OCTOBER 30, 2024
Topic: “THE GOD OF LOVE”
Text: JONAH 3:8-10
Memory Verse: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened” – Jonah 3:10
The Ninevites were some of the worst people in Jonah’s day. Jonah was either so afraid of them or thought they were so hopelessly lost that when God called him to go there, he went elsewhere. However, in this text, Jonah has finally obeyed God and proclaimed His word to these Ninevites, he proclaimed God’s offer of love to them and they responded in faith, then God withheld the judgment He had threatened to bring upon them.
This is a clear show of God’s love in the Old Testament, which shows Him as the God of love. His love made Him to show mercy to these seemingly reprobate people. Also, very important is their response to the offer of God’s love that came to them through the proclamation of Prophet Jonah. They repented of their evil ways and asked for God for mercy.
The Ninevites were said to be so wicked that Prophet Jonah thought they deserved their punishment such that he – a Prophet of God who had seen many nations and people come to repentance still believed that God would still condemn these Ninevites after their repentance. Thank God for His mercy. In Proverbs 28:13, the word of God promises that whoever confesses and turns away from his sins will have the mercy of God, and this is what played out in the case of the Ninevites despite the extent of their wickedness. This is consistent with Jeremiah 18:7-8. God forgave Nineveh just as He had forgiven Jonah.
The purpose of God’s judgment is correction, not vengeance. He is always willing to show compassion to anyone willing to repent of his or her sin and seek Him. Will you take advantage of this show of God’s love and tap into it in order to be right with Him? Do it now.
PRAYER: Lord, I come before you just as I am with all my wrongs. Please have mercy on me, forgive me and do not bring your judgment on me in Jesus’ name, Amen.