Jonah 3:1-3 – What Does God Say to Jonah and Why?
Jonah has unfinished business to do, and God reminds him of that by reiterating His command. Why, if the command still stood, and the situation in Nineveh hadn’t changed, did God need to come to Jonah a second time? There can be no other reason than that it was necessary for Jonah’s sake. God’s coming to Jonah a second time is a call on his heart. Like Jesus coming to Peter with the question “Do you love me?” following Peter’s denial, so God is coming here to Jonah and asking him ‘do you love me, and will you go with a humble heart and obey me?’
Isn’t it beautiful that God comes to us not just once but a second time, a third time, a fourth time, multiple times and asks us ‘do you love me, and will you serve me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?’ Isn’t it wonderful that God runs to us like the Father of the prodigal son, and even though we have a long list of preprepared explanations for our failures, He opens His arms, gives us a long tender hug and re-engages us in His service? How can we not love our Father in heaven?
Although the ESV doesn’t convey it, there is a slight change in what God tells Jonah to do when he gets to Nineveh. In the first occasion, chapter 1, verse 2, Jonah is told to ‘cry out against Nineveh’; here, he is commanded to ‘cry to Nineveh’. Most commentators say it’s not worth noting, but maybe the slight change does point to something. Especially as the word ‘message’, which follows in the sentence, is a unique word and means ‘to proclaim’. So, I think Jonah is being prepared for the fact that God will not destroy Nineveh, but rather redeem it. Yes, the city’s evil is still prevalent, and the crying out against it will still take place, but now there will be a ‘proclaiming’ of what God tells him when he gets there. In the preaching of God’s Law, there must always be a proclamation of God’s grace.
Question
- What does God tell Jonah to do?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for God’s repeated grace to us.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.