A secret agent was commanded to go to a certain foreign city on a most unusual assignment. He was to warn the people of a coming catastrophe.
This capital city on the eastern bank of a river sat in the heartland of earthquake territory. Its 120,000 inhabitants were a proud peope, but they were also ruthless, corrupt and barbaric. They were the terrifying enemy of the man’s own nation and often made raids on his people, raping and pillaging every town in their path.
The man knew of the violence in this city and figured the people were so bad, they didn’t deserve to hear the warning of the pending disaster. Let them die, he thought. Because there was nothing appealing about his assignment or the people to whom he was to deliver the warning, he secretly decided to forgo the assignment altogether.
He boarded a ship bound for another city several hundred miles away.
In time, a raging storm arose on the high seas, and death threatended all on board. But then, the secret agent was rescued, and the lives on board the ship were also spared. The man had no choice but to go with his rescuer.
Three days later, the secret agent was brought safely to land. He then realized he was brought to the very city from which he had fled. His commander told him a second time to go into the city and warn the people.
“But, they are evil, and you’re only going to show them mercy,” he protested, but to no avail.
For the next three days, the man walked through the city telling the news of the pending destruction. He even told the king. He spoke matter-of-factly; not with the urgency one would expect in the face of a coming catastrophe.
To his utter chagrin, the people listened! Everyone from the lowliest person to the king adhered the warning and turned from their wickedness. The man witnessed that death and destruction were averted for the second time in less than a week.
You probably recognize this true story from the Book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah is the secret agent sent on a mission to warn the citizen of pending destruction. God is the Commander, and Ninevah is the city.
What a testimony of God’s immeasurable mercy to an underserving people!
Are we any different today? Don’t we, at times, like Jonah, disobey God when He tells us through His Word to do certain tasks – the foremost of which is to love Him above all eslse, and the second is to love others?
We can run, like Jonah tried to do, but there is no place to hide. Jeremiah 23:24 says, “Can a man hide himself in secret placs so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. Man on the run is definitely a story worth noting in our everyday living, and apply the principle that it is good to adhere the Word of God and to obey its Author.