Sermon Cloud

Jonah 3:1-4:11

After Jonah is spit back up on the beach by the fish God sent to rescue him, God again tells Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites. This time Jonah obeys, and after Jonah proclaims God’s impending judgment all of the Ninevites from the king on down repent of their evil ways and hope for mercy from God. God relents from destroying Nineveh because mercy and compassion are a part of His very nature. Jonah understood this, and his anger at the prospect of the Ninevites avoiding judgment and receiving grace is what led him to run away to Tarshish in the first place. God sent a vine and then a worm and a scorching wind to expose Jonah’s sinful heart and reveal his self-righteousness and how he loves his own comfort more than other people. We are just like Jonah in that we often think we deserve God’s kindness more than other people and we love our own comfort more than our calling to be like Jonah and be ambassador’s of God’s grace to warn people of their impending judgment and urge them to repent and turn to Jesus Christ.