What Jonah's Disobedience Can Teach Us Today, Part 2
Last week, we looked at the first two chapters of the book of Jonah to see what we can learn from the account of Jonah’s disobedience and second chance that God gave him. We saw a picture of God’s mercy, both toward the people of Nineveh and Jonah, who both were disobedient toward God.
We left off last week with Jonah on dry land, having just been vomited out of the big fish. As Jonah continues his journey to Nineveh to (begrudgingly) deliver God’s message, we find many more lessons and truths that can apply to us today.
God did not give up on Jonah.
Jonah Chapter 3 begins with the Word of the Lord coming to Jonah a second time. Even though Jonah has been stubborn, resistant to God’s will, and a total failure so far, God gives Jonah another chance. How many times have we also turned our back on what God is asking of us, only for Him to come to us again and again with another chance? I’m grateful He is a loving and merciful God who gives second chances!
Nineveh was huge.
It’s probably easier to think of Nineveh as a modern-day metroplex. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire (modern day Iraq), huge, elaborate, and wealthy. In fact, we read in Jonah Chapter 3 that it would take you three days to walk through the city and its surrounding areas. Archeologists have discovered it had an elaborate system of canals and underground channels that brought water from the Tigris River. The population of Nineveh is stated in Jonah Chapter 4 to be around 120,000 persons, which is quite a large number for this period!
Jonah doesn’t actually call Nineveh to repent.
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to call them to repent from their wickedness. However, Jonah’s message to the Ninevites is, “Yet 40 days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” His is not a message of repentance but a message of impending doom. Jonah may be following God’s instructions in letter to speak to the Ninevites, but he is certainly not doing so in the spirit of the message God requested of Jonah. Jonah doesn’t want Nineveh to repent; he wants to see them destroyed. Jonah hates Nineveh, an enemy of Israel, and Jonah doesn’t want God to save them.
“Overthrown” has two meanings.
Ironically, the Hebrew word for “overthrown” that Jonah uses in his message to Nineveh actually has two meanings. The first meaning (how Jonah intended it) is “destroyed.” It is the same word used in the Bible to describe the destruction at Sodom and Gomorrah. However, a second meaning for this word is “changed” or “transformed.” This is the same word used in the Bible when Moses threw down his staff and it was “transformed” into a serpent. So, Jonah’s prophecy will actually turn out to be true – Nineveh is transformed by the end of the story!
God uses even Jonah’s poor preaching.
After hearing Jonah’s message, the people of Nineveh show immediate remorse and repentance. Despite Jonah’s hard heart and poor preaching of what God told Jonah to say to the Ninevites, God softened the hearts of the Ninevites. This is so encouraging to me and all teachers, preachers, and proclaimers of God’s Word. If God can use Jonah and his poor delivery of God’s intended message, God can still utilize us even in our weakness!
A life growing spiritually approaches God in humility, not arrogance.
We see a great contrast between Jonah and the king of Nineveh in how they each approach God. Jonah constantly shares his credentials, puffs out his chest, and thinks he is too good to follow God’s commands. Jonah, a prophet of God, actually thinks he knows better what to do than God. On the other hand, the king of Nineveh, a hated Gentile enemy of Israel, puts on sackcloth (what the poorest of the poor would wear), abstains from food, and sits in ashes to show his humility before God after hearing Jonah’s message. Which of these two seems to be growing in their spiritual walk? Which of these two truly understand how great God’s mercy and grace are? A life growing spiritually also pursues the lost with love. Are we doing that?
God always responds to a repentant heart.
No matter our past, God responds to a repentant heart. God had planned calamity for the city of Nineveh, but He chose to remove His judgment when the people repented and turned to God. The people of Nineveh were truly, truly wicked. They were known to be exceedingly cruel and violent to their captives in warfare, and they were feared by all surrounding kingdoms. Additionally, they were involved in idol worship of the most perverse nature. If God can forgive them, He can certainly forgive you if you will turn to Him!
Jonah foreshadows Christ.
Just as Jonah was in the whale for three days, Jesus was in the grave for three days. Jesus even referenced the true story of Jonah in Matthew 12:40. And just as Jonah was used to save non-Jews from destruction, Jesus too extends His gift of forgiveness to the Gentiles and all who will turn to Him!
Jonah’s love for Israel was his idol.
Jonah loved Israel deeply. In fact, he loved Israel and the status they had as God’s chosen people more than he loved God! Jonah’s love for Israel caused him to hate anyone who wasn’t Israel, so much so that he was displeased when their destruction didn’t come. Have you ever known someone who allowed their political views or love of country to become their idol? Have you ever allowed yourself to create an “us vs. them” mentality when it comes to politics? Is there someone in your life that you wish ill upon or you need to forgive? Do you sometimes forget what Jesus has done for you, in spite of your sinful ways in the past? This is where the story of Jonah really starts to hit home.
A life growing spiritually is more interested in people than things.
God provides a plant to Jonah to keep him comfortable while he waited for the destruction of Nineveh after Jonah delivered his message-destruction that wasn’t coming. The next day, God appoints a worm to attack the plant, which causes Jonah to want to die. Jonah is so self-focused that he is more concerned about his own comfort than the souls of actual human beings that he wants to see destroyed. God is trying to show Jonah that He cares for all people, and God can show compassion for whomever He chooses. God even has compassion for you and me (as messed up as we are too), and He has compassion for people who we may not necessary like too much right now. Is there somebody out there that you need to forgive, or quit wishing ill upon because they did you wrong, or you simply don’t like them?
The book ends with no conclusion-or does it?
After God chastises Jonah for his selfishness, the book abruptly ends without telling us if Jonah ever had a change of heart. Why did God not include the conclusion of the story here? Because the story is not really about Jonah after all. It’s about us. It’s about how we will respond to His commandment to go share the Gospel with the world, and show Christ’s love to the people God puts in our path. God has extended His mercy and grace to you and to me. Will you share that mercy and grace with the lost individuals that God has placed in your life and quit telling God No?
To listen to an in-depth discussion on Jonah 3-4, listen to my podcast episode at https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/7vRYMA9vdBb. If you enjoyed diving into the Book of Jonah from the Bible in detail these past two weeks, I invite you to tune in each week to my podcast for free as we study God’s Word.