Are You Like Jonah

• Think about Jonah: God told him to preach repentance in the capital of the Assyrian Empire. He didn't like Assyria and would rather see them destroyed. So...
  
  He tried to flee from God on a ship. Didn't work.
  
  Then he was thrown overboard in a storm (b-i-g storm!). Didn't drown.
  
  Then he was swallowed by a fish (b-i-g fish!). Didn't die.
  
  Then, wrapped in seaweed, he was spit up on the beach. Then God repeated the instruction. Then he obeyed. Then Nineveh repented.
  
  As you read this, get the point, but don't judge Jonah too harshly. Remember: we all learn the hard way sometimes.
  
  And what is the point? I enjoy a good seaweed salad at my favorite Asian restaurant, but I don't want to do what Jonah did to get one. Better to obey God the first time. Wouldn't you agree?

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Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city--a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:1-5-10 NIV)