Verse 1. "Now the
word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,"
The words of this verse should be
utterly reassuring to us all. There are many people
who do not turn to the Lord because of thoughts that are
something like this: "I have sinned against God. I
have gone too far. He will never be able to accept me
or use me again, for I have done too much." If you
have
thoughts like that, take heart. Jonah had utterly
turned against the will of God. He had placed
thousands of people at risk by refusing to take God's
message of repentance and salvation to them.
He was actually and potentially a murderer of the soul. Even worse than
killing someone's body, which is terrible in itself, is failing to respond to
the direct call of God. And yet, the Lord could and would not only forgive the
sinful Ninevites, but He would also forgive His rebellious prophet. If you
have strayed from God and His call, come back to Him; come home right now.
He will forgive you, and as only God knows, He may renew His call for your life
once more.
Verse 2. "Arise, go
to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the
proclamation which I am going to tell you."
Nineveh was indeed a "great
city." It would become
even greater after the time of Jonah, which had been his
concern when he ran away from the call of God. He
didn't want Nineveh to do well or even to survive. The place had
high walls enclosing at least 1,800 acres of city within
its walls and it had other mighty fortifications. Nineveh was accessed by fifteen
massive gates;
each one named after a false "god."
Jonah, who was not willing to go there before, was now
reluctantly willing to go to that great place of sin and utter to them the words that came
from God. Notice that God's call was renewed to Jonah. The man was
given a second chance. If you have rejected a previous call of God upon
your life, it may not be over for you. Go to Him. He is the God of
grace for those who repent and look to Him.
Verse 3. "So Jonah
arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days'
walk."
Jonah now started to walk eastward
toward Nineveh. It was a long journey and he had
plenty of time to think about what had happened along with
what was going to happen next. We may be in a hurry,
but God is pleased to give us times of reflection in our
lives, where we can prayerfully think things over and become
able to do
what God intends for us to do. Why didn't God use
another, more willing prophet? Jonah may have been the
most willing among his contemporaries at that time.
Note that it was certainly more than a three-day walk to the
city. What he meant by the statement, "a three days' walk," is this: when
someone arrived at the city, it would take them three days to briskly walk from one side of
the place to the other. Nineveh was, just as this verse says, "an
exceedingly great city" for the time.
Verse 4. "Then Jonah
began to go through the city one day's walk; and he cried
out and said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be
overthrown."
Jonah had now arrived and he began to walk into and through
the city of Nineveh. He had just walked hundreds of
miles from the coast of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea,
and now he would walk some more. He looked for key
places in the city where his message would not only be
heard, but he also chose places where his words would come
to the attention of the officials of that place.
Note, by the way, that there was no concern about the
people understanding his words. We can see in the Book of Isaiah (36:11,13
& context) that many in Israel understood the Aramaic language of the Assyrians in Nineveh, and the reverse was also true. There were those in
Assyria who understood the Hebrew language of Israel. Jonah's words were
heard and understood: Nineveh was to be "overthrown."
Verse 5. "Then the
people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast
and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of
them."
"The people of
Nineveh believed in God." Thousands of years
before the gift given by and through the Holy Spirit of God
called "evangelism" was known, an EVANGELIST walked this
earth and led thousands to the Lord. Evangelism works
this way: thoughts and words are given to the evangelist and
at the same time, conviction and the potential for belief
are planted within his or her listeners. Here was a revival
that cut across all social lines in Ninevah, "from
the greatest to the least."
The Book of Jonah has been criticized by those who do
not believe that thousands would turn to the Lord in such a manner. And
yet it did happen. It happens today. Jesus Himself cited this incident, comparing the
hard-heartedness of His listeners with those who repented in Nineveh (Matthew 12:41).
In recent centuries, we have seen thousands turn to the Lord in crusades and
revival meetings. Will you trust in Him right now?
Lord, we have strayed from Your
will and we have sinned against You. We humbly ask Your forgiveness.
We trust in You, Lord. We look to Your will and not our own. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Jonah 3:6-10
Verse 6. "When the
word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne,
laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth
and sat on the ashes."
Touched to his soul, the king of
Nineveh put on
"sackcloth" (rough clothing)
and covered himself with "ashes."
He was mourning his sins and the sins of his people.
