TEXT: JONAH 3:1-10
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in this scripture we can see that, Jonah would obey the second commission with renewed strength and divine authority. He would appear in Nineveh as a sign, an outward proof of a divine purpose in his life and work. Jonah lived in the reign of Jeroboam II. In his youth he was probably contemporary with Elisha and afterward with Hosea and Amos prophets of the kingdom of the ten tribes. He prophesied when Israel was oppressed by Syria. “The word of Jonah to Jeroboam appears as the sun-gleam with which Jehovah’s countenance had beamed on Israel”. Living among the revolted tribes testifying to their iniquity and the patience of God, he never thought of exercising his ministry among the heathen. The commission to Nineveh was a special and extra ordinary event. In love with his own country and prejudiced against others, he naturally shrunk from it. In his sentiments he is an image of the people to whom he belonged. Like him they declined to fulfill their commission to the Gentiles, but had to obey and set forth the mercy of God to the heathen world. The events of his life were not myths, but realities and typical of the saviors death resurrection, the great facts of our redemption.
Who knows? The poignant question asked in the decree and echoed in Joel 2:14, expresses the theological issue around which the chapter revolves contingency and sovereignty. Jonah is not certain what will result from his finally preaching in Nineveh the words God has given him. Jonah can hope for the destruction of the city, but cannot surly expect it (cf-4:5). God alone will decide its fate. The citizens of Nineveh can believe and repent, but sincerity alone cannot control what God is free to do for them or against them. They can hope for deliverance, cannot surely expect it (v.9). The hearer/reader does not know what will happen either. Then in v.10 comes the answer to the suspense generated already in 1:2. Nineveh’s repentance was acceptable to God. He spared the city and none, after all perished, God alone knew the answer to the question “Who knows?”
A message of the book of Jonah is that God does not exercise his power arbitrarily and discriminatorily, Jonah the nationalist wants God to bless Israel and harm all its enemies. His own actions, showing respect and concern for the sailors in chap.1 and the plant in chap.4, are of course, evidence of the inconsistency of his own position. But God is patient, “not wanting any one to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peters-3:9), and, “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim-2:4). He manifests his sovereignty not in stubbornness but in grace, not in narrow particularism but in a willingness to forgive any people. There is however a contingency. The book of Jonah does not teach a naïve, lowest common-denominator universalism. Only general repentance can result in forgiveness. God’s threat is not to be taken lightly; His warning is as severe as the Ninevites took it to be.
Eventually, Nineveh became again a nation famous for its evil. It is clear that the city-wide repentance need not have been permanent in order for God to forgive the city. What the people showed was genuine contribution at one point, which was enough for God to unleash his waiting grace and bind his waiting wrath. Biblical descriptions of the effects of repentance seem to presume that an act of general repentance in relevant to a single generation (cf.e.g.Deo-4:9-compared to 4:25). Later generations will be responsible for their own repentance. A later generation of unrepentant Ninevites was destroyed (in 611 B.C.).
The only answer to this question is found in the sovereign will of God. God does as he pleases with whomever he pleases. When God decided to do a work in the city of Nineveh, he chose to use Jonah in spite of his imperfections. God did not need a sinless prophet to accomplish his purpose. He used Jonah just as he was, imperfect, rebellious, and bitter. He can certainly do the same with us. We must be careful to realize, though, that just because we are being used by God doesn’t mean that we are right with God. The story of Jonah is a clear example of this. The secret to success in ministry doesn’t depend on our character, personality, or method; it depends on God.
It is true that our sin is often removes the blessing of God from our lives and ministries. The fact of the matter, however, is that we can be living in a right relationship with God and still, like the prophets of the old, see no fruit in our ministry. On the contrary, we cannot say: “I must be living right, look at how God is blessing my ministry.” As a sovereign God, he can accomplish his will through a sinner like Jonah or through a great Saint Paul.
