Jonah 3
Bible Passage: Jonah 3
After a less than luxurious stay in Hotel Fish Guts for a wonderful 3 days and 3 nights, Jonah had taken the express check-out (via regurgitation). He had also heeded the words of God and headed on down to the mega-city that is Nineveh to warn the people of their impending judgment. The people of Nineveh repented, and God relented from the punishment He would have dished out upon them.
While this is the book of Jonah, today’s main focus would be on the people of Nineveh.
So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them… (Jonah 3: 5)
“But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands…” (Jonah 3: 8)
Here, we can see the sincere and earnest actions of repentance for their sins. Even the king made a decree to all to repent to God. Although they were marked for punishment, God was moved by their hearts of repentance and ceased to cause disaster upon them. Then we look at this next verse..
“Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?”… (Jonah 3: 9)
This reminded me of the incident after David (feels like we’re still having king fever!) had sinned and God punished him by making his child (born of Bathsheba) very ill and dying. He kept fasting and praying to the Lord to spare the child, but the child would still die. Then David accepted it and washed himself and told his servants…
“Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?” (2 Samuel 12: 22)
Both the people of Nineveh and David probably wouldn’t have known the outcome of their respective situations. The people of Nineveh got the good end of the stick, but David tasted the bitterness of losing his child. But both of them said “who can tell…” if God would relent from His wrath and spare us punishment.
Either way, both of them had this heart of sincere repentance to the Lord, whether or not God heeded to their prayers. Likewise, for us, when we know we’ve committed sin, we may not know if God would spare us from punishment if we repented.
But as we saw David’s case, he was not spared, but yet he accepted the punishment from God and still remained faithful to God. If we were to face chastisement from our Father, we would have to humble ourselves and accept it, but still be resolved to repent of our sins, never doing it again.
And even if we’re like the people of Nineveh who were spared, we thank God too, but also must be resolved to remain repentant.
Repenting is not about trying to beg our way out of the punishment of God, but to resolve to become more pleasing in the sight of God and to learn from our mistakes and not committing them again.
Whether God wants to spare us from punishment is entirely His will. But again, the people of Nineveh and David didn’t know the future, yet they repented like crazy.
Like them, we have to realise and accept when we are wrong and pray to God for forgiveness and more importantly for the strength and determination to not sin anymore.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us… (Romans 8: 34)
Our Lord Jesus had died for our sins, and had risen and ascended to the right hand of God, making ceaseless intercessions for our sakes, as His blood continues to wash away our sins.
May we all continue to strive to draw closer to God and become more pleasing in His sight… May we strive for this heart of true repentence.
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PS
Jonah 1:16 recorded a group of God-worshippers readily offered to a God who spared their life.
Jonah 3:5 recorded that the Ninevites believed the prophecy of an impending disaster and readily proclaimed a fast.
Even their king issued a decree to declare a nation-wide fast and repentance.
Their effort was admirable. And for Nineveh, God relented. Jonah 3:8 recorded the decree of the king of Nineveh: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
The king decreed that his people turn from their evil ways and from the violence in their hands. Yes, they received peace in their life. God spared them
However is this what we hope for from our faith?
There was no record that both the people on the ship and the Ninevites came into God’s salvation through the crisis. May be the Ninevites missed the mark. May be bec they were not Israelites, the chosen race.
Remember Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the great fish. The last line was: Salvation is of the LORD.
In Luke 11:30 Lord Jesus said, “For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.”
The words of Lord Jesus still ring true for us today:
“I am the way, the truth and the life.”
“No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Salvation is the true treasure which Lord Jesus brings to this world. This is the faithful hope in our faith: go all the way to the Father when we leave this world.(Hebrews 11:1)
Stopping at the door of life and not entering is a tragedy beyond the description of words.