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Jonah & The Lost Cause
August 16,2025
Week 3: God's Requirement
Jeff Griffin
Jonah 3
After enduring three days inside the belly of the great fish, Jonah was ready to obey God and go to Nineveh. This week, we studied the message Jonah declared in the great city. His message failed to adequately reflect the heart of God, but the message from the king of Nineveh was much better. From the king’s message we can learn the essential requirements of the Gospel. We need to be ready to share the Good News with clarity when the opportunity arises.
When you were a kid, how did you feel about the end of summer break and the beginning of a new school year?
1. Reread Jonah 3:1-2 to see what God said to Jonah after he was spit up on the beach: The Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
What does this verse tell us about God?
2. Reread Jonah 3:3 (NLT): This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh.
What are the characteristics of “reluctant obedience”?
3. Reread Jonah 3:3-4 (NLT): Nineveh was so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”
Is Jonah’s message true? If Jonah really wanted to convey God’s heart toward Nineveh, what else should he have said?
4. Reread Jonah 3:7-9 (NIV): This is the proclamation of the king of Nineveh: “Do not let people or animals eat or drink. Let them be covered with sackcloth! Let everyone call urgently on God! Let everyone give up their evil ways and their violence! Who knows? God may show compassion and turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
What thoughts do you have about the king’s proclamation?
5. The king declared, “Let everyone call urgently on God!”
How does the following scripture in Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” align with the promise of salvation for all who earnestly seek God?
Jonah’s reluctant obedience and the king of Nineveh’s heartfelt proclamation remind us that God desires all people to turn to Him. The king’s call to urgently seek God echoes the timeless promise of Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” As we reflect on this, let’s commit to sharing the Gospel with clarity and compassion, trusting in God’s grace to transform lives, just as it did in Nineveh. How can you share this Good News with someone this week?