Studying the Book of Jonah: part 7

Chapter 3

Jonah has just had the experience of a lifetime, now what?

Verse 1:  Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time say,

The Bible does not tell us where Jonah is at this time.  Did he go home to Gath-helper to get cleaned up and regroup?  Did he start to Nineveh immediately upon hitting dry land?  We aren’t given that information, but what we do know is that God is picking back up with the conversation they were having before Jonah decided to take off!

 

Verse 2:  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”

There it is again, that same message, ‘go to Nineveh and preach.’  God hadn’t changed His mind despite Jonah’s actions, and He didn’t change His command! 

 

Verse 3:  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.

This time when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh he went, no running in the opposite direction, he had learned his lesson!

Even though Jonah obeyed in deed, his heart still held a deep prejudice against the pagan idol worshippers in Nineveh.  Jonah still has spiritual ‘heart issues!’

 

Verse 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.”

Nineveh was an exceedingly large city that took 3 days to cross.  When Jonah arrived, he began calling out and delivering the message that God had given him, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”  From the reading it appears that he went one day’s journey into the city preaching God’s message warning them of the coming destruction if they did not repent.

The message was brief and to the point and had a deadline!

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Until the next installment, 

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2022 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.