JONAH
God’s Unrelenting Mercy
Chapter 3 – “For God so Loved the Ninevites”
Jonah 3:1-10 / Romans 10:1-13
Review: “I will keep”- What things has God asked us specifically? Don’t be controlled by any vain schemes of compromising living. In Jonah chapter 3, we are confronted with the amazing mercy of God, giving a second chance to even the most unfaithful servants of God.
SAME PROPHET, SAME MESSAGE v.1-2 So, was this good news?
Yes, because it was the truth…
THE MAN- Those who have known grace can preach grace. Those who have been delivered by it can be declarers of it. An equipping/shaping grace in the preacher must come before an evangelistic/saving grace to the people. (Psalm 51:12-13; Ezra 7:10; 1 Tim. 4:16).
THE MESSAGE- “Forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed”. 5 WORDS in the Hebrew. A very short and very odd sermon, stressing the urgency of the message. 40 days- This speaks to a significant time of proving and testing under God. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days (Matt. 4:2). Jesus’ generation was given a period of 40 years to repent and believe (30-70AD).
Could this be a prophetic sabotage? No mention of Nineveh’s sin, no instruction on how to repent, in fact no mention of God at all. Well, these are the words which God gave the prophet. It was true- Nineveh will perish if they do not repent. ‘Overturn’= to destroy --- or --- to change, transform (1 Sam.10:6).
OLD CITY, OLD PROBLEM v.3-4 So, just how lost were they?
They were rebels in disobedience more than they were pagans in blindness…
THE CITY- Jonah heads to Nineveh, the jewel of the fertile crescent- At the optimum of greatness, the model city. Standing for a millennium or more, it was built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:11). The city was three days walk. This was not an ignorant city, but a rebellious city. Tri-cities of Resen and Calah.
THE PROBLEM- The universal problem of sin has a universal remedy, a remedy which Jonah was reluctant to share. How does the LORD destroy His enemies? Not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance.
NEW PEOPLE, NEW LIFE v.5-10 So, how do we account for this revival?
Our God delights in mercy….
THE PEOPLE-. Here is another great miracle in Jonah- similar to Jonah in the fish. From death to life, from darkness to life, from unbelief to faith in Jesus.
· “They believed GOD, proclaimed a fast” – bringing this city to its knees.
· “From the greatest to the least of them”- Not a great day for the doctrine of “free-will”
· “Then the word came to the king.”- Proclaimed a fast -reflecting the conscience of the nation.
THE LIFE- They all repented, and God relented. The tension is resolved by God. He hurls a storm of words and brings the calming of their hearts. Relent [Nachem} to sigh, to breath strongly, to pity, to console. (6x) (Gen. 6:6; Ex. 32:14; Jer. 26:19) This lesson is for all of us- What did Jonah learn in the belly of the fish? There is mercy to be had for anyone, if we would only believe. He saved you, didn’t He? If His Word can bring a whole city to its knees it can accomplish what it is intended for Wallowa County (Isaiah 55:11).