Unfair GraceSample

Our God Delightfully Responds to Repentance With Mercy

We saw how people responded in repentance to the message Jonah brought. They immediately recognized it was from God. Do we have that same, accurate message? Not one of impending doom, but of God’s mercy. In verse 5, we saw how the people quickly turned from their evil, wicked ways and redirected their worship to God. By calling a fast, they put their fleshly, carnal desires to the side and fed the Spirit. They redirected their worship. They renounced their privilege. All the way from the wealthiest to the poorest, all wore sackcloth. In verse 6, we see that the King also heard about this prophet preaching in the street, and he also rose up from his throne, removed his royal robes, and put on sackcloth, identifying with his people. Jonah didn’t even have direct access to tell this message to the King, but we see how powerful the Word of God was. Faith comes from hearing, hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17). When people want to believe and hear the right message, they will repent.

Like Jonah, we are the messengers. Are we going to be faithful like Jonah to bring the message in chapter 3? Or are we going to be a Chapter 1 Jonah, running away from God and His task for us? Do we have a deep faith in the preaching of God’s Word and God’s mercy? If we do one without the other, we are not preaching the true gospel. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." We must preach the accurate message. God loves us and he delights to show mercy. What is our “Nineveh”? What is the task God has for us where he has placed us?