"WHERE IS YOUR NINEVEH?"

"WHERE IS YOUR NINEVEH?"



This is not a story about a fish.

The time was about 785 BC.  

For the purposes of our discussion, the place is two cities.  Their first being the city of Gathhepher in the territory of Zebulun (2 Kings 14:25) situated in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  The second being the ancient city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire (which was located near what is now the town of Mosul, Iraq, originally established by a great grandson of Noah, Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-12), and more recently named by ISIS in the early 2000s as a ISIS Iraqi headquarters).  

The person was a prophet of God named Jonah who lived during the reign of King Jeroboam II, King of Israel.

The historical setting is a time of political, geographical and economic expansion for Israel.  It had forgotten its past troubles but did not return to the Lord.  The Assyrian Empire was a fierce enemy of Israel, known for its extreme brutality, idolatry and role in destroying the northern Kingdom of Israel sixty (60) years earlier in 722 BC.  To Israel, Nineveh represented wickedness and oppression.

Our story begins in Jonah 1:1-3. “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai.  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.  He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port.”  

The Bible does not tell us what Jonah was thinking at the time he received this instruction from God.  What we do know is what Jonah did.  And it is not hard to imagine what Jonah was thinking.  After all, he was not that much different from you and I.  He likely was thinking, I am a prophet working in Israel, in a land that has ignored God and needs sound teaching.  My job is here.  The people who live next door and down the street are God’s chosen people.  They look like me.  They think like me.  They speak my language and we have a lot in common.  I am most effective here.  Nineveh?  It is a huge city inhabited by filthy heathens.  On top of that, Nineveh is 500 miles northeast from Gathhepher and American Airlines does not provide service to Nineveh.  In fact, it will take approximately one month to travel to Nineveh and one month to return to Gathhepher once the gospel meeting is completed.  This is really very simple.  God is mistaken.  There is virtually no travel cost to teach here in Israel and when you consider time management, it makes absolutely no sense to waste all the time on the road.  If these reasons are not enough, God is merciful and will likely decide not to destroy the Ninevites if they repent.  But considering all the facts, the Ninevites deserve to be punished.  They need to be punished.  I want them punished.

Fast speed forward.  God knows Jonah’s address in Gathhepher.  Jonah’s wisdom suggests he travel somewhere that God can’t find him.  So he buys a ticket on a cruise ship headed for Tarshish (modern day Spain), which was about 2,500 miles the opposite direction to the west.  The ship ends up in very bad storm and the seamen on the ship throw Jonah into the sea.  He gets swallowed by a big fish.  Jonah comes to his senses and decides to follow God’s instruction.  The big fish spits Jonah out on a beach and he finally heads to Nineveh to deliver God’s message of repentance.  What happens after he delivers God’s message?  The people of Nineveh actually listen and respond favorably to Noah’s message.  They turned from their evil ways (Jonah 3:10).  120,000 residents of Nineveh are saved from God’s wrath.

It boils down to this.  Are we like Jonah?  Do we ever receive instruction from God and refuse to comply by rationalizing we know better?  Do we think we can live our lives as Christians by serving how we want to serve, to those we want to serve, where we want to serve and when we want to serve?  After all, delivering the gospel to one is as good as to another.  To Jonah, delivering God’s message in Israel made sense geographically.  To Jonah, perhaps delivering God’s message on the beaches of Tarshish seemed attractive and inviting.  

But to God, following his instructions is everything.  God did not want Jonah delivering his message in Israel.  He wanted him in Nineveh.  As opposed to adopting the easy approach to sharing God’s message, God wanted his message shared with a people who did not look like Jonah, did not share Jonah’s values or religion, were bitter enemies and had nothing in common.

God addresses the human tendency to limit our efforts to share the gospel with those similar to us.  In contrast to the approach we feel most comfortable with, God looks at the heart.  1 Samuel 16:7 “For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Matthew 28:19 instructs us to make disciples of “all nations,” not just those within our social circle.  In John 4, Jesus shattered social, cultural, and gender barriers by speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well, demonstrating that the good news is for all including those who some would consider social outcasts.

The Great Commission was intended to apply to all of us.  We are all ambassadors of Christ “serving as His official representatives on earth to carry out the message of reconciliation”.  (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Has God called on you and I to leave the comfort of our lazy boy and share the good news in a Nineveh?  When God causes someone to cross our path, who does not necessarily look like us, do we jump at the opportunity to say something to them about the good news?   Do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit encourage you to tell someone about your faith, notwithstanding they don’t have much in common with you?  This Sunday, a class called “Telling Your Story” will begin in Room 303 led by Greg Ivans. This class is intended to encourage each of us to improve in the role of ambassadors of Christ when it comes to sharing the gospel. It will discuss why and how our faith stories make a difference to us and others as we share the good news.  Make an effort to join us as we make an effort to be better ambassadors for Christ.