Jonah 3: Jonah preaches to ninava

Why did Jonah hate the Assyrians

The Assyrians were a mighty empire that brutilised and tourturered people to intimdte the polulation it was conquring.

they intentionally advertised their brutality as part of the psychological warfare.

The things they did to people are too terrible to talk about .

“I entered that city; its inhabitants I slaughtered like lambs”

— Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC)

So Jonah had good reason to hate them.

It was hard for him to forgive.

But god is bigger than Jonah and can forgive even the Assyrians if they repent.

2 times in Jonah God is desscribed by the hebrew word hessed

Jonah 2:8 NIV

8 “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.

In chapter 4 we will see in the next sermon that even Jonah is aware that God is bigger than he is ;

Jonah 4:2 NIV

2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

The word to describe God in these 2 verses litterally means the steadfast love of God.

God is so gracious and loving that he gives Jonah and the Assryians a second chance.This is a reminder that GOd gives us a second chance too.

God’s word comes to Jonah a second time

Jonah 3:1 NIV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:

Despite his bad attitude, God persisted with Jonah. This tie he obeyed and went to Nineveh.

god of second chances.

Jonah 3:3–5 NIV

3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

A great city

short prophecy, no details no mention of God.

There he proclaimed what he no doubt hoped and wished would be Nineveh’s destruction: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed’. The Ninevites believed Jonah’s word of warning however, and Jonah’s worst fears were realised. The wicked Ninevites were saved.

The response of the King of Nineveh is a model response of repentance:

· He put aside his authority, acknowledging the greater authority of Yahweh (3:5).

Jonah 3:5 NIV

5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Jonah 3:6 NIV

6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.

sign of true repentance

Jonah 3:7–8 NIV

7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.

0964``eeHe is a God of righteous anger, and the sin of the Ninevites have angered him (1:2); but he is also a God of compassion.

Jonah 3:10 NIV

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Gospel Connection: As the message of Jesus is preached to the world, people will repent of their sins and follow Jesus as Lord.

Luke 11:30 NIV

30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Luke 11:32 NIV

32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

Application: We can join God in his mission to ‘make disciples of all nations’ by telling our friends and family the good news of the Gospel.

Jonah ran from God an disobeyed God and god found him second chance

King of Ninava:

God gave him a second chance

God is the god of second chances

God though his spirit convicts us too.

Psalm 139:7-10

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

Rather than running from we should be led by him:

Romans 8:14

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

we get a second chance

rely on the steadfast love of God.