A Second Chance: Discovering God's Love in the Old Testament is an expository sermon from Jonah 3:1-10 enabling us to see how a proper view of God's mercy enables us to experience personal revival that can even run through the veins of our big cities.

Overview of Book of Jonah

Each of Jonah’s chapter scenes take us into a whole different situation, helping us get a better handle on key issues of life:

Chapter 1 - he was on a ship in a raging storm running from God.

Chapter 2 - Jonah was in the belly of the big fish reluctantly speaking to God.

Chapter 3 - Jonah is seen obeying God and being used to bring about a world-shaking experience.

Chapter 4 - Jonah is seated on a hot seat, grumbling about viewing God’s mercy in the desert sands outside Nineveh.

Map of suggested route Jonah took to Nineveh from where the fish spew him out.

Jonah’s Journey to Nineveh

At the end of chapter 2, God heard Jonah’s prayer, brought him up out of the depths of the sea, from the belly of a great fish, and vomited him onto dry land. (Note: Jonah did not even have to swim a hundred yards to get to shore, as he deserved!) Where do you think Jonah found himself?

I somehow sense it was near a road leading to Nineveh, such as Tyre. And if we have any sense of imagination, quite consistent with the many other special arrangements God had made in the Book of Jonah up to this point, there was a caravan going that direction the next day.

If we accept the Book of Jonah as true and trustworthy, and we should, for Jesus trusted its veracity (Matthew 12:39-41; Mark 16:4; Luke 11:29-32), then we must discard any notions that God is not involved in the world or our personal lives. The opposite is true: God is deeply concerned for us, and so we must also reject any thoughts that God is uncaring. Though Jonah 3 might seem a simple story, it is a powerful theological revelation of God's merciful character.

Next => Misunderstandings of God

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=> Check out our new Jonah study guide!