More Than A Second Chance

“Can I have another go?” is an often-used phrase in our house when we’re playing games. Whether it’s darts, chess, or a card game, this phrase is used in hope by one of our kids after they’ve realised they could’ve made a better decision. They want a second chance at it.

Jonah gets a second chance, which we read of in Jonah 3:1-2,

Then 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.’

Notice it was not, “Jonah got himself together.” Nor was it, “Jonah decided it was time.” But it was for the second time, “…then word of the Lord came to Jonah.” God speaks again. God initiates again. The mission Jonah ran from the first time is offered again. There is no change to the mission. It’s the same city, the same message, and the same calling. And this time Jonah goes.

Jonah walks into Ninevah and delivers the message that the Lord has given him. It’s only eight words long, “Forty more days and Ninevah will be overthrown.” That’s it. The entire sermon. No explanation. No illustration. No application. It is quite an amazing scene.

The result of this message is that the city repents. The king gets off his throne and sits in dust. There is a decree issued for humans and animals to fast and cry out to God. The message of the Lord has had an impact on the city.

And God relents.

In contrast to Israel, God’s own people, here is a pagan city who turn toward Him. God’s own people continue to rebel and refuse to repent are outdone by the Ninevites.

This passage reminds us that God is the God of second chances. There’s a second chance for Jonah, for Ninevah, and for us. The call God gives to us in our lives doesn’t expire the moment we fail to answer it. He calls again and again and again, offering us a second chance at life, love, and hope.

It also challenges our expectation of who can be transformed through responding to the message of God. Ninevah was the last city anyone would expect to repent, but God is always at work in the places our human minds have given up on.

The gift of the second chance is for us!

For Reflection:

1.     Is there an area of your own life where you need to receive God’s second chance? Are you open to accepting God’s invitation into what you may have been avoiding?

2.     Is there a person or situation you have mentally written off? How does the repentance of Nineveh challenge that assumption?