Evil and holiness
EPIPHANY 03
Jonah 3:1-5,10 – Year B
“Evil and holiness”
Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (NIV)
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:10 (NIV)
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Have you ever wondered why sermons are the way they are? Have you ever thought, “This sermon is great – what a shame it’s finished after only an hour”. Or have you at times thought, “Arhhh, is this sermon ever going to end? And he’s only been preaching for three minutes!”
Have you ever wondered what the shortest sermon in the Bible was and which sermon had the greatest effect on the hearers? Yes, we know about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when 3,000 people[1] believed and this is the goal of many a preacher.
But what about a sermon that is only five words long – and it caused 120,000 people in addition to animals to repent? Yes, just five (Hebrew) words in total. Here’s the English translation:
“Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” [2]
That’s it! That is all that Jonah said to the people of Nineveh. He did not have any catchy stories in his sermon to help the hearers remember the message. He did not have any anecdotes that people could remember or clever illustrations that made the hearers chuckle. No. He just preached the words that he had heard from God to the inhabitants of Nineveh[3].
It was certainly a powerful sermon for it even reached the ears of the king[4]. When the king heard this sermon he was greatly troubled and he took off his royal robes and covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.[5]
Now just in case you are thinking that this sermon of Jonah’s only had an impact because the king got in on the act, no, this is not the case. The people themselves after hearing Jonah’s sermon of five words reacted like this:
The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap (sackcloth) to show their sorrow.[6]
The people had already reacted to Jonah’s sermon before the king had issued his decree which in effect only formalised the action already taken by the people.
Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”[7]
Remember all this is taking place because of a five word sermon spoken by a man who did not even want to be there![8]
So what was this ‘evil’ that the city was being called to repent from? Interestingly apart from the “evil ways” mentioned in verse eight (above), there is no mention of exactly the ‘evil’ this city was being called to repent from. Nahum later states that Nineveh’s sins included plotting evil against the Lord[9], cruelty and plundering in war[10], prostitution and witchcraft[11] and commercial exploitation[12]. All of this ‘evil’ sounds pretty much to me like Sodom and Gomorrah – and we know what God did there![13]
While God abhors evil and is just in simply destroying it, note that here in Nineveh (as was the case at Sodom and Gomorrah), God does not simply destroy the cities, but rather expresses His displeasure and gives the people an opportunity to repent, to change their ways, to turn from their evil. Abraham could not find ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah[14] and even Lot was under pressure from the men of the city[15] to turn his visitors (the angels sent to escort Lot and his family[16]) over to them for their perversity.
God cannot abide evil for evil corrupts, destroys and pollutes that which God has made. We know that in the beginning God declared that all He made was “very good”[17]. Where people choose to ignore God’s good and perfect plans and choose to live a profligate life they will be the recipients of God’s displeasure. They wind up bringing problems, trouble, pain and disaster on and into their lives.
A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:
1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
5. (Tie) Sexual lust
7. Envy
8. Gluttony
9. Lying
The survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81%) and when they were physically tired (57%). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84%), avoiding compromising situations (76%), Bible study (66%), and being accountable to someone (52%).[18]
These are distinct ‘evils’ that can and do get in the way of our relationship with God. Anything that comes between us and God is wrong and must be dealt with. God was very definite when He noted;
“You shall have no other God’s before me”[19].
This is the first commandment and all others find their genesis from it.
When we deliberately sin, we in effect give the evil one permission in that area of our life. By our actions or inaction in avoidance we invite the evil one to cause problems for us – which may happen soon or in years to come.
Do any of those areas of ‘spiritual challenge’ sound alarm bells in your life?
Materialism has taken a real hammering lately with the financial crisis that the world is currently facing. People who have put their faith in shares (and even their own superannuation) are now finding that things have drastically changed. Our security will never come from the amount of possessions we have.
Pride in oneself is misplaced. This needs to be replaced with thankfulness to God, for it is He who created us the way we are. We have contributed nothing.
Self-centredness. We are created for community[20] and without community we become lost and lonely.
