Go Jonah, Preach to the Gentiles – WHAT?!?!
How many times have I read through the old Testament? Apparently not enough to make a connection between the story of Jonah and the prophet Nahum! Jonah finally gets his act together and preaches in Ninevah, and the people repent and turn to God. Nahum is preaching against Assyria – and it’s capitol, NINEVAH! Has anyone else never caught that before??
Essentially, what I’m learning is that Jonah was the Old Testament version of Paul. Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles, but he was NOT the first to do so! God didn’t start caring about non-Jews AFTER the crucifixion, but centuries BEFOREHAND. Jonah was sent to preach to not a wayward Jewish town, as I suppose I had always assumed, but the Assyrian people. And not just any Assyrian town, but the Assyrian capitol! God sent Jonah to convert the Ninevites, to start a spiritual revolution that would eventually spread throughout the entire Assyrian empire, to make these pagans see how much He loved them, not just the Jews. No wonder Jonah was so ticked when God spared them!
I had always seen the Old Testament as the story of God’s anger at the world, but love for His people, Israel, so it’s completely mind-boggling that all this time, God had been pursuing all errant nations, not just His chosen one. What reassurance for us, as Gentiles, as non-Jews, who now believe in Him and the resurrection of His Son! How awesome to realize God really is the same through ALL generations! Funny how I’ve been told that my entire life, but to see it actually play out in an area I wasn’t expecting to see it this morning… How cool is that?! 🙂
May God lead you to your own eye-opening, mind-blowing thoughts today!
As a former University Resident Director, Career Counselor, Certified Personality Trainer, and high school Spanish teacher, Laura has quite the “scattered” background — with one underlying theme: education! She writes to teach and inspire women on topics related to faith, family, and lifework. She is also a resume writer, specializing in resumes for moms, career changers, and new graduates.
