Nineveh
was the capital of
Assyria
, a nation infamous for fierceness, a nation
Israel
dreaded as she had repeatedly harassed, killed and destroyed the Israelites.
Unthinkable as it was to Jonah, God called him to preach salvation, not only to
a non-Israelite nation, but, worse yet, to
Israel
’s destructive enemy!
“No
way! I’ll run away first. I know You are a gracious God and will relent from
the disaster planned for
Nineveh
! Forgiveness, no . . . vengeance, yes!”
Jonah tried his best to
prevent
Nineveh
from receiving God’s grace and in the process, he traded places with his
enemy. The inability to repent, which Jonah ascribed to
Nineveh
is now his own; the grace that Jonah begrudged
Nineveh
is the very grace by which he is sustained.
We must never think that most
infamous are not precious to God, or that God only shows kindness and mercy to
the deserving. God’s unfathomable grace goes out to the undeserving,
transforming enemies into friends, opponents into partners. That’s His pattern
for us to follow too. To turn our enemies into FRENEMIES!
For
more:
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