Mercifully Minded ~ Bob Coy

"And should I not pity Nineveh?" Jonah 4:11 (NKJV)

The Book of Jonah ends on an odd note. After all the familiar features of the book have passed, Jonah's faithless flight, the big fish, an unprecedented revival, etc....after all of this, God asks Jonah this lingering question, "And should I not pity Nineveh?"

To understand the declaration behind this question, we need to know that Jonah's attitude toward the people of Nineveh was wrong. These were the Assyrians, some of the most wicked and perverse people to ever walk the planet. God called Jonah to preach a message of repentance and salvation to them, but deep down the prophet wanted to see them get what they deserved: divine judgment. So Jonah actually got depressed when they begged God for His mercy, and God delivered.

It's at this moment, as Jonah sits moping about their salvation, that God asks Jonah, "And should I not pity Nineveh?" The point is profound. Jonah's agenda was judgment, but God's was grace. They were looking at the same situation through two completely different lenses. Jonah's heart's cry was, "I want to judge and destroy them!" While God's was, "I want to spare and save them!"

God's question was a way of getting Jonah to recognize how far he'd drifted from heaven's mindset toward sinners. "Jonah, My way is to seek and save the lost, not to obliterate them. You're off target, and you need to become more like Me. You need to become more mercifully-minded."

Sadly, there's a little bit of Jonah in all of us. From time to time, we lose focus of God's heart, and our unspiritual side wants to call for judgment on this or that group of people. When all the while, God just wants to spare and save them. Why? Because He's merciful, and we, who've reaped the benefits of His mercy, should be too.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13 NKJV)

Discuss the concept of mercy with your group. What examples of mercy have you seen recently? What do you believe causes a person to have a judgmental attitude vs. a merciful mindset?

Dig into Jonah 4. What impression do you get from this prophet? How would you have responded to this display of God’s mercy? How have you experienced James 2:13 in your own life?

Decide as a group to pray for a missionary in a foreign field where there is real resistance to the gospel. Encourage that person with a letter or e-mail.