What is the story of Jonah trying to teach us ultimately? It is teaching us about the Sovereignty of God and His compassion over nations, and even over Jonah. In this passage, Jonah is outraged by God’s compassion and mercy towards a rebellious nation who repents of her sins. Can a sinner like Jonah saved by grace dictate whether other people deserve God’s grace or not? Grace is undeserved favor from a Holy God. In this sermon, we see how God shows his kindness and mercy over Jonah even when he questions God’s sovereign grace over sinners.
Repentance is turning away from sin and turning towards God. In today’s passage, we learn how God’s message of Judgement to the people of Nineveh enabled them to see His mercy toward them and produced repentance in their hearts. In the sermon, we also learn how God is not just the main author of our salvation, but also the main author of our repentance.
As the speaker says, “Salvation is not a joint venture between God and man.” It’s a complete work of the Triune God. In this sermon we learn how God’s plans supersede man’s plans. We see how God exposes Jonah’s heart and causes him to repent of his disobedience. We also learn how Jonah points us to Christ as he suffers in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
The God of the bible is not just sovereign over Israel but over all the earth. Each incident in the book of Jonah sheds light on God’s sovereignty over man’s disobedience. It is really a book about God, and how one man came, through painful experience, to discover the true character of God.
