2 Chronicles 23-25; 2 Kings 14:23-29; Jonah 1-3

Once again, as the children of Israel and their kings are stubbornly resisting God and failing in their attempts to serve Him, Yahweh is multitasking. The omniscience of El Shaddai is amazing to us, but needs to be understood as simply to workings of our God. As all of mankind is adrift, Yahweh is working toward the day when the fullness of time will comes and He will empty Himself and become a man. Know the time is coming when sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection will establish Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for all and the righteous judge of all, Yahweh is continuing to work in the lives of people to produce repentance. Once again, He works with the Gentiles.

This time He calls Jonah to go to the Assyrians in their capital of Nineveh. Keep in mind that these were the very folks who would be the instrument of God’s judgment against the kingdom of Israel in 722-21 BC. Kind of interesting, huh? Several things stand out for us as we read through the narrative of Jonah. Here are a few…

Jonah 1:2 … our obligation to carry out the works God has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) is our responsibility and is non-negotiable.

Jonah 1:3 … ships are easy to find when you want to attempt to run away from God.

Jonah 1:3 … the price of the fare on ships running away from God is always higher than you expected.

1:3-5, 15 … Jonah went ‘down” to Joppa, “down” into the ship and “down” into the hold before being thrown “down” into the sea. The path leading away from God is always a downward spiral.

1:5-6 … the faith of the pagans was on full display, while the faith of the believer in the True God was wavering. A sad reality if ever there was one.

1:7-11 … the world is desperate for the people of God to wake up and rise up!

2:1-9 … even though he failed God once, Jonah was not destined to be a failure.

2:4 … by faith Jonah saw his return to Jerusalem. You must be willing to turn before you can return!

When he finally did as God asked, Nineveh rose up in repentance. Jonah was bummed. If only he and we could see all people as God does. Yahweh wants ALL to come to repentance. Even as Jesus walked the earth, He drove the point home with the Pharisees. They were God’s chosen people and yet they were rejecting Messiah. In contrast the godless heathen Assyrians heard the word and repented. So some of the Hebrews asked for a sign. Jesus reminded them of Jonah…

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Matthew 12:38-41

Three days and three nights in the belly of the earth and then bursting forth with the message of Yahweh’s salvation. Just like Jonah. I hope the message strikes us. The godless Assyrians embraced the message of God. What will we do with it?

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!