Jonah 3:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
Jonah Goes to Nineveh 3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Friday - January 29
Jonah, the “reluctant prophet,” preached a very short sermon: “In 40 days
this city will be destroyed!” He went around the big city for several days
repeating that sermon. The shocking part is that the people actually
listened! They heard the words from Jonah and believed that they were
actually words from God. In the fear of impending doom every single person
repented, which means their hearts and minds were “transformed.” They
turned from their own ways and pleaded for God’s mercy. This is the primary
purpose of God’s Law. It accuses, condemns and even destroys so that we
are driven back to God and seek His mercy. This is what Martin Luther called
the 2nd Use of the Law. Tomorrow we will see if God is merciful.