Jonah was on my reading plan this morning. Love this story! Just to observe again how God interacts with everything — from stubborn prophets, to whirling winds, to raging seas, to shaking-in-their boots sailors, to big fish, to a city worthy of hellfire and brimstone, to a shade-giving plant, to a plant-eating worm — is enough to cause one to sit back and whisper to oneself, “Behold your God!”

It’s also a story of prayer. The sailors pray, Nineveh prays, and, of course, Jonah prays — first because he’s so afraid to die, then because he’s so angry he wants to die (go figure). Not only do they all pray, but God responds as a sea is calmed, a fish gets indigestion, and a reluctant prophet gets a talking to. And it’s something that God says to Jonah which, this morning, has me thinking.

Jonah tries to flee the presence of God because he doesn’t want any part in the plans of God. The LORD says to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh.” Jonah says to the LORD, “I’m going to Tarshish.” The LORD says, essentially, “I know the evil of your enemies in Nineveh, and I want to give them a chance to repent. Go talk to them.” Jonah says, essentially, “Nope!” Yet, in a battle of wills between God and a man, guess who wins? And so, Jonah ends up walking through Nineveh with the word of the LORD warning them of judgment. And Nineveh ends up believing the word of the LORD and repenting. And the LORD ends up doing what the LORD does best.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it.

(Jonah 3:10 ESV)

He did not do it. God did not judge Nineveh. And Jonah was ticked!

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

(Jonah 3:1-3 ESV)

“I knew it!” Job says, “I knew You’d forgive them! It’s the just the sort of thing You’d do!”

Think about it. Job’s saying he’s okay with God being gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, as long as it results in Jonah being delivered from the belly of a big fish with an appetite for disobedient prophets, but extend that same grace and mercy to other people who have also sinned against God? No way!

To which, God replies, “It’s what I do.”

“. . . should not I pity Nineveh, . . .” (Jonah 4:11 a ESV)

Should I not care? (CSB) Should I not have compassion? (NASB) Should I not be concerned? (NIV) Jonah, it’s what I do. You know that.

So thankful that God delivers and relents of just judgment . . . when it comes to me and my “lesser” sin and to others of like “lesser” sins. But I wonder if, like Jonah, I don’t have a line drawn in my own mind and heart which, when crossed by others, though I know not beyond God’s power to forgive, I might think should be beyond God’s prerogative to forgive. Transgressions which I view as too much or too many and should be beyond God’s will to redeem, restore, and reconcile. Wondering if my view of “boundless grace” might, in fact, have bounds.

To which God reminds me this morning, “It’s what I do.”

It’s what a God who is gracious and merciful, who is slow to anger and abounding in love, does when sin — all sin and any sin — is repented of. He pities. He cares. He’s concerned. He relents of disaster and determines to deliver. And He does so justly because of the once forever payment for sin by His Son on the cross of Calvary. Steadfast love overflowing because of Jesus’ completed work of atonement forever. It’s just what He does.

By His grace. For His glory.