TODAY’S VERSE:
Romans 9:15 “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’”
When we left Jonah in our study, he had just been vomited up by the fish after spending 3 days and 3 nights in its belly. Jonah had repented from his earlier disobedience, so God gave him a second chance to act on His behalf.
Jonah 3:1-2 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’”
Jonah learned his lesson and this time did as he was commanded. Yay!
Jonah 3:3a “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.”
Jonah then spent the next 3 days walking throughout Nineveh, warning the people that their city would be taken over by their enemies in 40 days if they did not turn from their sinful ways. The Ninevites were pagans, meaning they worshipped many gods, and God even called them wicked. Think about that for a moment; God sent a Jewish prophet to a city of wicked unbelievers, who were enemies of the Jewish people, in order to warn them of the judgement about to come upon them. Why would He do that? This was His will, that is why (see today’s verse). Now, Jonah neither understood why God was warning them nor did he like it. That did not matter, though. Our job is to simply trust and obey God. There will be times in this life when we will not understand why things are happening. We may wonder why God allows it. It may even seem unfair! We must remember, though, that God is perfectly just and righteous.
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
We must also remember that God is in charge, He created everything, and makes all of the rules. So, who are we to question Him?
Romans 9:20 “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”
So, how do you think these wicked pagans responded to the warning from God? Did they laugh at Jonah or throw him out of their city? Nope, the Ninevites responded like Jonah had, they repented- changed their mind about and regretted their sin!
Jonah 3:5,7 “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. This is the proclamation he (the King) issued in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’”
How did God respond?
Jonah 3:10 “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
This chapter reminds us of the unbelievable mercy of God! He made His displeasure quite clear to both Jonah and the Ninevites. God warned them in different ways, but He got His message across. It is the same for all of us. God may warn us in big, scary ways like He did with Jonah or He may warn us more quietly, through others, as with the Ninevites. Either way, it is our job to listen to the warning, repent from our sin, and focus on obedience to God’s Word! Thank you, Lord, for your amazing mercy and forgiveness!