Devotion 6: God’s Message
Elijah Edwards
What is news that you’ve heard, or a message someone gave you that made you react quickly? For some of us, it might be good news where we rejoice, bad news where we go into panic and dismay, or maybe something as simple as running to the table because we were told dinner is ready. Whatever it may be, our reaction depends on the news or message that is given. As we go through the book of Jonah, we reach the third chapter where Nineveh was about to receive a message themselves.
Read Jonah 3:1-3. First and foremost, Jonah had just been vomited out of a giant fish and the first thing that God tells him is to again go and complete his task and give the message to the Ninevites.
After reading all of Jonah and getting to this chapter, how important is this message that God has for the people of Nineveh? This message was very important to God because not only did He rescue Jonah for it to be delivered, but God also caused the fish to swallow Jonah to turn him around for the message to be delivered. I want us to mull that over for a bit as we continue.
Read Jonah 3:4-5. What was Nineveh’s the immediate reaction? Nineveh believed! The entire city believed. We read that “the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them” (Jonah 3:5).
Now, read Jonah 3:6-10. For me, this is the most powerful moment of this chapter. The King of Nineveh, instead of pushing his own power, bowed to the awesome power of God and turned away from evil. This was an important message for Jonah to deliver. God was going to wipe out and destroy Nineveh for their evil, but instead, He sent them a message through Jonah of how to turn away from that destruction. When Nineveh heard it, they repented and turned to God. The power of God’s message is life-changing and life-bringing.
Romans 6:23 tell us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” How does this verse relate to the message God sent through Jonah? Each and every one of us have been given this same message. Our sinful and evil heart makes us deserve death and eternal separation from God. God has every right to wipe us out. Yet, through the good news and message of Jesus, the life-changing and life-bringing power of God saves us from destruction.
I leave us with one last question. What is your reaction to the message God brings through Romans 6:23? When we hear the power of God’s message, how do we react? Like Nineveh, repenting and believing? Look at the power that God’s message had over Nineveh and let us examine our own life and how we react to that same message.