The Return of the Word

Jonah gets spit out of the fish,

after three days in its belly,

after several days at sea,

after running to a port city and hopping a ride westward,

after refusing to obey God’s command in the first place.

And, what is the word of God now? He has repeated His instruction. The word of the Lord came the second time. Nineveh will be destroyed in 40 days.

Why 40 days?

Throughout the Bible, “40” regularly represents an extended passage of time, similar to how we may modernly refer to “1,000 years” today.

• Rains of 40 days to cover the Earth during the Great Flood.

• Moses was exiled from Egypt for 40 years.

• Moses stayed on Mount Sinai for 40 days & nights

• Israelite spies take 40 days to spy out the Promised Land.

• The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.

• Goliath taunts the Israelites for 40 days before David kills him.

• Jesus fasted for 40 days/nights.

It doesn’t matter whether the “40”s are exact or generic. There is a time coming soon when God’s divination will destroy Nineveh. The city's citizens have a choice, and they better act fast.

The point I want you to understand from this part of Jonah’s story is: Jonah’s disobedience did not alter God’s plan. One might believe that the delay in Jonah’s obedience either left Nineveh with less time than they might have had if he initially followed God’s order or that Jonah’s delay may have given them more time by starting the clock later. I’m saying it was neither.

How can that be?

God’s timing is not our own

As Americans, we are obsessed with time and history. Our country is young enough and modern enough that specifics are mostly recorded, and thus, they matter to us. We tend to see history as cause & effect. We expect God to have a heavenly calendar, with “Nineveh Destruction” circled on a specific date as an all-day event.

But it wasn’t.

God desires that no man—even the heathen—should be destroyed. We are His image-bearers. He loves us. He had no appointment to keep in destroying Nineveh; He simply wanted their hearts to turn back to Him. They needed to hear their options—the time didn’t matter.

So, what?

If you’ve been struggling with a significant life choice or business decision, that’s ok. If God wants to bless it, He will not withhold His hand simply because you were afraid or disobedient. Allow yourself time to process.

We expect that our output is always time-sensitive. Sure, some professions and deadlines must be punctual, but are you imposing deadlines into your schedule that should not exist?

Are you sacrificing time with your children for a client presentation that can be rescheduled next week?

Are you letting go of Scripture reading or prayer time because you think it is critical to start the day at 8:00 AM? What are you sacrificing for false deadlines?

Our culture makes heroes out of the super-efficient. Don’t fall for the false idol of productivity. Being diligent is great, but obsessing over efficiency is a fool’s errand. Allow yourself time to learn, build, and grow.

God controls all time. He controls when you’re born and when you’ll die. Seek first His kingdom, and all these things will be given to you. Trust in the Lord more than your calendar. Prioritize your faith, your family, and your wealth, and watch Him accomplish more than you ever could alone.

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, humble us to recognize our truest priorities. Remind us that You are in control. Help us to avoid the obsession with throughput and, instead, help us obsess over Your Word, the family you’ve given us, and the community we serve. We need Your balance and Your wisdom. Please Father. Amen”