Ultimately the advancement of the kingdom of God depends more on God than on human. If God’s work depended upon our goodness and spirituality, there would not be much hope for this world. A quick look at the shape of the church in our day ought to prove the validity of this statement. God works despite our imperfections and shortcomings. Dear brothers and sisters let us make a vow that we walk in the right path. God is so gracious with us despite of our shortcomings. This is the day that the God has made for us. Come to him, he is ready to forgive our sins ever. May God shower his grace upon us. Amen
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in this scripture we can see that, Jonah would obey the second commission with renewed strength and divine authority. He would appear in Nineveh as a sign, an outward proof of a divine purpose in his life and work. Jonah lived in the reign of Jeroboam II. In his youth he was probably contemporary with Elisha and afterward with Hosea and Amos prophets of the kingdom of the ten tribes. He prophesied when Israel was oppressed by Syria. “The word of Jonah to Jeroboam appears as the sun-gleam with which Jehovah’s countenance had beamed on Israel”. Living among the revolted tribes testifying to their iniquity and the patience of God, he never thought of exercising his ministry among the heathen. The commission to Nineveh was a special and extra ordinary event. In love with his own country and prejudiced against others, he naturally shrunk from it. In his sentiments he is an image of the people to whom he belonged. Like him they declined to fulfill their commission to the Gentiles, but had to obey and set forth the mercy of God to the heathen world. The events of his life were not myths, but realities and typical of the saviors death resurrection, the great facts of our redemption.
Who knows? The poignant question asked in the decree and echoed in Joel 2:14, expresses the theological issue around which the chapter revolves contingency and sovereignty. Jonah is not certain what will result from his finally preaching in Nineveh the words God has given him. Jonah can hope for the destruction of the city, but cannot surly expect it (cf-4:5). God alone will decide its fate. The citizens of Nineveh can believe and repent, but sincerity alone cannot control what God is free to do for them or against them. They can hope for deliverance, cannot surely expect it (v.9). The hearer/reader does not know what will happen either. Then in v.10 comes the answer to the suspense generated already in 1:2. Nineveh’s repentance was acceptable to God. He spared the city and none, after all perished, God alone knew the answer to the question “Who knows?”
A message of the book of Jonah is that God does not exercise his power arbitrarily and discriminatorily, Jonah the nationalist wants God to bless Israel and harm all its enemies. His own actions, showing respect and concern for the sailors in chap.1 and the plant in chap.4, are of course, evidence of the inconsistency of his own position. But God is patient, “not wanting any one to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peters-3:9), and, “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim-2:4). He manifests his sovereignty not in stubbornness but in grace, not in narrow particularism but in a willingness to forgive any people. There is however a contingency. The book of Jonah does not teach a naïve, lowest common-denominator universalism. Only general repentance can result in forgiveness. God’s threat is not to be taken lightly; His warning is as severe as the Ninevites took it to be.
Eventually, Nineveh became again a nation famous for its evil. It is clear that the city-wide repentance need not have been permanent in order for God to forgive the city. What the people showed was genuine contribution at one point, which was enough for God to unleash his waiting grace and bind his waiting wrath. Biblical descriptions of the effects of repentance seem to presume that an act of general repentance in relevant to a single generation (cf.e.g.Deo-4:9-compared to 4:25). Later generations will be responsible for their own repentance. A later generation of unrepentant Ninevites was destroyed (in 611 B.C.).
The only answer to this question is found in the sovereign will of God. God does as he pleases with whomever he pleases. When God decided to do a work in the city of Nineveh, he chose to use Jonah in spite of his imperfections. God did not need a sinless prophet to accomplish his purpose. He used Jonah just as he was, imperfect, rebellious, and bitter. He can certainly do the same with us. We must be careful to realize, though, that just because we are being used by God doesn’t mean that we are right with God. The story of Jonah is a clear example of this. The secret to success in ministry doesn’t depend on our character, personality, or method; it depends on God.
It is true that our sin is often removes the blessing of God from our lives and ministries. The fact of the matter, however, is that we can be living in a right relationship with God and still, like the prophets of the old, see no fruit in our ministry. On the contrary, we cannot say: “I must be living right, look at how God is blessing my ministry.” As a sovereign God, he can accomplish his will through a sinner like Jonah or through a great Saint Paul.
Ultimately the advancement of the kingdom of God depends more on God than on human. If God’s work depended upon our goodness and spirituality, there would not be much hope for this world. A quick look at the shape of the church in our day ought to prove the validity of this statement. God works despite our imperfections and shortcomings. Dear brothers and sisters let us make a vow that we walk in the right path. God is so gracious with us despite of our shortcomings. This is the day that the God has made for us. Come to him, he is ready to forgive our sins ever. May God shower his grace upon us. Amen
[Iswar Dutta, the leader of this meditation is a final year BD student of Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India.]
