Today’s passage: Jonah 3:1-5
Helpful thoughts:
- Jonah’s second chance in chapter 3 parallels the first chance in chapter one. Verses 1-6 are nearly identical with different characters and places.
- The Ninevites were known to be a cruel people. Injustice was commonplace. What was Jonah’s message to them? God’s wrath was coming.
- Fasting and sackcloth were evidence of repentance, and the repentance included all of the people from the “least” to the “greatest”.
Questions to consider:
- How did Jonah evidence some repentance in today’s passage? How is chapter 3 different than chapter 1?
- What might Jonah have expected the unjust and cruel Ninevites to do to their enemy’s prophet after trying to tell them that God was going to overthrow their kingdom?
- Was Jonah’s message of God’s judgment ineffective? Why might we sometimes think it wrong to tell people about God’s wrath and judgment?
- How does an avoidance of the topic of God’s wrath negate the significance of the cross of Christ? If there is no wrath, why did Jesus die?