Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. Jonah 3.1-5 ESV
God has a way of realizing what He desires. That is, He makes it real. He realizes it. Realization has at least two components: the side that produces that which is made real, and the other side—our side—that sees this action as a kind of a miracle.
I would press in a bit further and add that this moment of light dawning upon the mind and heart of a person is also revelation, which also has at least two components. On God’s side, revelation is the action He takes to reveal a thing once hidden, and on our side, revelation is like receiving an ultimatum. Once a thing has been revealed, we cannot unsee it. We must decide what to do about it. Usually, this means either submitting to it or rejecting it. There’s none of this well, let me think about it for the rest of my self-directed life.
For the people of Nineveh, it was quite clear. Jonah’s sermon in English is only eight words. And I’ll tell you right now, Nineveh didn’t turn because of Jonah’s eloquence or passion. He was no bleeding-heart sympathetic. He was there under protest. Yet his obedience, however token, had an effect.
Like the Yahweh revealed throughout the book of Esther (where, like the wind, we see His effect but never behold the actual), the God of Jonah is observable only indirectly.
The dominant characteristic here is persistence. God’s love for all that He has made is intense, persistent, enduring, longsuffering, jealous, adamant, and is not lightly refused. He proves Himself to Nineveh here. I’m sure He’s proved Himself to you, too, and if not, get ready. He will. Oh, He will.
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