Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time … - Jonah 3:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 9, 2020): Jonah 3 & 4

Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafón in “The Shadow of the Wind,” argues that “there are no second chances in life, except to feel remorse.” I understand the statement, and sometimes it is true. There are many circumstances in my life that I wish I could go back in time and do differently, or that I had a second chance to correct my error. But as much as I might hope for that chance, it doesn’t seem to come. And all that I am left with is remorse.

But while I recognize that sometimes Zafón is right, I am glad that sometimes he is wrong. While I might mourn the relationships that have been damaged and that I have never received a chance to try to fix, I am thankful for all of the second chances that have become a reality in my life. And I am glad that I serve a God who believes in second (and third, fourth, and fifth) chances.

The opening words of Jonah 3 mirror the opening words of Jonah 1, reflecting that this story is about second chances. Jonah didn’t make the most of his first chance and suffered for that failure. But now, God was giving him another chance to fulfill his purpose. God places the same goal in front of his prophet and charges him with the same task. And Jonah has a choice; react as he did the first time God told him to go to Nineveh, do something different in defiance of God, or go to Nineveh a fulfill the task that God had placed before him.

Jonah decides to go. Given a second chance, the prophet makes the most of the opportunity. But it is not just Jonah that gets a second chance in the story. The whole tale is about the second chance that God is prepared to give to the Assyrian city of Nineveh. But Jonah, while likely thankful that God had rescued him from the belly of the great fish and had given him a second chance, is actually upset that the God of second chances is willing to provide Nineveh with their second chance. After the salvation of Nineveh, the direct result of Jonah’s successful visit to the city, Jonah’s complaint was about God’s willingness to give to the Assyrian city another chance.

Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live (Jonah 4:2-3).

The words are intended to have an impact. I would rather die than to see my enemy be given another opportunity to get it right. They don’t deserve and won’t live up to the chance. And in Jonah’s defense, he was right. Nineveh did not make the most of their second chance, and, in the end, they were destroyed. I guess that is the thing about second chances. We know that we need them. We might even think that we deserve them. But that means that our enemies deserve their second chances too, even if they don’t believe in them or don’t make the most of them.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 1