When I meditate on the words of God

that came to Jonah ‘the second time’ ...

The word of the Lord came to Jonah 'a second time':

'Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you'

(Jonah 3:1-2).
As I reflect on this passage, several thoughts come to mind:
(1) When Jonah disobeyed the first time the word of the Lord came to him (1:1-3),

God gave him a second chance. 

Even though, like Jonah, I am a pastor who should obey the Lord's word

with a sense of duty, I have disobeyed time and again.

Yet, the Lord in His love has given me countless chances.
This reminds me of Psalms 139:17-18:

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.”

(2) When I reflect on the fact that the word of the Lord came to Jonah 'a second time,'

I also think of the passage, 'While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard,

the word of the Lord came to him a second time' (Jeremiah 33:1).

In doing so, I am reminded that the Lord, who has given me countless opportunities,

continues to bring to my mind the promise of the five loaves and two fish

(the miracle in which Jesus fed 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish)

from John 6:1-15, which He gave me during the May 1987 college retreat

of Victory Presbyterian Church through the guest pastor.

Each time, the Lord has used that word to raise me up like a roly poly,

even when I felt discouraged and disappointed in myself.

(3) I compared the word of the Lord that came to Jonah a second time

(Jonah 3:2) with the word that came to him the first time (1:2).

In doing so, I noticed that God's message was the same: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh.'

As I reflected on the word 'Go,' I was reminded of the passage where Jesus,

in a loud voice, told the man in Lystra who had been lame from birth and unable to walk,

'Stand up on your feet,' and the man got up and walked (Acts 14:8-10).

From this, I realized that the Lord must raise me, a spiritual paralytic,

with His powerful word in order for me to be able to rise.

I believe the Lord's command, 'Go' (Jonah 1:2; 3:2), is the same.
Clearly, the Lord has also said to me,

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”

(Matthew 28:19-20).
But I believe that it is the Lord who must send me in order for me to go.
In this way, without the Lord's help,

I am unable to obey His command to 'Rise … and go.'
(4) The difference between the first and second word of the Lord

that came to Jonah seems to be this:
'Proclaim to it the message I give you' (Jonah 3:2) versus

'Cry out against it, because its wickedness has come up before me' (1:2).
When I compare these two words from God, I am led to wonder,

'What exactly was the message God wanted Jonah, the prophet,

to proclaim to the people of the great city of Nineveh?'

When I reflected on this, I realized that if we read

the first and second words of the Lord to Jonah in the Modern Korean Version,

God's consistent message is 'Proclaim that the city of Nineveh will be destroyed'

(1:2; 3:2).  So, the prophet Jonah obeyed God's word, went to Nineveh,

and spent the whole day walking around, proclaiming that

the city would be destroyed in forty days (3:3-4).
As I reflect on this and apply it to myself,

I question whether it is right in God's eyes

to proclaim messages of 'blessing' or 'comfort' to sinners,

instead of proclaiming God's message of 'repentance.'