When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened. (Jonah 3:10)
I love the book of Jonah. At its heart, it is a book of grace. God shows grace to Jonah, a disobedient and angry prophet. And He shows grace to the people of Nineveh, a disobedient and godless people. Jonah’s place in the minor prophets reminds us that in announcing judgment, God is not seeking to scold us but to bring us to repentance. The harsh words of the prophets are not the words of a condemning, compassionless God. They are the words of a Father desperately seeking the hearts of His people and passionately warning them of the consequences of their sin.
I know as a father, I am constantly issuing warnings to my children. Every day seems to be an occasion to say to them, “Don’t do that….be careful…watch out…stop!” Maybe I’m overprotective but the intent is to protect them from harming themselves and harming others. I can see the potential consequences of their actions and attitudes. They cannot. Their perspective is too small and their experience is too limited to fully understand what they are doing. If that is true with myself and my kids, it is even more true when I look at myself in light of my heavenly Father. He sees so much further than my limited perspective. His warnings are designed to protect me from harming myself and others.
Jonah also reminds us that God’s heart is not just for the nation of Israel but for all nations. God could have raised up a prophet from among the Ninevites but instead He sent Jonah. Why? To teach Jonah that He loves all people and, in some sense, to pull Jonah out of a self-righteous, self-centered, myopic world and enable him to experience God’s grace working among the most unlikely of people. God is always working in the hearts of people. He is not just working in America in Protestant, evangelical churches. His heart beats for all nations, for all cultures, for all peoples.
What is God looking for in people? He is looking for a repentant heart….just like the Ninevites. They did not know a whole lot about God. All they knew is that God existed, He was righteous, they failed to meet His righteous standard, and thus they needed His mercy and compassion. Their simple humility and repentance brought God’s deliverance.
God doesn’t require extensive rituals or long prayers or holy pilgrimages or a list of good works. He simply wants our hearts. He wants a heart recognizes who He is, recognizes its own weakness and dependence, and cries out to Him for grace and strength. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). In other words, blessed are those who realize they have nothing to offer God because they are free to receive all that He offers them.
Lord, thank You for Your grace and mercy toward me. Help me to see the nations as You see them. Give me strength today to love and obey.