When I was in Hawaii, I often had Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons come to my door.
Even in Japan, I had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door, although since I’ve moved to my condo 6 years ago, I’ve had no such visits because of condo rules.
It’s too bad really. I had some very interesting conversations with them.
Anyway, one problem with these groups (among many others), is the number of false prophesies that their leaders have given in the past.
And one thing they often say in response is, “Well, sometimes Biblical prophets made mistakes too. Look at Jonah. He prophesied that Ninevah would fall, and it didn’t.”
What they fail to realize is that God’s purpose in Jonah’s message was that the people would repent. It wasn’t a false prophesy, it was a warning.
This is what God says of such warnings:
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (Jeremiah 18:7-10)
The Ninevites were a perfect example of this. They repented and therefore God spared them.
On the other hand, God promised the Israelites that if they would follow his commands, he would bless them, and that they would be his people and he would be their God.
But the people turned their backs on him, and so although God planned good for them, he instead brought disaster against them.
Here at the end of this chapter, we see that they were so hardened against God’s message that they ignored Jeremiah and wanted to be rid of him.
The result? Exile.
What is the message for us? Turn. Turn from our sin. Turn from our selfish ways. And most of all, turn to God. For only in following him will we find true life.
So as we end this year, let us reflect on the sins in our lives that we need to turn from and also on the things that God would have us do in the coming year.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 