Jonah 3: 1-10 Nineveh Repents.

3:1-2 Jonah’s Re-Commission.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. That’s right Yahweh is giving Jonah a second chance. Who doesn’t like second chances? Perhaps it was a teacher that gave you a second chance, or better yet, your mom or dad. Is there a time when you really appreciated a second chance? The truth is that if God did not compassionately give second chances we would not be here today. Can you imagine what would have happened if God did not give Adam and Eve a second chance. There is a solid chance we would not be here today had it not been for God’s merciful second chances, and for us Christians we can thank Christ for our second chance.

1 Peter 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 NASB95

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Alright, so Jonah receives a second chance that he is grateful for - we can assume this because of how he reacted toward God’s correction and deliverance from the sea in the last chapter. In verse 2 of chapter 3, Yahweh gives Jonah an imperative for the second time, Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” What do you think the phrase proclaim to it the proclamation? It means to preach. Yahweh wants Jonah to preach a message to the wicked in Nineveh. And we see again Jonah is to go to Nineveh the great city. Nineveh if we can remember was a wicked city (Jonah 1:2), but it was a great city in size and beauty - and Yahweh appears to see something in it.

3:3-4 Jonah’s Obedience.

How does Jonah respond differently his second time around? So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. What a dramatic change. Jonah went from listening to himself in chapter 1, which put a lot of people in danger and was a horribly poor witness to God for God, BUT now he is listening to God according to God’s word. Jonah went from disobedience to obedience. The life and death time in the sea really reminded and showed Jonah the point of Proverbs 1:7.

Proverbs 1:7

Proverbs 1:7 NASB95

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

What is included in having a fear of the Lord is knowledge of Him. Fear means having a sincere respect for Yahweh, for His wrath/judgement and for who He is. Knowledge of the Lord means to be aware of who He is AND all of His attributes and characteristics. Jonah to a degree represents Israel - who should have longed to know the God who entered into a covenant with them . The Psalms that Jonah recalled while in the sea described Yahweh’s immutable attributes. If you think about it fear and understanding of God is a huge part of why we try to live in obedience, and Jonah is a bad good example to us in this text. It is nice to see Jonah doing what God wanted him to do the whole time.

Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. The literal or original translation of “exceedingly great city” actually refers to “great to God” implying that God really thought highly of the physical city of Nineveh not the sinful inhabitants; which is probably the reason why He is showing compassion and mercy towards it people by sending Jonah to proclaim to it a proclamation. Now I am not sure if the city was a three days (60 miles) journey or if the entire city in circumference (about 60 miles) was a three days journey. I did learn that a day walk was about 18-20 miles. What I do know is 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.” If the city was 60 miles around then a one day walk would make sense because it implies that Jonah walked through it and not around it - indicating about a 20 mile walk. But, what is more interesting is what God told Jonah to preach “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” If you guys can remember in Jonah 1:2 Yahweh tells Jonah to cry against Nineveh, or rather warn them of their wickedness/sins.

Jonah 1:2

Jonah 1:2 NASB95

“Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Now the message is more severe. Yahweh is declaring that in forty days if Nineveh doesn’t turn from their evil ways they will be ruined. Nineveh will be in ruins. What a scary thing to be told, but necessary. In the Gospel message what is Jesus saving us from in addition to our sin? The wrath of God. That is why it is so important to be obedient to Christ but also to be a witness for Christ by having compassion for the unsaved or the lost.

3:5-9 Nineveh’s Repentance.

Although, the text does not specifically explain whether Fear was the main factor for repentance - [the consequence of sin] , but we know that Jonah experienced fear in the sea and became reminded of God’s compassion. And likewise, Jonah’s preaching contained an element of fear - he said all of Nineveh will be overthrown, in ruins, and Then the people of Nineveh believed in God. Does anyone know how many people were converted? Jonah 4:11 at least 120,000. Wow. It has been said that no missionary has done this in the history of missionaries. Just to add some truth to the power of fear, Pastor John MacArthur implies that the fear of God was encouragement enough for them to repent - and Nineveh believed. Now it has been said that Nineveh did not completely repent but Scripture tells us otherwise.

Matthew 12:41

Matthew 12:41 NASB95

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

This text suggests that Nineveh did indeed repent, in addition to the actions that they took after Jonah’s monumental preaching - they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. All of Nineveh fasted and wore sackcloth in response to the fear of God. What does fasting and sackcloth symbolize? Fasting and wearing sackcloth were often used as symbol of inward expressions or feelings. It illustrated sorrow and humility for their sins. Even the king of Nineveh laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. For the king to put on sackcloth was for him identify with the common people, and to sit on ashes or roll around on ashes was a symbol of helplessness and despair. And that is not all the king does. He issues his own proclamation - decree giving all of Nineveh instructions to follow moving forward. First he says, Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. You might be thinking why animals? From my understanding animals share in the evil effects of sin because they are a part of creation.

