Day 629: Jonah 3- Rich In Mercy

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth.  4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 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.
The People of Nineveh Repent
6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Meditation
Christians struggle with a poverty of security. God offers a remedy through inviting us to explore the richness of His mercy. God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4) with great love towards us. God desires no one to perish (2 Peter 2:14), for all people to be saved through the knowledge of the truth of His mercy (1 Timothy 2:4).
 
God has mercy for the rebellious prophet and evil people. Jonah was given the opportunity to begin again (1-2). The people of Nineveh were given the opportunity to repent from their evil (3-4). The city received God’s word and everyone from the king to animals humbled themselves through a fast (5-9). Nineveh repented from their evil. God relented from His wrath (10). God is so rich in mercy that in His wrath He remembers it (Habakkuk 3:2).
 
The same language used to describe God’s mercy for Nineveh is used to describe God’s mercy for the Israelites after they created the golden calves in the wilderness (Exodus 32:14). God shows mercy to all who repent and return to Him, to His rebellious people, or workers of evil in the world.
 
God is merciful, full of mercy, and He invites you to find security in His love. We were “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) but God showed mercy “because of His great love with which He loves us (Ephesians 2:4).  Jesus took the wrath we deserve for our rebellion and evil so we can receive mercy! Turn from your rebellion and evil. Return to the Lord, humbling yourself to experience the richness of His mercy.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you comfortable with the reality of the richness of God’s mercy, why or why not?
 
-God is merciful and gracious, so rich in mercy that He wants you to lavish in His love. Where do you need to repent and humble yourself to return and receive mercy?
 
-Jesus is the full picture of mercy, satisfying wrath on the cross and extending grace to all who believe. Jesus makes us alive together with the Lord! Where are three ways you can experience the resurrection reality of God’s mercy in showing mercy to others?
 
Key Verse
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.