No Longer His City
By Shirley Mitchell
“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
Jonah 1:2
I must warn you that today’s devotion is not pretty. The sorrow of today’s devotion has burned in my heart for quite some time. Please read this after you have prepared yourself.
First the good news: For the past few years, a Christ Compels board member has traveled through the Southern Baptist International Mission Board on mission trips to Thailand. He works with Southern Cross and a team of missionaries to pass out Chinese Bibles and the Jesus video to the Chinese vacationing there for Chinese New Year. Reports state for every one video, the Chinese will show it to seven more people. Phil told me that the number of packets passed out has been increasing every year. The last count that I heard was over 17,000 packets were handed out in a three week period! It is an amazing work of sharing the Gospel!
Now for the bad news: On this year’s trip to Thailand, Phil posted this note to his blog:
“Please continue to pray for the ministry here. The evil one is not happy. You see, he believes that this is his town. I think maybe he thought the same thing about Nineveh, and he was wrong that time too. However, we cannot defeat him unless we give it over to our Father through the Name of Jesus…The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest field.”
His words comparing the city where he was – Pattaya, Thailand – with Nineveh stuck in my mind. I started a search on everything that I could learn about the history of Nineveh. In Jonah 1:2, God divinely called Jonah to preach to the great city. History also says it was the greatest city of its time. The flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire laid on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, positioned across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq. Because it was such a large city, it took three days for Jonah to walk throughout the city preaching that Nineveh would be overturned in forty days (Jonah 3:3-4).
The city was known for violence, deception, and false dealings with other nations. It was also known for its lust. Nahum 3:4 says of Nineveh, “all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.” When I read the part ”enslaved the nations by her prostitution,” I realized why God had told my friend Phil to pray for this Thailand city like Nineveh.
You see, beloved, the country of Thailand is full of cities like Nineveh. Just like Nineveh “enslaved the nations by her prostitution,” so are places like Pattaya, Bangkok, and Phuket in Thailand. The country is known for the sex tourism. Even the overwhelming majority of political officials participate in this enormous industry. Wives expect their husband to cheat on them. People travel from other nations and purchase whatever they want to fill their lusts while thinking that no one knows about it and not realizing that the eyes of the Almighty are watching them.
There are laws against it, but there are not well-enforced. Prostitution has been technically illegal in Thailand since 1960 when a law was passed under pressure from the United Nations. Some prostitutes in Thailand, adult and child, are tricked, sold, or coerced into the work. Sometimes, families knowingly sell their own children to the sex industry simply because they believe their only alternative is dying of hunger. It is estimated that the number of prostitutes in Thailand is 2-3 million. Of which, approximately 800,000 are children. Doesn’t that just grieve you? Oh, it rips my heart out!
The United Nations says the # 1 human rights issue of the 21st century will be human trafficking. They estimate that only the sale of illegal drugs and weapons generate more money than the underground market for human slaves. Christ Compels Ministry supports The House of Destiny which was established in Thailand for the children to have a place of refuge and safety. For the same price that parents will sell their children to this monstrous industry, their children can go to The House of Destiny where the children learn of God’s love for them and develop vocational skills so vital for their future.
The evil one does have a hold on that city and that country. I believe that God strategically placed our friend Phil in Thailand not just for the Chinese but for the Thai people, too. When my husband and I first learned about this tragedy in Thailand, I told him how much this one bothered me and asked him what could I do about it? He said it is so painful that I would probably be like most Americans and forget about it to deaden the pain of knowing about such tragic lives and feeling like I couldn’t do anything about it. It has been over a year since God has seared this country and those precious children on my heart.
I haven’t gotten “over it.” In fact, Christ Compels has sent a few children to The House of Destiny and will continue to send them. Phil’s blog reminded me again that the war in that country is not a physical one but a spiritual one. The evil one does not want to let go of what he thinks belongs to him. However, our God has just allowed him temporary control and can step in at any time and take it back just like how Nineveh repented. Nineveh was led by their pagan emperor covering himself with sackcloth and proclaiming to everyone to call urgently on the LORD to give up their evil ways and violence. Will you join me at least for today in praying for this country and battling in the spiritual realms for the lives of these precious people? If God sears this into you for more than today (and I believe that He will for some of you), then contact me about what other things you can do. Maybe there is more for both of us than you or I know at this time. Wouldn’t that be good of God to let us serve these people who need Him desperately?
Pray with me: Lord of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, You are LORD over all creatures in the physical realm and the spiritual realm. The evil one may have chosen this country to control the cities and fill them with decadence, filth, corruption, and pain, but in the end everything is Yours, God. At any time, You can speak the word and take the city back. You can convict the hearts of the leaders of this country to not allow their children to be used, hurt, and ruined. May their children become precious to them and treated as their heritage and reward (Psalm 127:3). We cry out for the helpless! We ask You to stop the supply of these precious children as well as the demand! We cry out for the innocent children who have their innocence stolen from them. We pray that You will bring healing to them that only You can do.
May these cities no longer be the enemy’s cities. Take back what the enemy has claimed as his territory. May Your Spirit sweep through this country. Just as Nineveh’s former god Nebo stoops low to you (Isaiah 46:1), may this god bend its knee to You as You take over. It is in the Name of above all Names we pray, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name. Amen.