Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
They huddled together and decided to do whatsoever it would take to avert the threatened danger. God knew this in advance. Thus, He sent Jonah to deliver the message in a stark and very grave manner that would be sure to grab their attention. However, from Jonah’s perspective a good outcome such as this would apparently pose a real problem for his credibility, because, if after making a direct threat, and nothing happened, how will people view his next sermon?
Would they believe him the next time around? And what about God’s view on the matter? If He has to send Jonah to preach another sermon like the 1st one, would God expect the people to believe him? It is a very serious question which will lead us into the Bible study for today: Jonah’s Next Sermon. Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. Question: Why did Jonah become exceedingly angry at the outcome?
Jonah had to grapple with issues of credibility, because, if after giving such a definitive sermon, it fails to pan out, the question in his mind will obviously be, will his reputation be on the line, and will people ever believe him again. From God’s perspective, Jonah was still credible and if for some reason God saw fit to send him back to Nineveh, at a later date, with a message of warning, God would expect the people to fully believe him, just as if the first prediction had come true.
Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!