6-18-2021

 Good Morning All!

          Jonah 4:11, “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left?”

   This is the somewhat haunting end to the book of Jonah.  Most of us have a very minute knowledge of Jonah.  He was the guy swallowed by a great fish.  What we do not often realize is that Jonah is the Old Testament version of the “Prodigal Son.” The Prodigal Son took his inheritance, squandered it, and then came home to his father who then threw a huge party for him.  The older brother, who stayed home and worked hard for the father, was jealous and would not celebrate with his younger brother.  The older brother was not happy that his younger brother had returned and was back in the family.  He wanted the brother to be “dead” to the family.  Jonah wanted God to destroy Nineveh because it was a powerful enemy of Israel.  He too, wanted them dead but literally.

     Jonah, like the older brother, was jealous to the point that he hated Nineveh and wanted God to destroy it.  He just could not handle the fact that the Ninevites had repented, and God had spared them.  In the last chapter, Jonah is complaining to God about saving them and God asks this question of Jonah to which no answer is given.  “And should not I pity Nineveh?”

    Jonah hated Nineveh and all that it stood for.  As far as he was concerned, they were the worst people ever and should be wiped of the face of the earth; at least that is what he (Jonah) would do if he were God.  So, the question is who is your “Nineveh?”  Who is it that, if you were God, you would give the holy zap to and be gone with them?  There are many candidates.  On the large level, we have the terrorists and the rogue governments that are causing so much havoc in the world.  If we bring it in a little closer, maybe it is the opposing political party or its candidates and some of the incredible things they say.  If we bring it even closer, is it the guy that you work with who knows when to work when the boss sees him but slacks all the time, or the neighbor who always claims to have a little better yield, maybe it is your mother or father in law who always knows how to do it “right” and just wants to make it easier for you, maybe it is the team that you just can’t quite beat and they remind you of that.  We all have a “Nineveh.”

    But God calls us to go to Nineveh and preach the Gospel to them, can we, do it?  Jesus told his disciples to pray for your enemies.  We should too.  First, we should ask for forgiveness for our thoughts and maybe our words and deeds.  Then we should pray for them; pray that God would change their heart as He changes ours.  Then as we pray that God will do something; we need to listen as he tells us to “go do something” to reach out in love and begin to rebuild the relationship to reconcile with our neighbor.  It may take several tries, but God calls us to keep trying.

    God looked at you and at me and had pity on us for we were sinners.  He had such great pity that he sent Jesus to die for us.  As we ponder on that great blessing, we hear the question of Jonah; “and should not I pity Nineveh?” 

Dear Father in heaven, your mercies roll over us like a great river.  Forgive us that we are slow to forgive and slow to reach out to those whom we view as Nineveh.  Give us the courage, patience, and loving heart to reconcile with those who we struggle with.  Help to love those that you bless and seek out.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret