Monday Devo
Scripture:
Jonah 3:4-10
4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Commentary:
3:4 Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! “Overthrown” is the same verb used for God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:21, 25, 29). Although the threat sounds unconditional, a condition was implied: If people repent, God will relent (see Jer. 18:7–8). Jonah knows this condition is included (see Jonah 4:2), and the king of Nineveh will hope that it is (see 3:9).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1689–1690.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1689–1690.
Questions:
Jonah 3 forces us to wrestle with the reality of who God is.
Nineveh was known for its violence, cruelty, and arrogance. They deserved judgment, yet God sent a warning before sending punishment. Why? Because God is both perfectly just and deeply merciful.
We often want God to fit into one category or the other. We want Him to be either loving or holy, merciful or righteous. But Scripture reveals a God who is both. His warnings are not signs of cruelty; they are acts of compassion. God reveals the seriousness of sin so people have the opportunity to turn back to Him before it is too late.
Nineveh was known for its violence, cruelty, and arrogance. They deserved judgment, yet God sent a warning before sending punishment. Why? Because God is both perfectly just and deeply merciful.
We often want God to fit into one category or the other. We want Him to be either loving or holy, merciful or righteous. But Scripture reveals a God who is both. His warnings are not signs of cruelty; they are acts of compassion. God reveals the seriousness of sin so people have the opportunity to turn back to Him before it is too late.
- When life becomes difficult, prayers seem unanswered, or God asks you to obey in a way that feels uncomfortable, which side of God's character do you tend to focus on most? Do you ever view Him as loving but not serious about sin, or as holy and demanding but lacking compassion?
- In Ezekiel 33:11, God says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn and live. How does that verse challenge the way you think about God's judgment? What does it reveal about the heart of a God who must punish sin while still longing to save sinners?
- Have you ever used God's grace as a reason to delay obedience, postpone repentance, or tolerate a sin you know He wants you to address? What would it look like to stop presuming upon His patience and respond to His loving warning today?
Prayer Topics:
- Ask God to help you see Him more clearly and trust every aspect of His character.
- Thank Him for being both perfectly just and perfectly merciful.
- Confess any areas where you have abused His patience, and ask for the courage to walk in obedience.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead?
Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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