Do We Have A Ninevah?

People think of Jonah as a stubborn prophet. Actually he was a patriotic man of God that had a hard time reconciling his patriotism with his calling.

"And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" - Jonah 4:11 ESV

John was appalled at Ninevah because of their heathen practices and he wanted to withhold mercy from this people group but that was not God's heart.

Do we have a Ninevah? Is there a group that has hurt our group or stands in direct opposition to it? Who are these people? Is it ethnic, religious, economic or political in nature? Do we impute sin to a whole group? Have we said, 'Guilty' in our own little court of law?

Maybe Our Nineveh is a person and not a people group. Maybe we have taken the lion's share of our blame for the difficulties we have had and placed it on a person's head and we can't minister because of it.

"The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it." - Jonah 3:6-10 ESV

I often think that these people might have turned the way they did because they knew that Jonah, a man bleached white from his time in the whale, had good reason to hate them because of past hurts but was preaching mercy anyway. God seemed to use the contradiction.

Imputing sin is the relationship killer. Declaring mercy is the bridge that heals wounds inside and out. Sometimes it isn't an easy declaration but it is a powerful one.

If we have a Nineveh it is easy to identify who they are. They thought of him, her or them shows us. But who is our God? Is it our ideology, loyalty or theology or is it the God of all grace?

People think of Jonah as a stubborn prophet. Actually he was a patriotic man of God that had a hard time reconciling his patriotism with his calling.

"And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" - Jonah 4:11 ESV

John was appalled at Ninevah because of their heathen practices and he wanted to withhold mercy from this people group but that was not God's heart.

Do we have a Ninevah? Is there a group that has hurt our group or stands in direct opposition to it? Who are these people? Is it ethnic, religious, economic or political in nature? Do we impute sin to a whole group? Have we said, 'Guilty' in our own little court of law?

Maybe Our Nineveh is a person and not a people group. Maybe we have taken the lion's share of our blame for the difficulties we have had and placed it on a person's head and we can't minister because of it.

"The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it." - Jonah 3:6-10 ESV

I often think that these people might have turned the way they did because they knew that Jonah, a man bleached white from his time in the whale, had good reason to hate them because of past hurts but was preaching mercy anyway. God seemed to use the contradiction.

Imputing sin is the relationship killer. Declaring mercy is the bridge that heals wounds inside and out. Sometimes it isn't an easy declaration but it is a powerful one.

If we have a Nineveh it is easy to identify who they are. They thought of him, her or them shows us. But who is our God? Is it our ideology, loyalty or theology or is it the God of all grace?

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