Sunday, August 1, 2010

Nineveh Needs Love, Too

But Nineveh has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city? (Jonah 4:11)

The Assyrians were cruel and powerful, and they were enemies of Israel. When you think about how often God destroyed the enemies of Israel you might easily conclude God hated them. But you would be wrong. God hated their sin, but he loved the people and had compassion for them. This wasn’t always clear to the Jews. Indeed, Jonah was angry with God for sparing Nineveh. I am moved by the compassionate tone of God’s reply, “more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left…Should I not be concerned?” Today we have enemies in the world who are also enemies of God. We should not forget that God has compassion on them. “He is not willing that any should perish.” (2 Pet 3:9) They may not repent and God’s wrath may finally be meted out on them, but it is not because he hates them, and neither should we.

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