Jonah 3 - A second chance and a shadow of the new covenant to come

Jonah 3:1

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying, Arise go to Nineveh that great city and preach to it the message that I tell you.

The picture of Christ Jesus shown in the book of Jonah is visible throughout and is well worth a study. Focusing on chapter 3, we see a picture of both the humanity of Jonah, which should serve as a lesson to ourselves in our application of God's grace, and a picture of God's plan for salvation from the Old Testament through to the New Testament. 

Jonah 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 

If we read Jonah chapter 1 we can see that Jonah chapter 3 begins exactly the same way that Jonah 1 began. We know from reading the previous chapters that Jonah refused to obey God in chapter 1. Jonah had his own ideas and instead chose to flee to Tarshish from the port of Joppa (Tel-Aviv) rather than go and give God's message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. The account of Jonah and what happens between chapters 1 to 3 needs no introduction. Picking up at chapter 3: how much easier would it have been for Jonah to have just obeyed God from the outset!? How much trouble this would have saved. How often this is this case. Taking multiple attempts is a recurring theme with God and we can be rest assured that no matter what mistakes we have made God will always show mercy and give us another chance (Rom 8:38, Matt 18:22). Jonah's disobedience of God shows his human weakness. It is weakness that comes natural to us all. Even the Lord Jesus Himself was susceptible to such weakness (it is why we can relate to Him), however unlike the rest of us, He remained strong. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

God gives Jonah the same command in chapter 1 and chapter 3; God's Word never changes. The difference between chapter 1 and chapter 3 is Jonah’s response. In chapter 1, Jonah’s response is one of disobedience whereas in chapter 3, Jonah obeys God’s command and makes his way to Nineveh to preach God’s grace. 

There are two significant points to draw from Jonah's newfound willingness to obey God that can help us in our faith and understanding of the gospel. 

A weakening of the natural man:

There would not be many people who would not obey God after having gone through the ordeal that Jonah just has, however it is often necessary for God to test us and take us through trials in order to bring us out the other side in a state more able to complete His work. We are at our most effective in God when we are most reliant upon Him. Galatians 5:17 speaks of the warring between our natural self and our spiritual self: For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. In order to be effective tools for God it is important that we are of a mindset that can be used by God. Isaiah 64:8 states But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. For clay to be modelled it must be workable. The potter cannot produce a masterpiece unless the clay is workable. In the same way we must present ourselves to God as living and willing sacrifices to Him (Rom 12:1). Our nature is at enmity to God (Rom 8:7). We have freewill, therefore the more we choose to feed our nature, the more difficult it becomes for God to work through us. For this reason we must humble ourselves before God and remove our natural self from the equation. Only when we are in a position of dependence on God can we be worked and used for His purpose. Jonah was filled with pride, self-righteousness and hatred towards the people of Nineveh. In chapter 1 he was in no state to be a messenger of God. God corrects Jonah through his experiences to bring him to a place were God can use him. By reading chapter 4, we can see that even the ordeal Jonah has gone through has not completely cured him of his hatred and pride. God has to continuously test Jonah and correct him. 

In the same way God humbles us through our experiences. He corrects us, just as a father corrects his child (Prov 3:12, Rev 3:19, Heb 12:6). Proverbs 3:12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Sometimes it is necessary for a parent to correct their child. The child is likely ignorant to the reason they are being corrected, however it is for their good. Proverbs 20:24 A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way? Whilst we do not have the benefit of hindsight, we can trust in the Lord knowing that whatever we are faced with, God can use it for His good (Rom 8:28). 

God can only use us if we let Him. He does not want our human way of thinking no matter how well-intentioned it may be. He wants empty vessels. He did not want Abraham’s attempt to conceive an heir (Gen. 16); He did not want Saul’s attempt to protect David with heavy cumbersome armour for him to fight Goliath (1 Sam 17); He did not want Gideon’s mass armies (Judges 7); He did not want Peter’s strength to free Jesus from the Roman guards through violence (John 18). God wants to use us however first we must let Him use us. There is no place for God within us if we are already full of ourselves. 

1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Our nature within us wars against the spirit. It is when our nature is weak that our spirit is at its strongest. Jonah was brought to a place of complete dependence upon God and was left in a desperate situation where he had no choice but to depend on Him. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 - 11 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

Skipping forward in chapter 3 the king of Nineveh responds to the word of God with contrition. Verse 7 of the chapter tells us he proclaimed a fast throughout the land and wore sackcloth, which is a sign of remorse, in repentance to God: he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. Here in the same way, the people of Nineveh are taking away their physical sustenance. They are abandoning their need for physical food and water and wearing sackcloth. They are depriving their natural self of the physical things it needs so that their spirit may abound (2 Corinthians 12:10 … for when I am weak, then am I strong).

The Picture of the covenant's of God:

The progress of Jonah's obedience to God between chapter 1 to chapter 3 not only shows the human element of Jonah, which serves as an example to us, but it also illustrates the divine picture of God’s plan for our salvation. Jonah’s newfound willingness to obey is not solely due to the ordeal he has been through, for we see in chapter 4 that he still harbours the same attitude towards the people of Nineveh. Jonah 4:2 Ah Lord, was not this what i said when i was still in my country? … therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live! 

