God Mercifully Urges Us to Confession

Jonah and Two "buts"

from The Gaslight Gospel by michaelfoster

I’ve come across two “buts” the floor me. The first “but” is found in the third verse of Jonah. To understand it we must consider the preceding verses.

"Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Here we find the one true God speaking to a single man, the prophet Jonah. That in itself is quite amazing isn’t it? The psalmist said it well, “What is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?” We are specks on a speck. Yet, he is mindful of us!

I have to wonder how many of us covet Jonah’s position? How many of us say in our heart, “If God just told me in a thundering voice from heaven what to do, I would do it?” Just a little divine directive for soul, right? That’s the only thing standing in the way of obedience. All we need is an unmistakable clear revelation from God and then we will seek to do his will! If you think so read Jonah 1:3…

"But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord."

What!? God gives a clear command. He reveals his will for Jonah’s life and ministry. But, Jonah takes issue with it. He still disobeys? Moreover, he even runs as far as possible. With Nineveh to his East, Jonah catches the first ship to Tarshish located in Spain. Spain isn’t only the complete opposite direction but it also is basically the end of the world in Jonah’s day. God speaks. Jonah rebels and hides.

Isn’t this the same story of Genesis 2-3? God’s word is given to man. His will is made crystal clear. Man is to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the entire Earth. The blessing of God is quite incredible; a lot of food, a hot naked wife, baby making, the exciting work of the cultural mandate, and walks with God in the cool of the day. All man must do is obey one simple prohibition. God says, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Yet, man is enticed by the lust of their eyes, disobeys, and throws the revelation of God to the wayside. Man then rebelliously runs and hides from their Creator.

Shouldn’t this be the end of the story? God would be completely just in wiping the slate clean of man. Everything that God had just called “good” is now tainted and twisted by the sin mankind ushered into the creation in their monumental act of disobedience. Yes, capital punishment would undoubtedly be a good fit for such a crime. This fact makes the rest of Genesis 3, and the rest of the Bible, all the more amazing. The Bible, in some sense, should be an incredibly short book but God shows mercy. Mercy is when we don’t get what we deserve. The Father mercifully pursues man saying, “Where are you?” Upon man’s reply, God mercifully urges them on to confession, which is the first part of repentance, asking, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Man only gives a partial confession mixed with a lot of blame shifting. Be that as it may, the Father still shows them mercy in not ending them and goes so far to give them a glimpse into the grace that the Seed of Eve will bring.

This brings me back to Jonah and second the “but” found in the fourth verse.

"But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea…"

What a pattern! For every “but Jonah” in the Bible there is a “but the Lord.” Jonah disobeys but the Lord continues to led Jonah towards repentance. He shows Jonah the same mercy he showed the first humans! How glorious is our merciful God? All glory, honor, and praise to our great Redeemer!