Jonah 1:1-4

Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying for a fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and nights. And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry…”I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

– Jonah 1:1-4, 15,17, 2:10, 3:1,3, 10, 4:1-2

Devotion

The major legacy of Jonah had nothing to do with his words to Israel; rather, his refusal to go speak words to the people of Nineveh. God told him to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent of their evil ways, or they would be destroyed. Jonah believed the Ninevites deserved judgment, not mercy. So he refused to be God’s mouthpiece to these people. Jonah stopped seeing the world through God’s eyes of compassion. God gave Jonah three days inside the belly of a whale to rethink some things. After repenting of his rebellious attitude, God re-commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh with a message of repentance. The whole city turned to God and asked for His mercy. That should have produced delight in Jonah’s heart. Instead, it made Jonah very angry. Jonah could not get his head around God’s mercy toward all kinds of people.

The Big Question

Do you have a heart for those who are far from God? Are you willing to be an ambassador of love to anyone He sends you too? Does your heart reflect God’s grace and compassion toward all people?

Spend time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.