Laziness. It’s said that if you want a job done you give it to the busiest person. In our Church we invariably have twenty percent (if we are lucky) of the people undertaking eighty percent of the work. You cannot out-give God. Try offering your talents back to Him and see how your life changes.
Anger/bitterness. This is a trap that enslaves too many people for too long. Scripture speaks of forgiveness[21] and we find that in forgiving, a person is set free. We then discover that the person who has been given freedom is ourselves.
Sexual lust. We are called to put to death anything that belongs to the earthly nature[22] and to set our minds on the things above[23].
Envy, gluttony. Are mentioned as part of the seven deadly sins[24]. Envy is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation. Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.
Lying. This almost goes unnoticed in our world today. A person tells us either in person or on the phone that they’ll phone us back. We think, “Yeah … right”. Many times they have no intention of phoning back. They lied to us to ‘get us off their back’. Dealing with salespeople can be equally frustrating. There are some that will say anything to make the sale and then deal with the consequences after they have your money.
God wants the best for His creation – that’s you. He cannot abide anything that gets in the way of a relationship with His people. Evil gets in the way of a relationship with God and therefore God is compelled to act – because that is consistent with His nature. He simply turns the people over to their sins. In other words, God lets those who are living outside the state of His grace to be the recipients of the full weight of sin that they bring upon themselves. Yet even here God’s mercy shows through because He has promised that nothing will ever befall us that together with Him cannot be overcome.[25]
When Jonah preached his five word sermon to the people of Nineveh there was no hope given to them. They did not hear a sermon that said that they could repent and the promised disaster would not occur. They only heard a sermon in which God states what He would do.
“Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” [26]
So, even without any hope of deliverance, the people still repent. While it was not part of the lectionary reading, the king puts it rather well when he says,
Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.[27]
The king has the right attitude of heart and mind. Even without any hope of pardon, he throws himself (and therefore his kingdom) at the mercy of God. This truly shows up the heart of God. God is merciful and in His mercy He wants His people to repent of their evil ways and to turn to Him.
The reason God seeks repentance in His people is simple:
Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.[28]
With your repentance (forsaking evil for holiness) comes God’s forgiveness.
With your repentance, that which was standing in the way of a relationship with God, your wicked and continuing sin (no matter what form your sin takes) is dealt with.
The people of Nineveh, who were given no hope of forgiveness, repented. God saw their sorrow and in keeping with His true nature forgave them. They then moved forward in that state of forgiveness and were positioned to receive the blessings that God wishes to share with His people.
Evil is a barrier to the blessings that God wishes to share with you. We don’t need to hear Jonah’s words of condemnation as did the people of Nineveh. We have these words of assurance on Jesus’ lips:
“The time promised by God has come at last!” he [Jesus] announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”[29]
Amen.
X The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. X
Information, illustrations, literature and themes, for this sermon are gleaned from a variety of sources. If I have violated copyright held by an individual, then please contact the writer of the sermon and your source will be acknowledged, or removed at your request.
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[1] Acts 2:41
[2] Jonah 3:4
[3] Jonah 3:2
[4] Jonah 3:6
[5] Jonah 3:6
[6] Jonah 3:5 (NLT)
[7] Jonah 3:7-9 (NLT)
[8] Jonah 1:3
[9] Nahum 1:11
[10] Nahum 2:12,13; 3:1,19
[11] Nahum 3:4
[12] Nahum 3:16
[13] Genesis 19:24
[14] Genesis 18:32
[15] Genesis 19:5
[16] Genesis 19:15
[17] Genesis 1:31
[18] Adapted by JOK from Discipleship Journal, 11–12/9 Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.
[19] Exodus 20:3 (NIV)
[20] Genesis 1:26
[21] Matthew 18:22
[22] Colossians 3:5
[23] Colossians 3:1,2
[24] Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride
[25] 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13
[26] Jonah 3:4
[27] Jonah 3:9 (NLT)
[28] Acts 3:19 (NLT)
[29] Mark 1:15 (NLT)