Final Lesson from Jonah: The City - Nineveh

Warning! Do not read any further if you are not willing to be challenged with the final and most significant lessons from Jonah. ;-) I say that only because they have been challenging to me. I have some progress to make for sure.

Once Jonah is spit out of the great fish, God asks him again to go and preach to the Ninevites. He obeys this time and does so very successfully. This evil and pagan culture agrees to turn from their wicked ways as a result of Jonah’s preaching. It was quite a surprise to Jonah since it appears that he was not expecting this outcome at all.

Due to their repentance, God shows them mercy and does not destroy Nineveh. Surprisingly, Jonah becomes very angry at God’s display of grace to the Ninevites. Jonah believes that they are only repenting to avoid God’s destruction of their city, not because of any love or devotion to Him. Basically, Jonah is saying that they don’t deserve grace - like him and his people do. This reveals Jonah’s self-righteousness.

God challenges Jonah on this. He is saddened by the evil and lostness of the Ninevites and asks Jonah why he is not as well. Jonah is being exposed not only for his self-righteousness but also for the presence of an idol in his heart. Nineveh was a hated enemy of Israel and Jonah couldn’t bear to see God offer them any favor. His national interests had become more important than his faith interests.

It’s no secret that our faith is currently under attack. We see this in many ways and it’s not difficult to identify the various enemies in our culture. This is our “Nineveh.” The question is how are we going to respond? God called out Jonah for his lack of compassion for the Ninevites. Jonah wasn’t sad for them; he wanted their destruction. What do we want for the enemies of our faith?

I’ll be the first to admit that it is easy to dismiss these people. We look at them, shake our collective heads, and think “they’ll get what they deserve one day.” But, if we do that, aren’t we doing the same thing that Jonah got called out for? And, wouldn’t we also be participating in a form of “cancel culture” that we all dislike?

As followers of Christ, we are called to develop a Christlike heart. This means that we love what He loves and hate what he hates. God doesn’t hate sinners - He hates sin. God loves the humble, but hates self-righteousness. Jesus told us to love our neighbors and this includes the enemies of our faith. We should pray for them and let them see the love of Christ in us at every opportunity.

This is a challenging message, yet it is a message of truth. 3000 years after Jonah, it’s no less true today.

Stay hungry,

Big E

Matt. 5:6