Romans 8:20-22

Romans 8:20–22 NASB95

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

When sin entered the earth all of creation was subjected to sin, nothing was left perfect. Second, the king says, Do not let them eat or drink water, Third, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth and forth, this is remarkable the king says, and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. What do you think the king is implying here when he says to call on God earnestly, that each may turn from wicked ways? The king is desperate just like the pagan sailors. He does not want to perish. Which is a good thing! That is how witnessing should be.

John 3:16

John 3:16 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

To be honest I do not know if he understands what he is saying due to the fact they he is in fear of God’s wrath. How ever the text does point out calling out to God in prayer is the first step to turning away from sin, and that God is the only way someone can turn from wickedness and violence.

Here’s another question for you. Are we able to seek God on our own? Are we able to save ourselves from sin? Not at all. Here in verse 8 it is almost as if the king understands turning away from sin starts with God. How hard do you think it is to stop doing something you have been doing for years like those in Nineveh.

Isaiah gives us an example of turning away from wickedness.

Isaiah 1:16-19

Isaiah 1:16–19 NASB95

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;

Next we see something even more wilder! The king of Nineveh, and Jonah (Israel) both have something in common, they needed to step out in faith, and be obedient to God. Now here is the real crazy part. The king is stepping out in faith by instructing his people to call to God, and turn from sin and it is implied that they actual do it - in a short amount of time. We know that the king is stepping out in faith because he says, Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish. When God asked the imperfect begrudging prophet, Jonah to go to Nineveh - He wanted Jonah to not only have compassion for them but to trust the work He was gonna do. Here the king is trusting that God will turn, relent and withdraw from His righteous anger so they won’t die.

3:10 God’s Response.

What does God do - verse 9? 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. It must be mentioned that God’s character NEVER changes but He does make changes to His plan with men.

Jeremiah 18:7-8

Jeremiah 18:7–8 NASB95

“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

You see God blesses those who repent, and brings judgement of those who have hardened their hearts toward Him. His character does not change nor will His plan for salvation history. Unfortunately, Nineveh did return to their wickedness and overtook Israel. However, they were destroyed as a result of God’s judgment some 150 years later.

Application.

sin has consequences - when we are not obedient to God there is a consequence - a big one.

There are a few big take-a-ways from this passage. The first one is the importance of obedience. Jonah was finally obedient. It took a second chance but he did what God wanted him to do. That raise a great question for us. Are we guys doing that? Being obedient to God in our daily life. Do we try to take every opportunity to be a witness for Christ?

Ephesians 5:16

Ephesians 5:16 NASB95

making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Second take-a-away is how important the good news is. It truly is a life and death situation. The sailors, Jonah and Nineveh both learned and or understood that God is the way to deliverance. John MacArthur shared this story

A gentleman came up to me this morning after the service and he said, “You know, I’m concerned about my salvation.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Because I think the only reason that I really want to be saved is to escape hell.” And my response was, “That’s good enough. You may actually mature to the point where you see the positive blessings of being a believer; and you will mature to the point where you will love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, at least in a relative sense; and you will long to honor and serve Him, and love will overpower fear. But fear is where we all began.”

What a to the point statement. Fear - respect for God is essential. This chapter, as well as the previous ones, has shown us how sovereign and powerful God is, and yet it highlights His compassion for the lost. What stood out to me the most in addition to Nineveh’s dramatic repentance is the truth regarding God’s righteousness. He is never changing, yet He changes how He deals with those that repent and those that do not. For example, Nineveh, God had already declared their doom in essence, but opted not to because they repented. Nineveh could have never been - from the start, but God had other plans for them. Just like He has plans for mankind, giving every one the offer of Salvation through Christ.

Luke 23:32-43

Luke 23:32–43 NASB95

Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

When we are given the chance to follow God and we believe and intentionally live accordingly, we are still going to mess up, but we will be confessing and repenting. It is those that continue to want to live in sin that will endure God’s judgement.

Another take -a-away was this passage kinda challenged me to want to talk about Christ more with people - who ever will listen.

And the last take-a-away is wanting to share God’s compassion, and encouragement to repent with others. We learned that people come to faith sometimes in the scariest situations we may be able to help a friend or family member during there time of fear to see God through it. Sometimes God calls us through these tough times to get our attention - we should be prepared to help show them His compassion.

Application Questions.

Why is repentance important?

Why is sharing the Gospel important?

What stood out to you the most in this chapter and why?

What did you learn from Nineveh’s dramatic repentance?

How can you apply this chapter to your day to day life?