In the Ninevite revival, 120,000 people repent of their sin and throw themselves on God's mercy. We expect Jonah to be rejoicing and busy discipling new believers! Instead, Jonah is found outside the city with arms folded in a grumpy rage. This final chapter of Jonah puts the spotlight on our deep-seated self-righteousness and the boundless grace and compassion of our God. The book concludes by asking: do we share God's heart for the lost?

Many of us are hesitant to talk with others about Jesus. Maybe we don’t want to cause a fuss. Maybe we’re naturally more reserved. Maybe we’re not great with words. So, we keep quiet and keep our heads down. Does the Bible provide any encouragement for reluctant evangelists? Jonah's 5 word sermon to Nineveh and the resulting Assyrian revival encourages us to remember 3 things in our attempts to share the good news: remember to keep it simple, remember what's at stake and remember God's heart for the lost.

A correctly proportioned fish swimming at the right place at the right time becomes a living submarine for a drowning, rebellious prophet. Yet, this is not just a bizarre set of coincidences. This is God's salvation! As Jonah sits in the dark, stinky fish belly, he rejoices that salvation belongs to God alone and is entirely of His grace. We, too, are reminded of God's great salvation in His Son and challenged to respond by committing ourselves to Him in thankfulness for His mercy.

As Jonah is chased down and faces the consequences for his rebellion, the grace and mercy of God are put on display. We are reminded that God disciplines those whom He loves and pursues His wayward children. We also see God's heart for the lost as He throws His prophet into the sea to secure the pagan sailors' rescue. In this there is a picture of Christ Himself who was thrown into the sea of God's righteous wrath on our behalf so that we would be brought to the safe harbour of heaven.

Being one of God's people doesn't guarantee that God will never ask us to do something we don't want to do. Due to the fact that we think we know better than God, we wander from God and rebel against His commands. Yet, God graciously calls us to run to Him and throw ourselves on His mercy.