Bitesize Jonah (3)

Joppa: more interesting than you might think. The port for two reluctant missionaries in the bible*.
Jonah we know about (Jonah 1:3).
But Joppa is where Peter went in Acts 9:36 to see Tabitha/Dorcas and raise her from the dead! While there, Cornelius, the non-Jew, came to call. He wasn't the first to call that day though. God had called earlier, giving Peter quite a vision. A vision that later, having gone to Caesarea and to Cornelius' house, Peter understood in these terms:

'I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right' (Acts 10:34-35)

(my thanks to Andrew Reid and his Warning Signs booklet for putting me onto this)
*not sure this is entirely fair on Peter ... their respective directions of travel and heart concerns are very different. Joppa is a first step in Jonah's disobedience and the first step on Peter's obedience to God's direction that the 'restoration of Israel' includes the nations!