Jonah ‘obediently’ prophesies to Nineveh, and they repent of their wicked ways.
“So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” (v3-5)
We recently talked about fully applying the abilities God has given us – it doesn’t seem like Jonah does that here. If we take what is written literally, he walked part-way into the city, and delivered a single one-liner saying the city would be destroyed in forty days. Jonah doesn’t seem to elaborate, or even mention “the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (1:9). He seems to apply the absolute minimum effort possible so he could say he ‘did as he was asked’ (I guess he didn’t want to be a fish’s lunch again).
Yet, by a miracle of God, the entire city from the king down to the homeless repent, put on sackcloth, fast, and cry out mightily to God (v7-8 par). I think that’s the greatest lesson to be learned here – that it clearly wasn’t Jonah’s subpar effort that brought this city to repentance, it was God and His Spirit.
Are you hesitating to obey God’s calling in your life? Similar to Jonah, I have fled His callings in the past (but without gaining insider knowledge of a fish). Why do we resist obeying God? Do we feel ill-equipped or unqualified? If God can powerfully humble a vast city such as Nineveh with a single sentence uttered in obedience, I know He can work through us, no matter how ‘qualified’ or ‘well-equipped’ we are. For example, I do not have any schooling / training in biblical theology or writing (I’m ‘unqualified’), yet I said “yes” when God asked me to start sharing my Bible readings with others.
I encourage all of us to embrace every prompting of the Holy Spirit and do not be anxious over its outcome – the outcome is God’s responsibility and rests in His more-than-capable hands. All He asks from us is a willingness to obey His voice, and He’ll look after everything else. Who knows? Our obedience may lead to the repentance of an entire nation – we’ll never know until we after obey.
Father God, our Glorious Lord and King, Creator of Heaven and Earth, You are powerful and wise beyond our understanding. Please help us to listen to Your Spirit’s promptings, and joyfully obey Your voice. May we value being called over being qualified, and being trusted over being equipped. May we serve You fully, to the best of our abilities, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training