Jonah was a prophet who fully understood the loving mercy of the Lord, and yet he could not enjoy it or appropriate it. It was more of a burden to him. When God commanded him to go to the wicked city of Nineveh and prophesy his quick destruction, Jonah fled in the opposite direction. Then he told the Lord why he had fled. It was because of God's mercy!
This was Jonah's argument: "Lord, you have commanded me to walk the streets of Nineveh, prophesying that they only have forty days left before everything is over. But I can not do that because I know you. You move easily. The tears and the repentance soften your heart. I know what will happen: they will regret it, and you will change your plan. Instead of sending them judgment, you will send a revival and I will be foolish. "
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Jonah finally went to Nineveh, but only after passing through the belly of a large fish, which vomited him on dry land. In the end, the prophet proclaimed the judgment of God ... and, of course, Nineveh did repent (even though the message of the prophet did not mention anything of repentance, only of destruction). Those evil and hardened Ninevites cried, fasted, mourned and put on sackcloth, and even clothed their cattle!
It was one of the most sweeping revivals that are recorded in the Bible. In the midst of all that, Jonah was furious. Your prayer should have been like this: "I already knew what would happen. You send me out to those streets shouting: 'Judgment, blood, fire!' And then they invoke you, and as soon as you see the first tear you change your mind. I already knew because I know you. You are slow to anger, eager to forgive, ready to send peace and blessing instead of calamity. "
I have to confess that I know how Jonah must have felt. Not too long ago I also had a bit of embarrassment. . During one of the Friday night prayer meetings in our church, I said: "How can God be with our army when we have so much blood on our hands? The Bible is full of stories of how God abandons his armies when people sin as we have done. We have the judgment on us! "But instead, the victory came quickly. After only one hundred hours of ground fighting, the war was over; It was one of the most unequal conflicts in history.
I soon received a letter from someone who used to attend our church before. It said: "You lied! There was no trial. God was with our army and there were not thousands dead. The warning he made did not come from God. "
I will explain what I believe happened: Once again, the Lord's kind heart was easily moved. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and believers around the world cried out Soon to God: "Help us, give us one more chance!" Many churches in all parts of the world held prayer meetings, crying out: "Oh God, forgive us! Clean us of
our sins! "A reporter in Saudi Arabia said:" I had never heard so many soldiers praying or chanting spiritual songs. I had never seen so many reading the Bible. Looked like a church!"
I believe that God was moved to compassion. He was moved and touched, because He is extremely willing to forgive. Like Jonah, I should have known that He is slow to get angry and great in mercy, and that He repents of evil (Jonah 4: 2). Instead of dropping his judgment. Our kind Lord was sorry and changed his plan, just as he had changed his plan regarding Nineveh. I think it was the tears of repentance from many believers what produced his great mercy.
I pray to God that the Church does not make the same mistake as Jonah, and stop enjoying the mercy of God. We need to thank God for his great piety for us, because He heard the plea of many believers ... and answered!
