Jonah 3

We've already seen in the first two chapters that the book of Jonah is about so much more than a man and a big fish. We've seen God chase Jonah as he ran away in chapter one, we've seen God answer when Jonah prays in chapter two, now we're about to see what happens when we repent.

Jonah is recommissioned  in v1-2. Jonah is called again and is sent again to Nineveh, this time he goes. God tells him that Ninevah is a ‘great city,’ suggesting that He cares for it. The message looked like judgement in ch1, now it looks like grace. We see that God cares about Nineveh.

Verses 3-4 are the only lines of actually prophecy in this prophetic book. 40 days and the city will be destroyed. Jonah walked around for three days preaching. What would you do with a message like this? If you heard the call to repent, what would you do? How would you respond to being told that in a certain amount of time judgement, disaster, overthrow, was coming?

Nineveh repents in v5-9. They believe God and they repent. The message reaches the king, and he orders his people to put on the official clothes of mourning and repentance, and they wait, and they hope. Who knows? They say, maybe God will relent/ Jonah knew about God’s mercy, but didn’t repent quickly, Israel knew, but barely repented at all, Nineveh didn’t know, but repented. What do we know of God that helps us repent?

God relents in v10. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster… Isn’t that a beautiful verse. God relented when the people repented. Jonah had won a whole city to the Lord with just one recorded verse of preaching. Nineveh repented, and God relented. The city turned away from their idols and towards the living God of the Bible.

So what would you do in Nineveh’s position? Would you hear the crazy preacher man and repent? If you’re not saved, then you are in Nineveh’s position, and this crazy preacher man needs for you to come to Christ and be saved. What did Jesus preach? Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We need to hear Jesus just as the Ninevites needed to hear Jonah. We must hear, and we must repent. And when we do repent? God will relent. Jesus Christ is for all who will have Him. Turn from your sin, just like the Ninevites and have Christ instead.

As Jesus says in Luke 11:30 Jesus tells us that as Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so will Jesus be to us. Jesus is a better sign than Jonah. Jonah was a miserable racist, Jesus shines from the pages of history with beauty and love. He calls us away from the things we love that would kill us to Himself, to ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment. He calls us away from judgement to life, He calls us away from death and away from sin. All of us are terminally curved in upon ourselves until Jesus calls us.

Jesus is better than Jonah, will we have Him today?