“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4
the whole message
just one sentence
delivered by a man full of prejudice, anger, bitterness and lacking in grace
Jonah did not care about his hearers
in fact he was quite looking forward to their destruction
He did not labor over his message
or try to develop a creative hook to get their attention
or try to explain anything that might be unfamiliar of unclear
no lively stories
no passionate or heartfelt appeals
and yet, one of the most amazing responses ever recorded in the whole Bible:
5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
6 The word reached[c] the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
the people of Ninveh heard and responded in such a whole hearted genuine repentent way
God did not do as he had said
this is all the more ironic
considering all the prophets
God sent to speak
to those who professed to know him
with very little helpful response recorded
Oh Lord,
let me never think,
oh, that person is beyond the work of God's redemption...
they would never understand
they are not interested in God in any way
they are too hardened
too sinful
they have done too much already
surely God is not interested in such
they are certainly doomed
and rightfully so
Oh Lord
let me never think,
oh. I am beyond
prejudice,
hatred,
bitterness
wanting to observe
and even enjoy
another's comeupance
God was seeking to work salvation in the people of Ninevah and in the heart of his own servant
they both had equal need
but
sadly only one experienced God's amazing mercy
Oh, let me beware
it was the one who professed to know Him
that missed Him entirely...
it was the one who knew so much about Him
that never really enjoyed Him at all...
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong. He became angry.
2 He prayed to the Lord.
Here is what Jonah said to him. “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home?
That is what I tried to prevent by running away to Tarshish.
I knew that you are gracious.
You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them.
3 Lord, take away my life. I’d rather die than live.”
2 He prayed to the Lord.
Here is what Jonah said to him. “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home?
That is what I tried to prevent by running away to Tarshish.
I knew that you are gracious.
You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them.
3 Lord, take away my life. I’d rather die than live.”
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah 4:1-4 NIVR
it was the one who assumed he was in the right
that ended at odds with God'
the book of Jonah ends with Jonah, alone in a hot dessert,
angry at God and not being willing to change
He thought it was the people of Ninevah who needed to change the most
but most of the this book is showing God interacting with Jonah
seeking to work salvation and deliverance and redemption in him
Oh Lord, give us ears to hear you,
really hear you
let your double edged sword of truth peirce through our deflections
whatever words you might want to speak through us
there is also always a message for us to hear as well
eyes to see your beauty and your working
in what is to us, the most unlikely of people and places
a heart to always be humble and live in the wonder of your grace and mercy
"For by grace through faith you are saved
it is the gift of God and not of ourselves..." Ephesians 2 :8-9
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.
Ephesians 2:7-9 The Message
Ephesians 3:20-21New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations [a]forever and ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment