C. Unwanted Grace Comes as a Opportunity

“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

This word of unwanted grace from the LORD called him to action: Arise and go – get up and get going.. There is immediacy, urgency in this word from the LORD..

This word of unwanted grace from the LORD called him with direction: to Nineveh.. Nineveh was what he did not want to hear – Nineveh was what made this word a word of unwanted grace..

Nineveh was the capital of an ancient called Assyria, located in modern Iran.. Nineveh was 550 miles from Samaria where Jonah lived.. Nineveh was a city of 600,000 people.. Nineveh was a Gentile city, and no one spoke Hebrew there, although many spoke Aramaic there, so Jonah could make himself understood.. Hebrew prophets would not be all that welcome in Nineveh..

Nineveh was a cruel city.. The kings of Assyria developed the concept of captivity, in which a conquered people would be moved from their home territory and settled elsewhere, while alien people would be settled in their former home.. One of their Kings boasted he had make a mountain red like wool by cutting off the head of some warriors he had defeated and piled their skulls as a pillar in front of their city.. Others boasted of flaying their enemies alive (cutting off their skin) and stretching their skin on the city wall..

At the time Nineveh was in trouble.. In the recent years before Jonah received this word from the LORD, they had experienced two plagues and also a total eclipse of the sun, which they took to be a bad omen of something bad about to come upon them.. They were divided politically and in a very weak condition.. Left to themselves, they would collapse in a short time..

Summary: The prophet received word from the LORD that called him to action and gave him direction..

That word also gave him motivation..

God was concerned about their wickedness..

Jonah was given the opportunity to have greatest evangelistic impact in history, but he didn’t want it because he was politically and culturally opposed to Nineveh and did not have God’s heart for them..