Jonah 3:1-5 Jonah Goes
God called Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh. Jonah goes this time without fuss and shares God’s words of judgment with the people.
We don’t know how long after Jonah was vomited up from the fish’s belly or how far he had to travel to get to Nineveh. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that God deposited him on the ‘doorstep’ of Nineveh and called out to him as soon as he was dry. God probably didn’t put any time between the ‘lesson’ and the redirection.
Jonah didn’t start proclaiming God’s judgment against the people until he was near the heart of the city. He traveled a full day’s journey before making God’s words known. I’m curious what the people thought of him as he walked through their city. Did he still wear the marks of distress from his time in the belly of the fish? Were they used to strangers coming into their land and walking around? The size of the city leads me to believe that not everyone knew one another.
When Jonah did begin speaking, the people responded immediately! God was apparently not a stranger to them. How had they heard of Him? Was Jonah’s visit before or after Assyria conquered Israel? Had they learned of Him from some of their captives? Were the people of Israel sharing with those in Nineveh that they were there because they sinned against God?
However they learned of God and His power, they were VERY receptive to God’s message through Jonah. I wonder if Jonah shared the story of his journey with them. Probably not, as we will see later that Jonah was angry that they didn’t receive the blessing of forgiveness. We will read later, that the people’s turning to God and His relenting on His judgment is why Jonah didn’t want to come in the first place. For some reason, he wanted to see them judged and destroyed.
Have you ever been so angry with a person that you didn’t want them to change? You wanted God to ‘rain down judgment’ on them. You wanted them out of your life; permanently. I had one person who was a SERIOUS problem in my life and that of my children. If you have been with me long, you may know the story. This person was doing everything she could to gain custody of my two oldest grandchildren. It was a three-year process to stop her. It also required vigilance on the part of my son for the rest of her life.
I WANTED for her to become a better person, but she was beyond my reach of influence for the good. She probably wouldn’t have accepted a drink of water from me if she were thirsting to death. I don’t know this for certain, but it is the impression I got from her. There were several times in our three-year ordeal when I wanted to reach out to her in kindness, but just as the thought came into my mind, she would do something more to make the situation worse. With her new action, my opinion of her as ‘dangerous’ would re-harden. I never did reach out to her. I did occasionally pray for her. But she went to her death alone and isolated from all the love that my grandchildren and even their mother could have given her IF she would have changed. Her death was a release from constant worry but was so sad and tragic that my heart breaks for her.
She literally died alone and unnoticed for three days. Only because she missed a court ordered counseling appointment did anyone even bother to check on her. She lay in the doorway of her home, where she fell while bringing in groceries, for THREE DAYS before ANYONE even noticed her. She was such a problem for her neighbors that they didn’t even bother to look her way as they passed her home each day.
Father God, what would have happened if I had reached out any of the times I felt that urge? Would I have been able to reach her as Jonah did with Nineveh? Would she have became even more vindictive? Would she have seen an ally in me? Would she have tried to use me against the kids? Would she ever have softened and found You? I will never know the answer to these questions as it’s too late to do anything more.
What ‘assignments’ have I resisted or refused that could have been salvation to the one You were reaching out to? I PRAY that You found someone who did reach out when I missed it. I PRAY I am NEVER the last line of defense between Heaven and Hell for someone that I walk away from. I want to be a voice for You and to share Your love with people. Forgive me Father for all the times I have failed to do just that. In the past AND in the future. I PRAY I won’t miss any more opportunities. Imagine how many people would have died if Jonah had kept refusing to go. Would You have sent another instead?
