The Messenger (Jonah Part 3)

Jonah 3 (TNIV)

    1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."

    3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown." 5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

    6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:

       "By the decree of the king and his nobles:

       Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

    10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. 

Stuff to Think About:

• A few insights on prophecy from Jeremiah - Jeremiah 18:7-10

• A few insights on God's timing from 2 Peter - 2 Peter 3:8-15a

• God's fondest hopes for Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, from Isaiah 19:23-25

• God's Aspirations for those who follow Jesus, from Matthew 5:5:43-48 or from Luke 6:27-36

• Well, OK, so what if people don't repent?  Does that change the way we should regard them?  What do you think?  What insights do we find reflecting on the life of Jesus?  Maybe reflecting on John 13 and Jesus' relationship with Judas to the very end, or some of Jesus' final words,  would give us some clues?

Loving God, Loving People

40 days and Nineveh will be overturned!  Certainty.  It doesn't sound like it gets much clearer than that. We like it when we can count on things to be the way we expect them to be.  It gives our lives a sense of order and security.  Knowing where things belong.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  And then things happen that turn all of our neat little categories upside down and explode our expectations.  Sometimes this can be fun and exciting.  Sometimes, not so much.Mostly, we like to know that there are things we can count on . . . rely upon.  Take prophecy for example.  Doesn't the Bible say in 2 Peter 1:19, "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your heart" (NIV).

And then there is Jonah.  When it finally makes it to Nineveh and gives the message, 40 days later, Nineveh was still there.  Hmmmm.

Sometimes we read the first part of the verse in 2 Peter and miss the second . . . and in doing so, perhaps, misunderstand the "certain" part of the text.  Is prophecy really uncertain?  Does God change his prophetic mind?  Or is there something in prophecy that really is certain, that we can count on, always?  And, is it possible that sometimes those who receive the message are better able to hear this and understand it than those who give it?

Those are some of the questions explored in the sermon this week.  If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps for the first time, you can click here to access our sermon library.  (The sermon will be posted sometime after September 25)