00:00:00:12 – 00:00:22:50
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for closing out the week with us as we continue through Jonah moving into a new chapter today. Chapter three. kind of a story in three parts. And yet really, there are probably two questions that hang over the book of Jonah. one is what happens to a person that runs away from God’s call.

00:00:22:55 – 00:00:48:31
Clint Loveall
We’ve kind of answered that at this point. And so now the author kind of turns their attention to the second question, what happens to a city that that’s wickedness rises up before the Lord? And so I think that now becomes the focus of the back half of this book. The last two chapters of the four. And so let me read a few verses, then we’ll come back and we’ll talk through them.

00:00:48:36 – 00:01:20:39
Clint Loveall
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, get up, go down in that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city. A three days walk across Jonah began to go into the city, going a day, a day’s walk, and he cried out for 40 days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

00:01:20:43 – 00:01:47:25
Clint Loveall
And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and everyone great and small put on sackcloth. So here we have a transition in the story. Jonah has been brought to dry land, and there’s some interesting stuff. And again, sometimes in English it’s difficult to capture some of this, but we get the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.

00:01:47:25 – 00:02:17:35
Clint Loveall
Arise. That’s pretty close. Get up. Literally up. Though we read the up more literal in in the Greek or in the Hebrew. Get up, go to an end of a the great city. And here it says something like, a the great city before God and and proclaim to it the message that I tell you. So a little bit more information than in the first time, get up and go preach against Nineveh.

00:02:17:40 – 00:02:52:41
Clint Loveall
Now the the edges are softening a little bit. Proclaim the message that I tell you, which again is introduces maybe just a little bit of question mark about where this is headed and the the major shift, the biggest change in this calling. The second one are these simple words. Then Jonah went. So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.

00:02:52:46 – 00:03:05:17
Clint Loveall
So we have two chapters, Michael, half of the story to get us back where we started and essentially to get us where Jonah should have been at the outset.

00:03:05:22 – 00:03:29:31
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, the text makes that clear to us. It says explicitly right here at the beginning, our second time. This connects to the beginning of the story. We’re supposed to see again that now, this is the second run at Jonah’s opportunity to obey God, to the sheer amount of content that lies between. This is the story that we’ve already traveled.

00:03:29:31 – 00:03:53:21
Michael Gewecke
The idea of the sailors on that boat who were saved, the idea of the entire psalm lived out in the middle of this great fish. The idea that Jonah has now gone lower, lower, lower, lower, down to the point of even death itself. And now there’s the going up to Nineveh. It’s the moment of once again, given the opportunity again to hear God’s Word.

00:03:53:25 – 00:04:17:56
Michael Gewecke
This time Jonah responds, and notice, we’ve always got to be careful when we point things out that are not in the text. But I think it’s worth noting, at least as we continue through this story. It does not say that Jonah set out joyously that Jonah set out courageously. I mean, that’s going to be undefined. And I think that that, is generally now the thing you want to read into the text.

00:04:17:56 – 00:04:36:45
Michael Gewecke
But I think as we’re going to keep going here, we’re going to find detail like the fact that Nineveh here is described as being a city. You would have to walk three days to get across. And when Jonah gets about the business of going to do the thing that God told him to do, how many days worth did Jonah get through?

00:04:36:50 – 00:05:03:09
Michael Gewecke
He got through one day’s worth of a three day long city that is surely not the a student effort, right? There’s clearly not an attempt to make it through the whole city to make sure that everyone has heard the word. So I wonder if, even in the telling of this, the second time God has come to Jonah, David said once again, get up, go to that city, proclaim the message.

00:05:03:14 – 00:05:15:03
Michael Gewecke
And when Jonah does it, he does it this time, which is unique, that this is different than the first run at it. But what may be similar to the first run is his spirit of reluctance that he brings with it.

00:05:15:16 – 00:05:49:10
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think that’s fair. You know, I think the text points us in that direction or leans us in that direction tells us Nineveh is exceedingly large. Then not only does it say Jonah went a day into the city, it says, as Jonah began to go so, in other words, this is on the front end that maybe even the insinuation that Jonah doesn’t complete the task but only starts it, and then he cries out, 40 days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

00:05:49:10 – 00:06:20:02
Clint Loveall
And you know how significant this is we could argue about. But in the Hebrew, in the in the language of the Old Testament, that’s five words. This sentence in English is five words. So Jonah goes one third of the way through the city and says five words. And if you’ve ever read speeches of the prophets in the Old Testament, there are these long, flowery, beautiful, sometimes scary, frightening metaphors in language.

