The Second Time
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 48, “Seek the Lord, and Ye Shall Live,” on Gospel Library
Start
“And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1).
Read Together
Nineveh was so large that it took three days to walk through it (Jonah 3:3). Jonah walked one day into the city and gave the Lord’s warning. In forty days, Nineveh would be overthrown (Jonah 3:4).
5So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
10And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
What It Teaches
The Lord gave Jonah a second chance, with the same assignment as the first time (verse 2). The Lord’s call stays the same after we run from it. This time Jonah went.
The people of Nineveh believed God. Everyone fasted and put on sackcloth, “from the greatest of them even to the least of them” (verse 5). The king left his throne, took off his robe, and sat in ashes (verse 6).
The king’s decree asked for more than sackcloth. “Let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands” (verse 8). “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way” (verse 10). He spared the city.
Jesus said the people of Nineveh would stand at the judgment as witnesses, because “they repented at the preaching of Jonas” (Matthew 12:41). A cruel city changed after one warning. No one is too far gone for the Lord.
Talk About It
Jonah got a second chance, and so did Nineveh. When has someone given you a second chance? How could we give one to someone else?
Take to Church
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, and Nineveh repented and was spared. The Lord keeps offering second chances, to prophets and to whole cities.