But Nineveh has more than a hundred and 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 above statement was God’s response to Jonah after the prophet complained about God’s mercy toward Israel’s long-time tormentor Assyria. He certainly had cause to complain from Israel’s point of view. Assyria was the dominant power in the Middle East around 700 B.C. and one of the cruelest nations in history. Assyria was the ISIS of their day. They had invaded Israel numerous times destroying cities, killing men, women, and children, and deporting many of the Jews as slaves. They were feared and hated.

It must have been mind-blowing to Jonah to get a word from the Lord commanding him to go the Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach repentance so that the city could avoid the judgment of God. First of all, Jonah believed Nineveh fully deserved to be judged by the God of Israel – not just judged but obliterated. Secondly, Jonah must have felt that as soon as he was identified as a Hebrew prophet, his life would be quickly terminated. But his greatest anxiety was that God was serious about extending mercy to those in the huge stronghold of the enemy if they repented.

You remember the story. Jonah tried to hide from God by booking passage on a ship and sailing away. But God pursued him with a storm. To prevent the ship from being sunk, Jonah was tossed overboard at his own request and was swallowed buy a great fish that God had prepared for that moment. After three days and nights in the belly of the fish he was puked up on dry land. God commanded him to go to Nineveh one more time and this time, with seaweed crusted in his beard, he obeyed. If he entered Nineveh fresh from the vomiting episode he would have been striking – smelly, disheveled, nervous, and bleached from the stomach acid of the fish. He would have looked like a man who had experienced the severe judgment of God and so might have been the poster child for avoiding such judgment.

At any rate, Jonah entered the gates of Nineveh and took several days to preach his way through it. From the king down, the city repented and God spared Nineveh from judgment. As a result, Jonah complained bitterly of God’s betrayal of Israel through the mercy He extended to the enemies of God’s people. But notice the heart of God, even toward those who had attacked his own. “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and 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? “

God, especially as he is revealed in the Old Testament, has often been painted as a God of anger, judgment, and vengeance. Without doubt, God did send judgment on many nations but what we need to know is that the heart of God has no desire to judge or destroy. If you look at the details, he is incredibly long suffering and always looks for ways to avoid such judgment until he is left with no choice because of a nation’s persistent stubbornness, wickedness, and rebellion. God clearly exposes his heart in these matters when he says, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”(Ezek.18:23)

Remember when he allowed Abraham to strike a deal for Sodom and Gomorrah that if only ten righteous people could be found there he would spare the cities. In another place, after years of rebellion, Israel was facing the judgment of God. Even then God said, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none” (Ezek.22:30). God’s holiness required judgment against sin but his love and mercy looked for anyone who would intercede for the nation as Moses had done in the wilderness of Sinai when God had threatened to destroy Israel after their persistent rebellion and unbelief.

Here is what we need to understand. There are times when persistent rebellion, unbelief, and unrepented sin may force God to honor someone’s own choices and release judgment or discipline to bring them to repentance. He may be “forced” to discipline a believer or judge a nation but it is never his heart, his desire, or his first choice to do so. He takes no pleasure in doing so and is quick to suspend that judgment or discipline when sincere repentance is offered. Like the father of the prodigal son, he is quick to forgive and restore anyone who returns – no matter what they have done.

Many of us have been taught that God is angry, quick to punish, and almost delighted to visit hardship, sickness, loss, and tragedy on people. That is never the case. When hardship comes or when loss or tragedy hammers us, God is rarely the source.   Even when he is, the discipline has come because of our persistent choices or the choices of someone to whom we are connected.  In all other cases, those things come to us as attacks from the enemy or simply as a result of living in a fallen world but God is with us in the midst of our pain. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Heb.13:5) and to make all things work together for good for those who love the Lord (Rom.8:28).

Jesus and the cross are our fullest revelation of God’s heart – not just toward his people but also toward the lost. We can be sure that God is for us when everything else seems to be against us and that his heart never delights in our pain. Regardless of the PR campaign that Satan has waged against the Father for millennia, he is a loving Father, who always wants the best for his children, not a sadistic abuser. Take that confidence with you into your prayer time and into your day. Take it into your crisis and your hardship. He is working behind the scenes to bring you good! Thank him for that and be blessed in Him.