00:06:20:02 – 00:06:51:19
Clint Loveall
They’re they’re passionate. They’re fire and brimstone. This is none of that. This is five words, a third of a way through a city. And and I think the implication is, just as you pointed out, Mike, I did if Jonah is trying very hard, it’s not obvious. And therefore, I think we’re left to conclude that he’s not I mean, that he’s he he’s not particularly passionate about this text.

00:06:51:30 – 00:07:10:15
Clint Loveall
He didn’t want it took away all to get him there. I mean, he I think clearly not much has changed. He is obeying, but only by the letter of the law. I don’t think his spirit, I don’t think his heart is in this light. I think that’s fairly clear in the text.

00:07:10:15 – 00:07:29:16
Michael Gewecke
Well, so I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but I certainly have with my children. There are times when, as a parent, you’re trying to get something across. You try to say, you know, you need to apologize, right? You you say, sorry, you say this thing and the child who is going to blow up under that, you’re you’re not going to extract anything more than what I’m willing to give you.

00:07:29:16 – 00:07:51:16
Michael Gewecke
I’ve had my child say the bear. I’m not sorry, but I am sorry. You’re right. They’re going to say the bare minimum. Here, look at this, Clint. He doesn’t say, for the gaze. More Nineveh shall be overthrown. Or else you do this or or do this. No, it’s just merely a statement of fact. You could almost imagine.

00:07:51:16 – 00:08:15:18
Michael Gewecke
You could almost imagine your mind’s eye here, Jonah, saying this with almost a hopeful kind of gait. Right. Like in 40 days. It’s all going to be done. You’re all going to be overthrown, right? It’s almost as if he’s not offering the people another way. He’s just making a declaration of fact. And that is, once again, not in the vein of the prophets.

00:08:15:18 – 00:08:42:19
Michael Gewecke
The prophets are always about turning. There’s always about transformation. It’s always a opportunity for the people to encounter a holy God, and for that God to then become their God, and for them to put aside the temptations of their own, idolatry or their own injustices. And in this case, if if he is a prophet, Jonah is the most reluctant and tight lipped prophet that we have in the entire scriptures.

00:08:42:28 – 00:08:55:00
Michael Gewecke
He’s simply going to make a declarative statement. This is what God said is going to happen. And, I think I imagine at least that he’s hoping where that stays.

00:08:55:04 – 00:09:28:01
Clint Loveall
Yeah. And I think even that is an assumption, Michael, because nowhere in the text does it actually say that that’s the message God has given. I think we can maybe assume that that’s implied. Go preach the message I give you infer that, I think we could come back to this this message, this proclamation at the end of the book and ask the question if perhaps this is wishful thinking on Jonah’s part, is he declaring something that he hopes will be true?

00:09:28:06 – 00:09:57:21
Clint Loveall
because there’s no there’s no repentance here. There’s no turning. There’s no so what, 40 days? Or else do the there’s none of that. He doesn’t fill in any of those gaps. It’s a declarative statement. It’s a brief statement in the in the face of an exceedingly large city whose wickedness has risen up to the Lord, he has five words to say in in a third of a journey through the city.

00:09:57:21 – 00:10:24:45
Clint Loveall
And I again, you know, Bible scholars argue about a lot of things, and they’re very, very helpful. I think it’s hard to read this and think that Jonah’s all in. He he’s not trying very hard. I think that’s the clear message. And yet the, the verse we end with here today. And the people of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast and the word fast.

00:10:24:45 – 00:11:08:43
Clint Loveall
They’re also has overtones of mourning or repentance. And everyone great and small put on sackcloth again, on example and evidence of mourning, of confession, of of being convicted. And so once again, despite Jonah’s. Maybe less than stellar performance, it’s effective. The people of Nineveh hear in that message. Notice that the proclamation doesn’t even mention God, and yet it says they believed God and and they proclaim a fast.

00:11:08:43 – 00:11:37:30
Clint Loveall
They they have a moment of conviction over their sinfulness, and they express remorse and guilt and grief over it. And, you know, it’s probably the most effective five word sermon in the history of preaching. there’s there’s it’s really not it’s very hard to account for. And yet the people of this city respond.

00:11:37:35 – 00:11:58:18
Michael Gewecke
So, Clinton, at this juncture in our conversation, we’re now past two chapters into the book of Jonah. And if you hear the first ten minutes of our conversation here today, you might think to yourself, wow, you guys are really kind of beating this one, to a pulp. This idea that Jonah’s reluctant, that Jonah seems to be stubborn.

00:11:58:22 – 00:12:22:21
Michael Gewecke
we’ve come back to that over and over again, and I think that I want to just make sure that we slow down enough to see that the force of that really hits us in verse five. Because when the people of Nineveh believe God, the author of Jonah, has given us all of the evidence that we need to understand that it is not because of Jonah.

