The Call of the City
In the book of Jonah, we discover some powerful yet neglected truths about following the call of God.
To fulfill a calling, we use our ears more than our eyes.
A calling is less about us and more about God.
Callings are always connected to needs and needs are always connected to people.
As the book of Jonah opens, we see God speaking to a prophet named Jonah and sending him to the city of Nineveh. Before we scoff at Jonah’s reaction to his calling, we should consider the historical context. At the time, Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were a brutal, wicked, and heathen people that worshipped false gods through human sacrifice in expansive temples. They were also the longtime enemies of Israel. At the time, Nineveh was one of the largest cities in the ancient world (twice the size of Babylon). Viewing the city from the outside, we see why Jonah reacted as he did. Yet, God saw something inside of the city worth redeeming. We know this because God sent one of his prophets to the people there and God only sends prophets to people worth saving.
In this case, the calling of Jonah was to a specific place at a specific time to a specific people. But rather than heeding the call, Jonah got up and ran the other way. The KJV says it like this, “he rose up to flee.” This is a great example of how our eyes can lie to us. Rather than listening to God’s call to the city of Nineveh, Jonah bought a ticket on a ship in the opposite direction.
Three different times in Scripture, Nineveh is described as an “exceeding great city” which seems to have indicated its massive size and population. Like many of our metro cities today, it was a densely populated area full of people who worshipped wickedness, brutality, and death. Yet, God saw redemptive value in Nineveh.
Like Jonah, we can ask the question, “Why would God even bother?” Why would God risk the life of a prophet for the sake of a city that was so outwardly and publicly opposed to him?
It almost seems like the book of Jonah doesn’t fit within the narrative of the Old Testament. From beginning to end, the story of the Old Testament is about his relationship with Israel. The Israelites were a favored nation, chosen to be his own special people. The gospel wouldn’t even be preached to the Gentiles until nearly 500 years later. So, again, why would God send Jonah, of all cities, to Nineveh?
We find in the Book of Jonah, and throughout Scripture, that God has a heart for cities.
In fact, the word “city” occurs 868 times in 47 different books in the Bible. It’s interesting to note that the Bible begins in a garden, but it ends in a city (the New Jerusalem described in Revelation as a great and holy city).
Scripture gives great significance to cities because cities are connected to people. Cities were known, judged, and blessed by their inhabitants.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again. Jeremiah 19:11.
O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name. Daniel 9:19.
Cities represent the cultural norms of a people. They are often seats of political power, centers of education, and form the bedrock of economy, technology, and finance. Today, cities represent global trends.
As goes the city, so goes the world.
Today, across the world, three million people move into cities every week. The biggest city near me is Austin, TX and the latest totals count 110 people moving into the Austin metroplex every day.
So, if cities matter this much in the world, it makes sense that God would care. And we can understand why God, in the Old Testament, would pause his ultimate plan for Israel and for a season, send Jonah to a place like Nineveh. Could it be that God, in His love and mercy and compassion was willing to look past the wickedness of a city and pour out the life of a prophet so that the people of Nineveh could hear His word preached and proclaimed?
When we talk about Jonah today, we often think about his encounter with the great fish and the three days he spent praying in its belly. But really, when we look to the Biblical text, we see that the fish was simply a vessel to get Jonah back to Nineveh - and to redirect him back to his calling.
Because the city of Nineveh was so great, so influential, and growing so fast God could not ignore it. Looking down from His throne, God could not resist sending a minister to preach in its streets. Despite its wickedness and forms of heathen worship, God saw redemptive value in Nineveh – and so God sent Jonah to answer the call of the city. And when Jonah didn’t listen the first time, God called him again.
Like God called Jonah, He will call you and me to a specific place at a specific time for a specific people. Though we may not understand it, we must hear God’s voice and obey because we really don’t know what God is willing to do to save a city.
The story of Jonah illustrates that sometimes the call of God is often uncomfortable.
Sometimes, the call of God will send you to reach for people that you don’t exactly get along with. Often, it will send you to people with which you have nothing in common. Even if this is true we must remember that our calling is less about us and more about God.
Like Jonah, is your heart wanting to turn away from what God is calling you to do?
What Is Your Nineveh?
Where is the place of God’s calling?
What is the place of your ministry?
Where is God calling you to serve?
What is God calling you to give?
Could it be that God loves your city so much that He placed you in it? In spite of the adversity and the opposition you experience, your city is worth saving.
