November 17, 1999
LIFE & WORK SERIES:
At story's end, it's Jonah
who needs to repent
___* Jonah 3:1-10
___By Brett Younger
___Lake Shore Baptist Church, Waco
___While Jonah is lying on the shore drying out, wondering if he can sell his story to the National Enquirer, God speaks again: "It's time to go to Nineveh." God gives second chances--even if it takes a "mighty storm" and a "big fish." God does not rebuke Jonah for his disobedience, but repeats the earlier command with a slight change. Instead of going to Nineveh for the purpose of "preaching against it" (Jonah 1:2), Jonah is to "proclaim to it" (3:2).
___In the face of God's persistence, the reluctant prophet grudgingly goes. Jonah does notshare God's hopes for Nineveh, but he obeys.
___Jonah's one-point sermon would not take long to write, but it is not a model for sermon construction. Jonah does not offer even a hint of God's grace. There is nothing about a mother who can never let her children go or a father who waits for his son's return.
___Jonah marches into downtown Nineveh and shouts, "Forty days and you will be wiped out." Perhaps the sermon had to be short since the Ninevites did not speak Jonah's language. This foreigner who predicts their destruction receives an astonishing reaction.
___What could be more surprising than that the people believed it? They call for a citywide fast and put on sackcloth. When the king hears this, he takes off his long flowing robe with tassels, ribbons and cape, puts on a coarse goat's hair shirt and sits on a pile of ashes. For Hebrew readers, the favorable reaction of the king would have been a welcome contrast to that of many rulers of Judah and Israel.
___The king decreed, "Let all people and animals go on a total fast--no food, no water, nothing." The lowing of the cattle, not driven to pasture or given water, would be a constant reminder of the urgency of the situation.
___"Let everyone repent and give up their violent ways. Who knows? Maybe it's not too late." The king understands better than Jonah does. God will not refuse a hand stretched in hope or a heart yearning for grace. God does what God hoped to do from the start, gladly forgiving the people of Nineveh.
___Jonah is the most successful missionary of all time in spite of himself. Jonah still does not care about these people God loves.
___Does the church ever reflect Jonah's opinion rather than God's? Do we speak disparagingly of those outside the church? Do we think of those who are not Christians as somehow inferior?
___Do our hearts break at the evil in the world? Do we grieve when an inner-city youth is struck down by violence? When a homeless person abuses alcohol, do we suffer as God does? When we read of wars and injustice, do we shed a tear?
___At the end of the story, it's Jonah who needs to repent. At the end of it all, everyone who does not love the people of Nineveh needs to repent.
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