Jonah 3 reminds me that we serve a God of
second chances. Up to this point, Jonah had heard God’s command
but instead of following it, he ran away. After suffering the
consequences, and repenting, God hurled him back onto his feet. The
human reaction to a trouble maker is to retaliate, or reprimand, or
relegate to the damaged goods section. A really good boss might give
reduced responsibilities and let us earn our way back up the ladder.
What does God do? Without any hesitation, God assigns the same job!
“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’“.
I picture Jonah dropping to his knees in thanks after touching dry
land, still looking and feeling like death warmed-over and being
immediately returned to full authority. We instinctively do not
trust someone that purposely spurns us, but God knows the intentions
of our heart. When He forgives, He restores. And notice how Jonah
reacted, “Jonah obeyed the word
of the Lord and went to Nineveh“.
Are you sitting in a self-imposed “time out?”
Next
we read a tidbit of information that seems insignificant, “Nineveh
was a
very large city; it took three days to go through it“.
After his prior 3-day ordeal, this must have seemed effortless to
Jonah. Godly motivation produces endurance. And what did Jonah say?
His message was simple, “Forty
more days and Nineveh will be overthrown“.
The next verse gives us the result, “The
Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from
the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth“.
Never forget, it is not our cleverness that changes lives, but the
power of His Word and His Spirit. “For
the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”
(Hebrews 4:12).
Jonah’s
warning even reached the king of Nineveh who also humbled himself
before God, offering a decree to the nation, “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“.
Perhaps the only thing more amazing than a nation repenting is God’s
boundless forgiveness. “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“. Many people
today are looking to politicians for help, hope and salvation. May
God speak His uncompromising truth through men and women that have
received a second chance. The apostle Paul prayed for all who are
willing to speak God’s Word with authority, “that
you may have great endurance and patience,
and giving joyful thanks to
the Father, who has qualified you”
(Colossians 1:11). Have you disqualified yourself? What will you do
with a second chance?