Jonah 3:1-2 “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”
Jonah is back on dry land at this point in the account.
He has been given a second chance by God.
The command is go to Nineveh and preach. It came at the beginning of the book and comes again here.
The first time, Jonah refuses. He travels in the opposite direction, fleeing from the Lord.
But God knows what is best for Jonah and He intervenes to turn Jonah around.
The wind, the open sea, and a great fish have been God’s mechanisms for getting Jonah’s attention.
Just as immediately as he turned his back on the Lord earlier, he obeys this time.
This is the right decision, for the people of Nineveh, and for Jonah.
We might not always acknowledge that God knows best and end up going our own way. When we do, we can be thankful for the Lord’s propensity for calling “the second time.”
He is merciful, He is gracious, He is longsuffering, and even when chastening His children, He does so for our good.
Jonah 3:1-2 “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”