Scripture Reading : Jonah 3-4
Theme : Repentance and Regret
- Nineveh’s Repentance (3). After Nineveh hears God’s coming judgment, the whole city repents. The king’s dramatic actions and their fasting indicate the seriousness of their repentance. They also demonstrate humility by saying they do not think God is obligated to relent. They did not know whether God will relent. They deserve judgment. If God relents, it is because of His mercy, which He is not obligated to give. God’s forgiveness again demonstrates His amazing character to forgive sins even in the face of great evil (Ex. 34:6-7). Nineveh is known for its great cruelty and violence. But because they turn away from evil, God refrains from His judgment. This kind of mercy is displayed consistently in in the OT because this is His character.
- Jonah’s Regret (4). Sadly, Jonah did not share God’s heart. Instead of rejoicing with God, he is sad because he wants and thinks Nineveh deserves to be judged. Ironically, the very same mercy that he wants to withhold from Nineveh is the same mercy that keeps him alive. In order to sanctify Jonah, God disciplines and trains him again. God demonstrates His love for mankind and animals by showing Jonah that if he can pity an insignificant plant, which he didn’t even grow, then God has even more reason to have compassion on all mankind, even evil Nineveh, who are made in His image. God’s compassion even extends to the animals (cf. Prov. 12:10). His compassion leads Him to sacrifice His beloved Son.
Praying the Scripture
- When our heart is out of sync with God’s heart, then we will be disappointed with God, like Jonah (1 Tim. 2:4). He would rather see Nineveh judged instead of forgiven. He selfishly wants grace from God, but does not want Nineveh to have the same grace. Even a prophet of God can act like this. This clearly indicates the whole human race is broken and needs to be restored through the grace of Jesus. We pray that God will always keep us humble and keep our heart tender. May we not be hypocrites like Jonah. May we never desire anyone to be judged instead of forgiven. God judges, but we love.
- Lord, thank you for your incredible grace of discipline and training. You are a faithful God who loves your children more than the love of the best father in the world (Matt. 7:11). Like Jonah, we are often blinded to our sinfulness and our spiritual poverty. Thank you for loving us by disciplining our sins and training us to strengthen our weaknesses. When we are disciplined or are trained by you, may we never doubt your love for us, which is so clearly and decisively demonstrated in through the suffering and death of Jesus (Rom. 8:32).
经文：约拿书3-4
主题：悔改与后悔
- 尼尼微的悔改（3）。尼尼微听到神即将到来的审判时，全城悔改了。尼尼微王戏剧性的行动以及人民的禁食都表示他们是真心悔改的。他们也晓得神没有义务要收手——这显露了他们已谦卑的心。他们并不知道神是否会退让。他们认为自己是应该承受惩罚的。若神肯收手，这全凭祂的怜悯；祂没有义务要赐下这份情。神的赦免再次显示，即便罪人犯下大恶，祂仍能奇妙般地饶恕罪过（出34:6-7）。尼尼微的极大恶暴行为是家喻户晓的。然而，由于他们离开罪恶，神最后也没定罪。这种恩典在旧约里持续上演，因为这就是神的属性。
- 约拿的后悔（4）。可惜的是，约拿无法体会神的心意。他不但不与神欢庆，反倒忧忧愁愁的，因为他想要并认为尼尼微应当受到惩罚。他万万没想到，他不愿施与尼尼微的怜悯，正是维持他生命的怜悯。为要造就约拿，神再次管教并训练他。祂向约拿显示祂对人与禽兽的爱：若约拿能为一个微不足道，甚至不是他栽种的植物感到惋惜，神更有理由向全人类，甚至行恶的尼尼微人施予慈爱，因为他们都是按神的形象造的。神的慈爱甚至扩展至禽兽（参箴12:10）。祂的慈爱促使祂牺牲了自己的爱子。
用经文祷告
- 当我们与神的心有出入时，我们必然会对神失望，就像约拿一样（提前2:4）。他宁愿尼尼微受到惩罚，而不是得到宽恕。他自私地想获得神的恩典，却不要尼尼微同得这份恩典。神的先知也能这样想。这清楚表示，全人类是堕落的，需要藉着耶稣的恩典被复兴。我们祈求神能一直让我们保持谦卑，一直使我们有温柔的心。愿我们不像约拿一样成为虚伪的人。愿我们不会想要任何人受到审判，而不是饶恕。神是审判官，但我们要爱人。
- 主啊，我们为你奇特的管教与磨练之恩感谢你。你是信实的神；你对你儿女的爱超乎世上最好的父亲所能给予的（太7:11）。如约拿一样，我们常常对自己的罪性与属灵贫穷瞎眼。谢谢你爱我们，从而惩罚我们的罪，并在我们的弱点上熬炼我们。当我们受到你的管教或磨练时，愿我们不会质疑你对我们的爱，因为这已藉着耶稣的受苦与死亡明明彰显出来了（罗8:32）。
