Is God’s mercy, forgiveness, and lovingkindness only for a select few “special” people … or is it available to everyone?
The book of Jonah gives us incredible insight into the heart of God for wicked people. God sends a messenger (Jonah) to the most wicked nation in human history with a message of repentance and judgment. And the moment the city of Nineveh repented, God showed mercy.
In this episode, Nathan takes the concept of hesed (mercy/lovingkindness/steadfast love) and shows how the entire book of Jonah revolves around this incredible theme. In so doing, we discover that God’s mercy always triumphs over judgment, if we would but respond to His hesed.
Listen to or download the episode
Hesed (lovingkindess / mercy / steadfast love)
In the last several episodes, we have talked about the amazing Hebrew word hesed, often translated as:
- love, kindness, grace, mercy, faithfulness, favor, loyalty, goodness, lovingkindness, steadfast love, faithful love, devotion, gracious covenant, covenant loyalty, loving instruction, covenant friendship, beauty
- Or as Michael Card so beautifully defined, “When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.”(1)
This concept because the theme of the book of Jonah, a book written in satire.
The Book of Jonah
The great city of Nineveh is considered by many scholars and historians to be the most wicked nation that has ever existed. Yet we find God desirous to show mercy rather than judgment to them by sending Jonah to preach a message of repentance.
Yet Jonah wanted their destruction—they were not only a wicked nation, they were the enemies of Israel. For Jonah (and Israelite) to extend a message of mercy to Nineveh would be akin to Churchill offering forgiveness and mercy to Hitler at the height of World War II. Jonah just couldn’t do it.
Yet, after running away, being swallowed by a fish, and vomited back up, Jonah makes his way to the city and preached a five word sermon (in Hebrew): “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).
When they respond and repent (see Jonah 3), “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, so God relented concerning the evil which He had spoken He would bring upon them. And He did not bring it upon them. But this was a great evil to Jonah, and he became angry” (Jonah 3:10–4:1).
Why was Jonah angry? Because he knew God’s nature of hesed.
Jonah cries out to God in Jonah 4:2, “Ah! O Yahweh, was not this my word to myself while I was still in my own land? Therefore I went ahead to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil.”
This is a repeat of God’s statement to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7.
Because Jonah knew that “mercy always triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13), he knew that if the people of Nineveh repented, God would show mercy.
This is incredible news for us—if God is willing to show hesed to the most wicked nation in human history, He is more than willing to show hesed to us!
FOOTNOTES
(1) Michael Card, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness (Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 5
Join the Conversation
Question: What is most shocking to you about the story of Jonah?
Leave a response or ask a question and we will try to address it in a future episode.
The difficulty with podcasts is that they are one-sided—so each week I ask one question for you to participate in the conversation. Head over to the deeperChristian Facebook page to leave a comment and join in the conversation.
Subscribe to the Podcast
If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe on your favorite app.
Like what you hear? … Leave a rating & review
If you enjoyed the podcast, please take 30 seconds and rate it on your favorite app (and write a brief review if you can). This would be a tremendous blessing to help us get the word out to others who might be encouraged and blessed by it—apps use the rating and reviews in their searches to help other people find the podcast.
About NRJohnson
NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) is the host of the Deeper Christian Podcast and has an overwhelming passion for Jesus, the Gospel, and Studying God’s Word. He is a writer, teacher, and communicator who helps other believers understand and apply the Bible as they grow and mature in their faith—desiring that they gain greater intimacy with Christ, experience the victorious Christian life, and transform the world through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Read more about him here.
About the Deeper Christian Podcast
Many Christians feel frustrated because they don’t grow spiritually. The Deeper Christian Podcast helps equip Christians to understand the Word of God and cultivate a passionate love for Jesus that turns the world upside down.
Whether you want to learn how to study God’s Word, grow in your faith, cultivate a powerful and effective prayer life, share the Gospel boldly, deepen your intimacy with Jesus, live victoriously, or transform the world through the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit, the Deeper Christian Podcast with NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) will encourage and equip you to grow spiritually and live a Christ-centered life.
