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How do the books of Jonah and Nahum give you a better understanding of the importance of God’s call to proclaim the Gospel to all nations?
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The books show that God is God of the nations. He is concerned about the doings and the fate of all peoples. After all, He is their Creator, and Jesus has died for the sins of all the world. Although He will mete out punishment for sins, He much prefers that people will repent and receive eternal life through His Son.
I see how Jonah’s preaching was timely, and how one generation of Assyrians can be saved from immediate destruction by responding to his warning. I see hereby the importance and urgency of making the gospel known before it becomes too late.
#Jonah-Nahum
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God created mankind to have fellowship with a him but because of the failure to obey God by Adam and Eve, we could not have that intimate relationship any longer. But God, who is full of mercy and love always had a plan to get men back to a relationship with Him. That being said, we can see from the prophets Jonah and Nahum that God always will give any nation the opportunity to repent of their evilness (sin). If they do, He stays His hand of judgment but if they don’t, calamities will befall that nation.
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God reveals His concern for a lost world that He wants to redeem . His “hand is tipped” way back in Genesis 12:1-3 with the call of Abraham & His desire to see the nations of the world be blessed. His call to take the Gospel to the nations of the world ( The Great Commission) is given multitudes of times in the Scriptures both in the New Testament & in the Old. With the book of Jonah we see the lengths that God will go to redeem a people. He did not give up on Jonah ‘s need for obedience & His insistence that Jonah go to Ninevah. Today he is no doubt working behind the scenes in both the Muslim & Communist worlds. There is now a number (a growing number) of Muslims abandoning their faith & becoming believers . Then too, God’s working in China is of particular notice. God is still calling His people to respond to His command to disciple the nations.
With the book of Nahum, we see the anger of God finally released against an evil nation, (the ISIS of the day) and we realize that God’s patience has a limit . Therefore the need for us to reach out to those who are yet without God’s salvation., before God unleases His wrath. Which brings to mind the cruelty of Islam against those who choose to leave the Islamic faith , against those who are not of their faith in the first place, as the Koran , their holy book , commands, and the occasions of suicide bombings, & violent attacks particularly in Islamic lands. Then the cruelty of Communism both in the past and present reminds us that God’s patience is followed by His judgement ultimately, but before God’s judgement falls, they need to be evangelized.