“A Heart For The City” (Part Two)

When Jonah Entered the City

Jonah lies in the belly of the fish for three days and nights (see Matthew 12:38-41). In the fish, God kept Jonah alive and gave him plenty of time to think. In Jonah 2, Jonah’s prayer inside the fish shows the beginnings of repentance. In very descriptive terms, he praises God for rescuing him from the depths of the sea, “from the pit” (2:3-6). And he declares his desire to look again toward the holy temple in Jerusalem (v.4). He acknowledges that following idols is foolish (v.8). And then in the finest part of the prayer, he proclaims: “Salvation is of the Lord” (2:9). With those words, God signals the great fish to vomit up Jonah on dry ground. Jonah brushes himself off, breathes in the fresh air, and discovers that his journey has been a round trip! He is back where he started at Joppa.

Jonah immediately begins the long trip to Nineveh, “an exceeding great city, a three-day journey in extent” (3:3). Once there, Jonah spends a full day delivering God’s eight-word message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (3:4). Never did a preacher have a bigger response to a shorter message (3:6-9). You would think that the story would end there with Jonah on his way home rejoicing over the citywide revival. But it didn’t happen that way. Jonah was a prophet who preached with his mouth but without compassion in his heart.

Because there is more to the story, tomorrow we will be reminded that God is just as concerned about our heart and our attitude about our great cities as He is about our preaching.