Skip to main content

God’s mercy: seeking all people

God’s mercy: seeking all people
Jonah 3:1-10.

Through God’s insistent command to Jonah (1:1-3; 3:1-2), He invites Jonah and us to the truth that His salvation is not just for one nation (Israel) but for all nations, not just for a particular people but for all people (Isa. 52:15). How does God’s mercy seek all people?

Through…

  • Going people (v1-3).
God’s mercy begins with God sending. Jonah receives God’s command a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh” (v1-2). Yet through Jonah’s reluctant obedience, Nineveh finds mercy. Jonah points beyond himself to Jesus, the selfless, obedient servant who willingly offered up His life to secure salvation for all (Matt. 12:40). Now Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19). In various capacities, God’s covenant people are a going people with a go command; for Jonah, it was Nineveh. For some, it may be a community, a friend at uni, a workplace, or a name. What is yours?

  • Gospel proclamation (v4-6).
Jonah proclaimed a short message (v4). There were no persuasive techniques, no emotional appeals, and no delay. This is not to say that techniques are wrong, as they are used in Scripture (Acts 17). Rather, this is to show that the proclaimed message under God’s command has divine authority, as seen by an immediate response (v5). And this is the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). God’s message exposes sin, awakens fear of judgment, and produces repentance. His word accomplished exactly what He intended. And the gospel still does so today; a simple, faithful proclamation is effective.

  • God’s patience (v7-10).
God’s patience makes room for repentance and life. He is slow to anger and rich in mercy; a God who would wait and wait and reissue the same command of mercy (chapters 1-3) because He desires to save rather than destroy. When the Ninevites heard the message Jonah proclaimed, they repented. And when God saw their repentance, He relented His judgment (v10). God’s mercy is still expressed in His patience with our world today (Luke 19:10, 2 Peter 3:9), as we see every time someone makes a U-turn toward Jesus. He relents judgment and welcomes with grace (v10).

Reflect & Pray
What do you sense is your command this season? How does it encourage you to know that a simple, faithful proclamation is effective?
Father, thank You that Your mercy reaches all people. Help us to live as Your going people so that many will come to know You, in Jesus’ name, amen.

God bless you exceedingly,
Sam.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Accompanied by unfailing love

Ruth 1:1-22. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break. Happy New Year! The Book of Ruth has been called the most beautiful short story ever written because of its simple narrative. A narrative that shows how God’s provision for our needs or challenges is often woven into the simple acts of human kindness. Chapter 1 shows the kindness of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to her mother-in-law, Naomi (v8, 16, 22), and we’ll see God at work through that. But first, the passage sets the context by introducing us to Naomi’s loss… Naomi lost her family… When Naomi (which means pleasant) is first introduced, we are told of her loss. A woman in a foreign land who lost her family (v1-5). She feels bitter, empty and afflicted by the Lord (v21). Why so? …Because Naomi knows Israel’s God to be the Almighty—Sovereign. He can bring famine to ...
Read more

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gav...
Read more

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, cons...
Read more