The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Jonah 3:10,
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them [the Ninevites] the destruction he had threatened."
God had decided to have Nineveh overthrown. "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown." 3:4. We read in Jonah 1:2 that the city had become consumed with wickedness and now God had decided to destroy it. He first sent his prophet, Jonah, to tell them. However, the people of Nineveh embrace the word of the Lord in faith, "The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." Jonah 3:5. Thus, the Lord changed his mind and did not destroy the city, "he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."
I am reminded of another passage in Jeremiah 18:7-10, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it." Surely, Nineveh is a parade-ground real-life example of this very thing.
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them [the Ninevites] the destruction he had threatened."
God had decided to have Nineveh overthrown. "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown." 3:4. We read in Jonah 1:2 that the city had become consumed with wickedness and now God had decided to destroy it. He first sent his prophet, Jonah, to tell them. However, the people of Nineveh embrace the word of the Lord in faith, "The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." Jonah 3:5. Thus, the Lord changed his mind and did not destroy the city, "he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."
I am reminded of another passage in Jeremiah 18:7-10, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it." Surely, Nineveh is a parade-ground real-life example of this very thing.
God is interactive. He responds to the things we think, do and say, both on a national level as well as on a personal level. Our whole concept of praying, interceding with God, asking him for the various things we do, asking for his forgiveness, is all predicated upon the reality that what we think, do and say can prompt the Lord to do what he might otherwise not.
Fascinating that our Creator God reacts and responds to us, isn't it?!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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