Title: Jonah Called Again / Jonah 3:1-4
Jesus saw Jonah going into the belly of a fish and coming back to life as an event foreshadowing the resurrection of Jesus. Also, the Bible said that the event of Jonah's resurrection foreshadows that the saints are born again. Anyway, God has decided to call Jonah, who has really repented, to the work of salvation again.
Here is a mysterious providence that God has trained and used as a minister. No one can measure the history of God's salvation of sinners. And no one can fathom the mysterious providence that God calls and uses as workers. So today, I would like to talk about [Jonah called again].
1. God gave Jonah a second chance to work.
Verse 1 says, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” When the word of God first came, Jonah 1:2 says, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it." However, Jonah disobeyed the word and fled to Tarshish, but suffered many hardships and the dangers of death several times.
Jonah prayed fervently in the belly of the fish. And there was sincere repentance. If you think about it, Jonah was caught in a sin before God. Jonah was a wretched sinner who could not survive before God.
Nevertheless, God gave Jonah a second word. The second event that God called like this was a very moving event. What was the reason for not abandoning Jonah forever and calling him back? It was a sign that God heard Jonah's prayer. Jonah 1:"2 Jonah said, "I cried out from the belly of Sheol, and you heard my voice."
God did not only answer prayers at the high peak of Mount Carmel. He hears us even if we pray in the lions' den, and He listens to all our prayers in the sea or in the belly of fish. Also, our God did not only hear the prayers of the righteous. He hears even the prayers of sinners as sinister as Jonah.
And giving him a second chance was a sign that he had forgiven all his sins. God uses sinners, but He must heal them. In other words, sinners must repent and write. In that sense, God accepted Jonah's repentance. Could God have given Jonah a second chance to work because there was no man?
God speaks only once and does not give up because of it. Even a disobedient person who forsook his mission is given a second chance. Because of this grace, we can stand before God again. Thanks to this second opportunity, we can work with the Lord again.
2. God gave Jonah the same command as the first.
Verse 2 says, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare to them what I have commanded you.”
1) It shows the truth that God's words, once spoken out of his mouth, can never be canceled or who dare to break his will. In other words, the words spoken do not go back into the mouth of God. Isaiah 45:23 says, "I have sworn by me that righteous words go out of my mouth and do not return; every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will swear." When the Lord said, "It shall be done according to your faith" to the lame man, "Open your eyes," it was done. No one can be forgiven for ignoring God's Word or trying to break God's will.
2) God was pleased to save Nineveh without giving up until the end. It was not because the people of Nineveh were good or sinless, so they wanted to be saved, nor was it because the people of Nineveh had repented. He has been tormenting God and his people until this day, and he was the main culprit in encroaching on Israel by despising God. They were simply useless people. Nevertheless, God will not give up on such wicked people and will desperately save them.
3) God predestines the method as much as he predestined the purpose God, who had planned to save the people of Nineveh, wanted to save them by calling for repentance through Jonah. Because God has great power, He can save the people of Nineveh even in an instant. He can also save Jonah through a speechless donkey. Nevertheless, God said that he would have Jonah save Nineveh. Even though Jonah ran away because he hated it so much, God did not give up his will to send him to Nineveh. God has a will.
3. Jonah finally obeyed God's command.
In verses 3-4, “Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, just as the LORD had said, and it took three days because Nineveh was a very large city. As Jonah entered the city, he went on a one-day journey and cried out, “In forty days Nineveh will be overthrown.” said. We can learn some important truths from verses 3-4.
1) Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. In other words, Jonah did not get up and go his own way. In other words, as before, he got up and went to Nineveh according to his feelings. Even in our life of faith, we must obey the Word. The Bible says that Jesus Christ was born according to the Scriptures, died according to the Scriptures, and rose again according to the Scriptures. When we worship, we must obey the Word. When Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as he had said, it means that he would submit his stubbornness to the word of the Lord.
2) Nineveh is said to be a very large city. Our Bible calls it "a very great city", and the original Hebrew text says "a great city to God." This means that Nineveh is large in area, but more importantly, spiritually and morally, Nineveh is very interested in the Lord. that it is the subject of In Jonah's view, Nineveh was the land of the Gentiles, a city that was rejected by God and worthy of destruction by judgment, and was recognized as insignificant. that you were there.
3) They cried out that Nineveh would fall in forty days. This shouting was the core of evangelism that God wanted. It was the decisive sermon that Jonah obeyed. It has two great meanings: “In 40 days Nineveh will fall.” The first is a warning that if you commit a sin, you will be judged. The second was the good news that he would give me a grace period of 40 days. When God judged any land in any era, it was not a sudden attack. He always warned in advance and always gave a grace period.
Jonah thoroughly repented in the belly of the fish and obeyed God's command. Even when he was given a second chance, he obeyed, so it was great. I obeyed even late, so I don't know how well I did. Whether anyone listened or not, I preached the word of God. I left the results in God's hands and cried out again and again with all my might. (End)