00:12:22:22 – 00:12:49:31
Michael Gewecke
I think at this point, we can begin to see that this is one of the most ironic statements that you can read in the Scripture, the idea that this is the guy who becomes the master revivalist in the middle of this wicked city, the idea that the people heard this sermon and that it transformed their society from the least to the greatest, that all of them in concert were convicted by these words.

00:12:49:31 – 00:13:12:55
Michael Gewecke
They believe them and that they drew their attention from their idolatry and their wickedness to the one true God of Israel. The idea that that all happened because Jonah said five words in the original language is supposed to be ridiculous. And I think the question is why? What’s that pointing us to? It’s pointing us to the main character of this story.

00:13:13:08 – 00:13:32:29
Michael Gewecke
The main character. This story may appear to be Jonah. I would argue it’s God. God is the one who’s operatively working in this story. God’s the one who calls in the beginning. God is the one who offers the word to Jonah now, the second time, and God is the one who’s bringing these people to repentance is God’s action through Jonah.

00:13:32:29 – 00:13:55:44
Michael Gewecke
That is making the difference. There’s no way. I don’t think you can make the case that Jonah has unlocked the secret to what makes the best evangelistic sermon. I think a better interpretation is that God has willed that this action will happen, and Jonah is going to be a participant in that, even if Jonah is going to be pushing against it.

00:13:55:49 – 00:14:28:03
Clint Loveall
You know, we have framed this whole book as a tale of what happens when God and a character want, things that are opposed to one another when there’s a competition of wills. God says, do this. And Jonah wants to do his own thing. And that continues. I think we’re going to we won’t really get into that until probably mid next week when we when we see that, come back to the forefront.

00:14:28:08 – 00:14:52:46
Clint Loveall
But I, I think that’s still the framework that best helps us understand this book is God going to get his way or is Jonah going to get his way? And those two things have been opposed to each other, and I think we will see as we move to the next chapter next week, we’ll see that that that conflict informs even these moments.

00:14:52:51 – 00:15:19:48
Clint Loveall
because I give you a little spoiler as we look ahead, not only does it seem that Jonah’s not trying very hard, he’s not going to be happy that people have listened to his message. The fact that they hear this and repent is bad news to Jonah, who has presented. Good news. Right in the idea that God is available to the people.

00:15:19:48 – 00:15:35:22
Clint Loveall
So really interesting stuff here. Kind of complex, lots of threads in it. But this battle of wills between God and Jonah continues. And that really is the framework, I think that best helps us understand the story.

00:15:35:27 – 00:15:57:36
Michael Gewecke
One of the hiccups in reading a text like this is to get fixated on what we would expect to be true after you were thrown overboard, you sink into the water. You’re miraculously saved by a great fish. I think most humans think to themselves, well, that’s that’s a pretty big sign. I’m sure you’re going to go be enthusiastic.

00:15:57:36 – 00:16:34:21
Michael Gewecke
Do what God calls you to do the second time. I think that’s maybe the the spirit that we might enter into a reading of a text like this. And when the text clearly pushes against that and shows us that Jonah still on some level seems to struggle with the call that God has given, that’s not an accident that’s been written in, and it has a creates a textual space, an invitation for us, I think, to ask ourselves, what are the areas of our own life where God may have a more expansive vision for the love that might be shown through our lives, for others that we resist?

00:16:34:21 – 00:17:02:38
Michael Gewecke
And, you know, that’s going to become even more clear. I think once we come to the end of this book, it’s going to land on us in a very square way. But we can already begin to see that forming in the the pages of this scripture. It’s not just about Jonah and his stubbornness with God. It’s also a question about all the people of faith who are called to be bearers of the good news, to be bearers of God’s desire for the world.

00:17:02:38 – 00:17:15:40
Michael Gewecke
And the question is, are we going to be with God in that effort or are we going to stand against God? And anyone who wants to write themselves out of that story? Is it being simple or clear cut? I don’t think it’s understanding the message of this text.

00:17:15:45 – 00:17:36:52
Clint Loveall
Yeah, there is a sense in which Jonah is difficult to break in pieces without talking about the whole. And so if if you can join us next week as we continue through the book, we hope that you will, because there is, more each unfolding of this story brings more and more fascinating stuff to explore. So we hope you can do that with us.

00:17:36:57 – 00:17:52:52
Michael Gewecke
If you made this far, we’d love for you to like this video. It helps others find it in their own study. We’d love for you to subscribe for more videos like this, and we’d love for you to join us wherever you would be best helped, whether that’s the podcast or YouTube or anywhere else. Hope that you are blessed and we look forward to seeing you next time we gather.

00:17:52:57 – 00:17:53:15
Michael Gewecke
Thanks.