Jonah's reaction in chapter 1 and his attitude to the people of Nineveh throughout the book of Jonah is not unusual. 

At the time of Jonah Nineveh was one of the largest and greatest cities in antiquity and was known for being a centre for religious worship of foreign gentile Gods. It is the capital of the belligerent nation of Assyria (Assyria is located across modern day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey). Nineveh was revered by the world during this era and was a symbol of the gentile world. It is therefore significant that the God of Israel tasked Jonah to bring this message of repentance to Nineveh, a nation of Gentiles. At the time of Jonah and before the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s promises are reserved to the Jewish nation alone. However here we have God commanding Jonah to go and preach His message to the non-Jewish Gentile people of Nineveh. Here we can see Jonah’s mission is a direct picture of the mission of Christ and salvation which would soon be available to all, both Jew and Gentile, through the Lord Jesus. 

As a Jew it would be expected for Jonah to be reluctant to bring God’s exclusive message of repentance to a Gentile people. This same reluctance was demonstrated by the Jewish disciples in the early church. Peter was at first unwilling to preach God’s grace to the Gentiles. Jonah’s attitude is shared by many Jews during the first century church who protested to preaching the gospels to the Gentiles.

God’s salvation is available to us all, however before Jesus’ resurrection God’s promises were only for the Jewish nation. Acts 10:28 You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. It would not be until after Jesus’ resurrection that salvation became available to all freely. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Being sent to a gentile city would have seemed strange for Jonah.

When considering Jonah's reaction in chapter 3 compared to that in chapter 1, what is significant is what has happened in between. We read in Jonah 1:17, Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.  Three days Jonah resides in the belly of the fish before being vomited back up onto dry land (Jonah 2:10). The experience of Jonah during his time in the belly of the fish is a picture of death. During this time, Jonah cries out to God. We read in Jonah 2:6 "I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God." It is no coincidence that the Hebrew word for ‘pit’ used in Jonah 2:6 is shachath which literally means “death” or “grave”. In Jonah 2:2 he proclaims... “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice." Jonah's descent into the belly of the fish is a direct picture of the Lord Jesus who after being crucified descended into the depths of the earth in Sheol to preach to those in the grave and retrieve the keys to death before rising up again on the third day. 

Ephesians 4:9 “Now this ‘He ascended’ – what does it mean but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”

Revelation 1:18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.”

Psalm 16:10 “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see Corruption.”

With this in mind the book of Jonah spans the old and new covenants of God. The first time God commands Jonah to preach to the Ninevites in chapter 1 Jonah refuses as he is acting under the premise of the old covenant and under the old covenant God’s promises are reserved to the Jewish nation alone. The second time God commands Jonah to preach to the Ninevites in chapter 3, Jonah has been into the depths and risen out of the belly of the fish. He is a new man. He has been resurrected and is now operating under  the premise of the new covenant. Just as salvation has become available to us all under the new covenant by the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, Jonah’s descent into the belly of Sheol and subsequent resurrection upon being vomited out of the mouth of the fish is a picture of the beginning of the new covenant. Now when God commands Jonah to preach to the gentile city, Jonah obeys. 

It should be noted that God’s mercy is visible throughout the whole of Jonah just as it is throughout the whole of the Old and New Testaments and today. Even under the old covenant when the promises of God are reserved to the Jewish nation, God shows mercy to the people of Nineveh. God will always have mercy on those who come to Him humbly. Throughout the Old Testament we see instances where God uses gentiles just as effectively as Jews. Take Rahab, the gentile woman who housed the Jewish spies (Joshua 2) who later came to live amongst the Jewish people and gave birth to Boaz. Also her daughter-in-law, Ruth, a gentile who was faithful and married Boaz. Not only does God show mercy on these two gentile women but He blesses them abundantly more than they can imagine; both of them are in the direct line of Christ (Matt 1:5). God shows no partiality to his subjects and His mercy is available to us today. When we come to God we should petition Him in accordance with His mercy.

Ephesians 3:8-13 

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Psalm 51:1-2 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me.”

Our Task Today:

The book of Jonah may have been written 2,500 years ago, but it is just as relevant as it is now. As BACs we are confident of the salvation that has now been made available to all through the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we can attain righteousness and be saved and through our experiences and trials we can sanctify ourselves to God so that we may be holy for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16 It is written "be Holy for I am Holy")

Do not dismay at trials or hard times for they are all working together for God's good: James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

In Jonah 1 God commanded Jonah to go and preach the good news to Nineveh, a picture of the gentile world. That same mercy is available to us today.

In Jonah 3 God commanded Jonah to go and preach the good news to Nineveh, a picture of the gentile world, showing that soon through the Lord Jesus Christ salvation would be available to all.

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands US directly "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"

God's Word has not changed. We must answer the call.

-BACChristian