Jonah Preaches

Jonah Preaches

Jonah 3:1-5

Jonah has been through a lot. It’s difficult to feel sorry for him because it’s his own fault.

He had a simple command.

He ran from God.

He put others at risk.

He determined he would rather die than obey God.

He died.

God preserved his body in a great fish.

God resurrected him from the dead.

The fish vomited him out onto shore.

That’s a bad week for anybody.

We don’t know how much time transpired between chapters two and three.

Some believe Jonah immediately received word from the Lord and went to Nineveh.

Some believe there was perhaps a short time for Jonah to heal up and reflect on all he had gone through.

v. 1 “The second time”

Thank God for second chances. The truth is we often need more than a second chance. The Bible is full of people who received second chances.

We are often not second chance people:

Corporations

Family

Church

Moses- messed everything up by trying to deliver the people by himself.

Peter- denied he even knew the Lord.

In our own lives we have learned God is a God of second chances.

The truth is sometimes we would rather receive God’s forgiveness and not get a second chance at service. Jonah would have been happy to be forgiven and the task given to someone else. We need to understand the great privilege it is to serve God.

We should be careful not to assume God will always give a second chance.

God did not allow Moses to see the Promised Land because of his sin (Num. 20:12).

God replaced Saul with David because of his sin (1 Sam. 13: 11-14).

God refused to allow David to build the Temple because of his sin (1 Chron. 22:8).

Second chances are by the grace of God. More than that, first chances are by the grace of God. None of us deserve to have the grace of God much less be a conduit of the grace of God.

When God comes to us, we should be sure to listen to and follow Him. He is under no obligation to invite us to himself.

v. 2 We see quickly the message has not changed (1:1-2). Chapter three opens in the same way chapter one does.

God sends Jonah back to start.

Illustration: The game Sorry!

I like the game but I don’t like being sent back to start.

Someone lands on your space, Someone Draws a Sorry! Card. Someone slides you off.

No one wants to start over. Sometimes we must.

Maybe Jonah thought the Lord would let him learn his lesson without going to Nineveh. We could understand that. He’d been through a lot. We might even say he ‘d had enough.

Listen: no matter how difficult life is or has been God expects His children to obey.

Illustration: Woman had been through a lot, lost husband, long sickness, etc. In the comforting process I encouraged her to find refuge in God and His people. Be involved with work of the Lord.

A deacon interrupted and told her she needed to take time off and not worry about anything. She listened to him and within a year was living with a drug addict she was not married to.

Life stinks sometimes.

Life is hard sometimes.

But there is never an excuse to disobey God.

God comes back to Jonah with the same message as before.

Two things made the task difficult:

1) Great city- lots of people to preach to

2) Call out against it- His message was not an easy one. He was to tell them to repent of their sin.

v. 3 “According to the Word of the Lord”

Jonah is all about doing things by the book now. What do you think would have happened if he had hopped on another boat to Tarshish? I think Jonah would have repeated chapters 1 & 2 again!

“exceeding great city”

Great in population 4:11

Great in its wickedness

“three days journey in breadth” This means it would take three days for Jonah to walk through the city.

His task was not easy. He was to walk through the city preaching.

No vehicle

No bullhorn

No venue

Jonah preached the old-fashioned way. He preached on the streets.

There was one thing that worked in his favor. It was his story. Some have wondered if the Ninevites knew about him being swallowed up by the fish. I think they did. I think that’s clear from Luke 11:30:

For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

The resurrected Jesus was a sign to His generation.

The resurrected Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites.

Was there something about Jonah’s appearance that proved he had been through something awful?

I think, unless the Lord miraculously transformed him, that would be the case.

I think we can also assume Jonah explained to the people what happened to him. His testimony was likely a part of his preaching.

While this is not mentioned in the text of Jonah, Jesus’ words mean something. The most obvious meaning of Jesus words is the resurrected Jonah proclaimed the message of God in the same way the resurrected Christ did.

Jonah’s message was a simple one. Eight words in English, less than that in Hebrew.

Repent! Judgment is coming in 40 days.

The people of Nineveh believed Jonah’s story.

The people of Nineveh believed Jonah’s message.

Let’s think about that message for a moment.

It was to the point- Forty days!

It was simple- shall!

It was bold- Overthrown!

The message of Christ is the same. It is a simple message that is very clear but also bold.

v. 5 “Believed God”

Not Jonah! It wasn’t his message. It was God’s message. Friend, when someone rejects the gospel, they have not rejected our words. They have rejected God’s Word. When someone receives the gospel, we get no glory. They received God’s Word!

“they called for a fast. From the least to the greatest, the city was changed. Their submission to immediate fasting proved that they knew there was something more important than eating at this point. The fulfillment of physical desires could wait until the spiritual desires were filled.

“put on sackcloth” from the least to the greatest. This was a type of garment that was worn during a time of mourning. It symbolized an anguish of spirit and brokenness. The dress also communicated that the entire country was in the same predicament. They were all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness.

What we see is outward actions that proved the repentant heart of the Ninevites (Luke 11:32).

I want to mention a couple of things in relation to Jonah’s preaching:

1. God does his greatest work through preaching. The salvation of Nineveh is the greatest revival the world has known. In terms of numbers, it was even greater than Pentecost. More people were saved in that three day period than any other time we know of.

The miracle of Nineveh’s salvation is greater than the miracle of the storm, the preservation of Noah in the fish, or the resurrection of Noah. This is the greatest miracle in the book and salvation is the greatest miracle period.

It is greater in its surprise- We are saved by the grace of God. Salvation is unexpected & undeserved.

Do you remember the sailors were saved? I thought about them in heaven. Think about these two things:

1) I bet Jonah was surprised when he got to heaven and saw those sailors.

2) I bet those sailors were surprised when they got to heaven and saw Jonah.

We ought to surprised that any of us go to heaven.

It is greater in its power- God changes the will of a person.

It is greater in its duration- this miracle is never undone. It lasts forever.

It is greater in its result- we get to see God.

Salvation is the greatest miracle. The miracle of salvation occurs through the preaching of God’s Word. Therefore, God does His greatest work through preaching.

2. Jonah was equipped to preach to Nineveh. He was a man who now understood both the judgment and mercy of God.

God had taken his life because of his sin.

God resurrected him and restored him to a place of service.

He could preach with passion. He was a sinner who received God’s grace. In that regard he was qualified to preach to these people.

Nineveh was under God’s judgment.

Nineveh needed God’s mercy.

God gave them a preacher who understood both of those things.

I think we can all agree that the Lord gives us gifts we do not deserve.

God gave the Ninevites Jonah, and they did not deserve him.

God gave Jonah the Ninevites, and he did not deserve them.

I have said many times I wished the Lord would have given Jeremiah Jonah’s results. God knows better than me. Jeremiah saw very little salvation. Jonah saw a nation saved. He didn’t deserve that. God, in His sovereign grace, chose to allow Jonah to have this blessing.