Jonah 3:1-2

Jonah 3:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
3 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.


Jonah 3:1-2 International Children’s Bible (ICB)
God Calls and Jonah Obeys


3 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jonah again. The Lord said, 2 “Get up. Go to the great city Nineveh. Preach against it what I tell you.”



International Children’s Bible (ICB) The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a division of Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

These are my thoughts, please share yours.


1 God still spoke to Jonah and wanted to use Him even after He ran from Him, thankfully we often have God react to us in the same way, it’s a blessing we get second chances.


2 Jonah had the second chance to do what was right to serve God in the way he was called to. We are to keep serving the Lord in ways that He wants us to.
 
2 Jonah had the second chance to do what was right to serve God in the way he was called to. We are to keep serving the Lord in ways that He wants us to.
What speaks to me here is what happened in between and beyond that. The full account of what happens in between his calls is in Jonah 1-2, that is, what happened from the first call until he responded to the 2nd call.

We see there that Jonah boarded the ship because he chose to go in another direction, namely Tarshish, likely a direction he felt was safer, but it didn't turn out that way. When a storm arose the sailors blamed Jonah and threw him overboard just as when we are going in a wrong direction God can use various circumstances to thwart us and sometimes that can feel like we have been thrown overboard and left to swim. And it was all because Jonah chose his way rather than God's. Then God allowed the great fish to swallow him up just as the circumstances of going in the wrong direction can swallow us up. But then: "Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying: 'I called to the Lord in my distress and he answered me..' " Jonah 2:2.

Mercifully the fish spit him out near shore and he was okay. And so we get through whatever the circumstances we are in and we are okay. Then, having gone through all of this Jonah decided to go to Nineveh to preach repentance after all. So we decide anything is better than the overboard experience and decide to do what God asked us to do in the first place. Like Jonah we go to our Nineveh and we do the right thing..whatever it may be. And in the process we have learned something just like Jonah must have done; but if he seemed clueless yet (see below this) this doesn't mean we are. And like it was at Nineveh things will turn out well. Blessed be the Lord who is merciful, patient, and faithful with us despite our failure to either discern or do His Will. He wants us back on track or shall we say, in a different boat going in the right direction?

"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time..." Jonah 3:1

Of course the story didn't end there because after the people repented Jonah was displeased..and so more problems arose. The book of Jonah is completed with these words from the Lord who tells Jonah:

"And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

Really Jonah was successful in spite of himself but still had trouble seeing the forest for the trees. Thanks be to God who gives us all help in that regard.
 
One thing that strikes me is that God expected Jonah to complete his mission. God didn't dismiss Jonah because Jonah didn't want to do it.

So many times - we get discouraged or lose heart... And we give up on something and walk away.... We leave it and don't follow it to completion. We forget that this is a real ministry. An actual service God has appointed you to participate in... And that as such - there will be real consequences of giving up... Consequences far beyond what we will ever know....

Jonah gives us a picture into this.
 
Dear Sandpiper and JohnC;

Your posts spoke to me this morning and led to me to share. I feel its part of human nature to produce excuses instead of results for the things we start and don't finish. Starting with my learning experiences, two reasons stand out in my life - my exercise of freewill and distractions in our societies.

God knows this with some of us as He knew His servant Jonah. The Book of Jonah reminds me that we are all Jonahs at times and can relate to him. When we push back on God He will "rise up" and still accomplish His will and outcome.

I have always admired people who have an instinct to start something, however challenging or pleasant, and complete it with a sense of purpose, blessing others, or self-accomplishment.

When we truly proclaim His calling or leading in our lives, and we follow our discernment, God will produce the best results for His glory. A profound part of His results and glory is His immeasurable LOVE for us.

Again, thank you, Clark Thompson, for your thread.

God bless you all!
 
I have always admired people who have an instinct to start something, however challenging or pleasant, and complete it with a sense of purpose, blessing others, or self-accomplishment.

When we truly proclaim His calling or leading in our lives, and we follow our discernment, God will produce the best results for His glory. A profound part of His results and glory is His immeasurable LOVE for us.
Thank you, bobinfaith, for these thoughts. Yes, I have also learned from those who persevere despite setbacks and even themselves, those individuals or groups which have a sense of purpose and focus on that purpose. Like Jonah, we can easily be taken off course or get in the wrong boat going in the wrong direction because we are counting on our own purposes instead of God's. Lately I have found myself in a situation where it is really hard to determine whether it is God's lead or simply my own desires to see something fixed which may not be fixable, unless, of course, God intervenes. I am trying to trust that through it all God will produce the best results for His glory. And that will be healing and renewal of peace for all concerned.

I have also learned that sometimes it isn't simply a choice between two different paths which are right before me. In other words I may at first think "either, or" but really God's way is the third way. It just takes me a while to connect the dots and get what the third way is. Usually if I find it that turns out to be an unexpected path on a surprising journey. Thanks be to God who always sees the bigger picture and the one who doesn't just use black and white in his painting but all of the colors. :)
 
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