Some commentators have decided that this "king
of Nineveh" was Shalmaneser III, and that
is
possible. "The Open Bible,"
however, an excellent tool for understanding Scripture,
represents the "king" of this
verse as "Ashurdan III," who
reigned from 773-755 BC. The "Open
Bible" commentary continues with the interesting
fact that "two plagues (765 and
759 BC) and a solar eclipse (763 BC) may have prepared the
people for Jonah's message of judgment."
Certainly the king and thousands of others were READY
for the words of this prophet from the land of Israel. Paul the Apostle,
who was to speak and write hundreds of years after these verses, commented that
"one plants" and "another
waters," but "it is God who gives the increase"
(1 Corinthians 3:5-7). It is not only a man or woman who brings someone to
the Lord; it is a lifetime of preparation through events and the words of
others, as empowered and enabled by God to bring His LIFE to the people of this
world.
Verse 7. "He issued
a proclamation and it said, 'In Nineveh by the decree of the
king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock
taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.'"
The king of Nineveh issued a decree
or "proclamation" to the people
of that city. He was calling for a national "fast"
that demonstrated his concern about the prophesy given by
the prophet Jonah. He recognized the reality of God and he knew that
he and his people were in deep trouble. They must
repent of their sins.
The armies of Nineveh were unspeakably cruel when
dealing with their enemies. They were like an army of sociopaths that
killed and then killed again, with seemingly little feeling for any other human
being. That was their reputation and it was also the truth. The king
somehow had recognized the reality of God through the words of Jonah the
prophet, and he also knew that the people must repent of
their terrible sins or
they would all be utterly lost - forever.
Verse 8. "But both
man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men
call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way
and from the violence which is in his hands."
The King was continuing the
"proclamation" to the people Nineveh that we first saw in
Verse 7. He BELIEVED that the prophesy given by Jonah
was true. He knew that if he and the people of Nineveh
did not honestly repent of their many sins, they would be
utterly destroyed in forty days. He KNEW this was the
word of the Lord. Considering who these Assyrians
of Nineveh were, it is a wonder that he issued the
proclamation.
As a people, they were fierce in battle, merciless in
relation to their enemies. Why would he do it? Humanly speaking
this proclamation is unlikely, except that God can change the hearts of men like
this king. As it says in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
The king was so upset that he caused not only the people, but even their animals
to wear "sackcloth" (rough clothing);
commanding the people to turn from
wickedness and violence.
Pray for your leaders. They can be turned from
evil just as surely as this king was.
Verse 9. "Who knows,
God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so
that we will not perish."
Notice that the king of Nineveh KNEW
about the power of the living God. The nation Israel
had been delivered many times and it was common knowledge in
the region that the Yahweh (Jehovah God) of Israel was
capable of destroying nations. You might wonder,
considering that the king knew about God, why didn't he
cause the nation to turn from sin before?
The answer is a sad commentary about all humanity.
Underneath it all, EVERYONE knows that God is real. The atheist does not
acknowledge that almighty God exists for the same reason this king did not
previously repent - he didn't want to. For most, a turn to God is made
AFTER
trouble comes. Through the enabling of God, the king of Nineveh was able
to not only see that the threat was real, but also to turn an entire city into
the hand of the Lord.
Verse 10. "When God
saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way,
then God relented concerning the calamity which He had
declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it."
Everywhere in the world, men and
women tend to decide if they are good or bad people based on
how they are in comparison with others. Someone might
read about a bank robber in the newspaper and conclude
that, since they personally don't rob banks, they are nice
people. They don't take into account the fact that
they themselves cheat on their taxes, commit adultery in
thought or in action, and
steal office supplies from work.
God does not compare us with one another in that manner.
Sinners, small and great, are to pay for their sins. The Ninevites of these
verses were able to recognize their need and turn to God, as we all must. The
ground of our forgiveness is not in ourselves, but in the Lord, who died
for our sins. Though His death would be hundreds of years in the future,
the cross reaches around the world, forward and backward in time. Because
of what the Lord would do, this king was forgiven.
Lord, like the king of Nineveh, we repent of our sins
and ask Your forgiveness. Help us, Father, for we cannot help
ourselves. Save us now. Fill us with Your Spirit and give us the
peace, the holiness that comes from God. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron
Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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