The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes by James L. Ferrell

Author:James L. Ferrell [Ferrell, James L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Atonement, Family Relationships, Fiction, Jesus Christ, Marriage, Parenting, Peace
ISBN: 9781609089139
Google: n9fHrQEACAAJ
Amazon: 1590382234
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2004-03-02T07:00:00+00:00

12

A Merciful Question

Rick found himself with his grandfather on a hillside overlooking a vast valley plain. Behind him rose foothills that developed into a substantial mountain range a few miles in the distance. Below him spread a great city that rose from the banks of a large river some fifteen miles away and spread from there in all directions. The congested center area of the city, in and of itself at least ten miles square and surrounded by a large wall, was filled with whitish homes and buildings that appeared to be stacked nearly on top of each other, they were so close. Narrow, winding roads cut paths through the whitewashed structures. A number of much larger buildings, governmental in nature, Rick surmised, broke the boxy monotony of the lesser structures.

In the center and toward the river rose a building many times larger than any other. Rick couldn't tell because of the distance, but the base of this immense building looked to be a squat pyramid that itself rose above the other buildings, forming a massive foundation for the magnificent temple-like structure that rested upon it.

The city gradually decreased in density in all directions but continued as far as Rick could see on his side of the river. The outer areas eventually melded into farms, with homes and other buildings clustered here and there among harvested fields. The fields nearer Rick lay dry and burnt under the scorching sun, but in the distance, nearer the river, the ground still danced with color.

"So this is Nineveh," Rick said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, the great city," his grandfather responded. "The river beyond is the Tigris. We're about 230 miles north of present-day Baghdad, 550 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

"Look," his grandfather said, pointing to their right.

Rick stepped forward to see beyond a boulder that was blocking his view. About twenty yards away stood a makeshift lean-to. A man was seeking shelter within it, mostly unsuccessfully, as there was little vegetation around them with which to fill in the cracks between sticks. A vine that grew up the sides and stretched over the top of the booth was withered and dying. "Jonah?" Rick asked.

"Yes. He climbed to this spot after preaching to the Ninevites as he had been commanded to do. 'Forty days,' he told them, 'and you will be destroyed unless you repent.' He repeated his warning over the days and weeks that followed, the announced date of calamity marching ever nearer. Jonah liked delivering that message, Ricky, for he was eager for the Ninevites' destruction. The worse they and their prospects were, the happier it made him feel. He enjoyed his role as 'prophet.' But to his surprise and chagrin, the Ninevites repented and the Lord withdrew his sentence.

"Yesterday was the fortieth day from Jonah's initial warning. He has spent the last twenty-four hours demanding that the Lord follow through on his initial word and destroy the Ninevites. Jonah remains on this hillside to witness that hoped-for destruction."

"But the Lord doesn't destroy them."

"No, Ricky, he doesn't.

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