Love and Justice Demonstrated!
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They believed God’s message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
When the king of Nineveh heard what was happening, he also dressed in sackcloth; he left the royal palace and sat in dust. Then he and his officials sent out an order for everyone in the city to obey. It said:
“None of you or your animals may eat or drink a thing. Each of you must wear sackcloth, and you must even put sackcloth on your animals. You must also pray to the Lord God with all your heart and stop being sinful and cruel. Maybe God will change his mind and have mercy on us, so we won’t be destroyed.”
When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.
Jonah was really upset and angry. So he prayed:
Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners. Now let me die! I’d be better off dead.”
The Lord replied,
“What right do you have to be angry?”
Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.
The Lord made a vine grows up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, but early the next morning the Lord sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. During the day the Lord sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted,
“I wish I were dead!”
But the Lord asked,
“Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”
He answered,
“Yes, I do; and I’m angry enough to die.”
But the Lord said:
“You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. In that city of Nineveh there are more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell right from wrong and many cattle are also there. Don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city?”
The story above was the ending part of the love and justice story of Jonah, God and Nineveh. It is from Jonah 3:5 – 4:11 in the Contemporary English Bible.
As a background, God sent Jonah to go and warn the city of Nineveh, that they are doomed because of their wickedness. (Jonah 1:2). Jonah however decided to run away. He found a ship and joined it, thinking he was leaving the presence of God. But God afflicted the ship with a sea storm; and Jonah had to be thrown into the sea, on his own recommendation, after he confessed he was the cause of their troubles (1:12). God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah; but in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed (2:1-9) and god delivered him. God sent Jonah a second time, and he obeyed this time round (3:1-4).
From the text above, the people of Nineveh believed the message god sent through Jonah, and repented; and God had pity on them and did not destroy them.
Well, Jonah was really upset and angry! But God finally taught him some lessons, using a creeping plant.
We see God’s justice and love interplaying here several times: the damnation of Nineveh (justice), the sending of Jonah (love), the throwing aboard and swallowing of Jonah by the fish (justice), the rescue of Jonah from the fish (love), the second sending of Jonah (love), repentance and forgiveness of Nineveh (love), and God’s patience and very illustrative education of Jonah (love)! God is, by default, a God of love!
Let us take a brief look at Jonah’s posture: he never repented of his desire to get Nineveh destroyed! That is the difference between human beings and God. Left to God alone, the only thing He will do is to love. By default, He is love; and the embodiment of it. It is our persistence in sin that compels Him to bring judgment; but when we repent, He defaults back to love!
Isn’t it interesting that those who receive the most love and mercy are the ones that show no mercy? God just pardoned Jonah, and brought him out of the belly of the fish alive; but Jonah still wants Nineveh, with more than 120,000 inhabitants and their livestock, destroyed!
Are we like that too?
Living in a “third world” country where exploitation, corruption, preventable deaths and many other evils have become “normal” and go unpunished; many, in desperation, make very serious judgments and pronouncements against the political leadership.
The question is:
Will any of us be left standing if God decides judge each of us the way we want Him to judge others?
Let us rather pray for God’s salvation and mercy for everyone.
MEMORY VERSE
“You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone.” (Jonah 4:2)
QUESTIONS
- Have you been calling on God to judge on others?
- Why not rather pray for His salvation and mercy on all?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please forgive us for
judging other when we are
not worthy ourselves.
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer”
for guidance if you want
to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you.
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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