The world is full of sin. This isn’t really a revelation to believers. Sin often manifests in cruelty toward others. Again, nothing surprising. Many cruel people have left their evil mark on this earth, yet Mutsuhiro Watanabe left a particular one. Nicknamed “the Bird,” he is now well known for his incredibly wicked treatment of Louis Zamperini and many others. Zamperini was a champion Olympic runner who joined the U.S. Air Force during World War II. His plane crashed, and after he survived on a raft for 47 days in the Pacific Ocean, the worst was yet to come. He became a prisoner of war, captured by the Japanese. Under the rule of the Bird, he would endure almost two years of inhumane beatings and torture. After the war and his release, he was left with alcoholism, a failing marriage, and PTSD. One day, he attended a Billy Graham crusade, and his life changed forever after accepting Christ. Over time, he felt an unbearable burden to forgive the Bird. He felt led to do even more than that. He eventually traveled back to Japan to face him and share the gospel. Why? Because God is long-suffering toward everyone, even men like Mutsuhiro Watanabe.

If an entire group of people like the Bird ever existed, it was the Assyrians and especially its capital city of Nineveh. Nahum chapter three calls them the city of blood. The Assyrians are well known for their practices of cutting off hands, feet, ears, and noses. They gouged out eyes, cut off heads, and placed them in piles at the city gate. Their wickedness had come before God, and He chose Jonah to go talk to them about it. Perhaps you can better understand why God sent Jonah to Nineveh, and he decided instead to go to Tarshish, some 2,500 miles away. This is like God leading you to call out against the volunteers in Neyland and hopping on a plane for Seattle, Washington, instead. God is so insistent on the Ninevites hearing a warning that He sends a great storm to obstruct Jonah. In a scene where even non-Israelite sailors repent and believe in God, Jonah would rather die than obey and see the Ninevites be saved. His suicide attempt is to be thrown overboard, but God even had a plan for Jonah. Why was God so persistent in sending His prophet to such a wicked city? Because He has a long-suffering heart toward sinners. Does your heart match the heart of God today? Are you grateful for His patience and faithfulness toward you?