- The Lord graciously restores Jonah.
“God forgets, and never holds the thing against you. Think of how wonderful are the implications of that one fact for your life. God simply does not hold grudges against his people who humble themselves and ask his forgiveness through Jesus Christ.” —O. Palmer Robertson
“Jonah was given a second chance by God, just as God’s people often receive second, third, and seventy-seventh chances when they repent and call upon the Lord.” — Richard Phillips
“Christians are children of God and lights in the world, declaring God’s praises through our witness and works. Every Christian who has turned to the Lord for forgiveness form sin also finds the great purpose and meaning of his life that had been lost in the paths of sin.” —Richard Phillips
2. Jonah responds to the Lord’s grace with obedience to the Lord.
“In this way we realize that Jonah’s rebellion had actually served the purpose of God. God is never to blame for our sin, yet in his sovereign plan of grace he uses even our folly, sin, and rebellion as occasion for achieving the designs of his grace. So when Jonah received his second call to Nineveh, he answered it as a man who had been changed by grace.” —Richard Phillips.
3. The people of Nineveh receive the Lord’s grace and believe God.
“If God’s grace in Nineveh began with the law, then where was the gospel? The answer is that Jonah himself presented the gospel; he was a living sermon on the grace of God that brings life to the dead and delivers sinners from just condemnation.” — Richard Phillips
“It was not the force of the argument presented by the prophet that moved the people. It was the power of God’s truth that pierced to the heart. Never rely on your own persuasive powers as the way to save sinners. Never wait until you have confidence in yourself to speak up for Christ. It is God and his truth that people believe. You must remain only the instrument.” —O. Palmer Robertson