God gets there first
Nineveh was a large city, prone to wickedness. Jonah was a disobedient prophet who had just been discharged from a whale’s belly. Seems like the makings of a Netflix comedy—stinky, skinny prophet shows up on Madison Avenue with a megaphone and antics ensue. But what happened in Nineveh is actually quite amazing. The Ninevites believed Jonah’s warnings that God would destroy them in 40 days if they didn’t stop being so wicked. So they repented in sackcloth, and they fasted. And God had mercy on their city.
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When Jonah (finally, reluctantly) showed up in Nineveh, he wasn’t acting alone. When have you ever seen even a dozen people fall to their knees before a sidewalk prophet? There were other, bigger forces at work. The ears and hearts of Nineveh were already open to Jonah’s message, before he showed up.
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I had a pastor once who often said something like, “Nobody turns to Jesus without the Holy Spirit first getting their attention.” The Holy Spirit has a way of preparing us to hear what we’re about to hear. I’ve also heard, “The Holy Spirit doesn’t go where (s)he isn’t welcome,” which implies that we can opt not to be open to what God wants to say to us. I think the lesson in this for me is: don’t be afraid to be Jonah—God doesn’t send us anywhere without going ahead of us first—and always be open to what God might be wanting to tell me.
“And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.”