Thursday 19 September 2024
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” (vs 1-2)
Background
The first verse of chapter three in the book of Jonah is almost a direct repetition of the first verse of chapter one. God repeats his original call to Jonah to go to Nineveh and, this time, Jonah obeys.
The message God wants Jonah to give to the people of Nineveh is that the city will be “overthrown” (v. 4) in 40 days because of their evil ways.
Some commentators suggest that Jonah initially refused to go to Nineveh precisely because it was such an evil place. Being swallowed up by a big fish was perhaps a more attractive option than being sent as God’s ambassador into a lion’s den of iniquity. Confronting evil takes huge courage and we can probably understand Jonah’s reluctance to go there.
As it turns out, his message does not appear to meet any resistance – helped by the fact that the King gets off his throne to sit in sackcloth and ashes and proclaims that all people and animals should fast and do the same. The thought of animals in sackcloth (v. 8) may seem as comic as a pantomime horse, but the King has recognised that if the city is destroyed the animals will suffer the same fate as the people.
It is not only Jonah and the people of Nineveh who change their minds in this chapter. God does too (v. 10) and does not visit calamity on Nineveh.
To Ponder
- What places in the world would you most like to visit? What places in the world would you rather avoid?
- When have you tried to run away from something or someone because you didn’t have the courage to face them?
- What proclamations would you like today’s leaders (local, national, global) to make?
Prayer
Creator God, every day we are confronted with the impact of sin and evil on people, animals and the natural world. Give us the courage and the will to make urgent changes so that further calamities may be avoided. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Nicola Vidamour
Nicola is the Director of Reflective Pastoral Supervision at Wesley House in Cambridge. She loves travel, tea, theatre and Taizé.