assign any guilt on Jonah, we have to examine our selves first (II Corinthians 13:5). This is the word of the Lord that came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me (1:1-2). From II Kings 14:25 we learn that Jonah was a prophet, called by God, to Israel. As such, he was born, raised, and educated as a Jew. His and Israel's hated enemy of the time, under the reign of Jeroboam around 800 BC, the Assyrians. If I put myself in his sandals; why would I want to travel all the way to Nineveh, and then preach repentance. I, with Assyria being Israel's hated enemy, would want God to destroy the Assyrians. See, the Assyrians were in a weaken state, and it would be easy for God to just go ahead and destroy them. Jeroboam II, who came into power in 798 BC, with the Assyrians in a weaken state, could expand in Samaria. Uzziah could also secure land in Judah as well. In reality, in less than 80 years, God would use the Assyrians as a tool of His justice, to destroy the Northern Kingdom because of their own worshiping of idols, sacrificing of children, and apostasy. Jonah also knew the Assyrians were extremely brutal and cruel. They were known to impale their enemies; torturing their captives by hacking off noses, ears, and fingers. Jonah was probably fearful of going into enemy territory and preaching repentance. A side note, Jonah became the first foreign missionary of Israel.