Jonah 3.7-9-The Ninevites Fast, Put On Sackcloth And Cry Out To God For Mercy And Forgiveness In The Hope Of Causing God To Relent From Destroying Them
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday November 21, 2010
Jonah: Jonah 3:7-9-The Ninevites Fast, Put On Sackcloth And Cry out To God For Mercy And Forgiveness In The Hope Of Causing God To Relent From Destroying Them
Lesson # 46
Please turn in your Bibles to Jonah 3:1.
This morning we will study Jonah 3:7-9, which records the king of Nineveh and his nobles issuing a decree to the people of Nineveh calling for a fast, the putting on of sackcloth and crying out to God for mercy and forgiveness so that God would change His mind and relent from destroying them, thus sparing their lives.
Jonah 3:7 records the king along with his nobles issuing a proclamation that decrees a fast in Nineveh which was to be observed by both humans and animals.
Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.’ 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. 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.’ 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. 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. 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.’” (NASU)
“He issued a proclamation’ is the third person masculine singular hiphil active imperfect form of the verb zā∙ʿǎq (זָעַק) (zaw-ak), which is used with the king of Nineveh as its subject and means “to issue a proclamation,” i.e., to send out an official written document with instructions” to citizens of a city, town or nation.
Here it is used of the king of Nineveh issuing an official written document that would be proclaimed throughout the city of Nineveh and the greater Nineveh area instructing its citizens to obey a fast and put on sackcloth.
The purpose of such a proclamation was to demonstrate to Jonah’s God, the God of Israel, Yahweh, of their humility and desire for mercy and forgiveness and as an expression of repentance and thus to cause Yahweh to relent and not destroy Nineveh.
“By the decree of the king and his nobles” indicates that this decree was issued on the basis of the authority of the king of Nineveh and his nobles.
“Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing” is a call for human beings, domestic animals, cattle and sheep to fast.
“Do not let them eat” is used with reference here to domestic animals, cattle and flocks and is forbidding the Ninevites from allowing these animals to graze.
Jonah 3:8, “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.” (NASU)
Verse 8 presents three commands which are in addition to the three prohibitions that are recorded in verse 7.
The king of Nineveh and his nobles are commanding the Ninevites to clothe themselves and their animals with sackcloth as a sign of repentance.
This would demonstrate to God that they were seeking forgiveness from Him and that they were changing their attitude and conduct towards His laws.
Specifically, they would be changing their attitude and conduct toward the inherent law written into their souls by God, which is basically the Ten Commandments (Romans 2:14-15).
Obviously, this command is directed toward the Ninevites rather than their animals since animals can not clothe themselves.
“And let men call on God earnestly” is a reference to prayer as an expression of the Ninevites’ faith in Jonah’s God, Yahweh, which would indicate that they have become believers in the Lord and are saved.
This order is emphasizing the intensity and urgency of the situation in Nineveh in light of the message from the Lord communicated by the prophet Jonah.
This calling out in earnest to God was an expression of the Ninevites’ faith in God, which is mentioned in the summary statement in verse 5.
This faith led to a change of conduct in the Ninevites.
It was their faith in God and not their change of conduct that saved them, i.e. gave them eternal salvation and caused God to relent.
The change of conduct was the direct result of their faith in God.
Their faith in God changed their way of living as expressed in the next command.
“That each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands” is a call to a change of conduct or lifestyle and thus speaks of repentance in relation to one’s conduct.
It is a command to cease and desist from committing acts that maim, destroy and kill other human beings, which demonstrate a lack of moral restraint and disregard for the inherent law of God.
It refers specifically to the violent crimes the Ninevites committed against foreign nations and each other.
The Ninevites broke the ten commandments, which are inherent in the soul of each and every human being regardless of whether they are a believer in Christ or God or not.
They violated the rights or living space or property of other human beings.
They violated their duty towards their fellow human beings to treat them as you would want to be treated.
They demonstrated antisocial behavior as manifested in their opposing justice and righteousness and practicing deceit.
The Ninevites repented from their evil conduct because they expressed faith in God.
They were not saved because they repented of their evil conduct.
Rather their faith saved them.
Their change of conduct was the result of their faith in God.
Jonah 3:9, “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” (NASU)
The rhetorical question “who knows?” expresses the king of Nineveh’s hope that God would change His mind and relent from destroying Nineveh at the end of forty days.
“God may turn” refers to God abandoning His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
It is an anthropopathism meaning that the human characteristic of changing one’s mind is ascribed to God even though He doesn’t change His mind since He is immutable.
This figure is used by the writer in order to convey the Lord’s decision to not overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days in terms that the reader can understand.
Here it is used of God changing His mind about overturning Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
“Relent” refers to God graciously not acting upon His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of the Ninevites fasting and clothing themselves in sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
“Withdraw His burning anger” is another anthropopathism referring to God refraining from exercising His righteous indignation.
It is language of accommodation so that the reader can understand from the human perspective the seriousness of the situation in Nineveh and God’s displeasure with the Ninevites.
The difference between righteous indignation and anger is that the former is based upon concern for the holiness of God whereas the latter is emotional, selfish, self-centered, vindictive and intent on harming another.
God’s righteous indignation is the legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature.
So Jonah 3:9 the king of Nineveh is expressing the hope that God would have mercy on his city and forgive them of their sins.
He is acknowledging that the God of Israel, Jonah’s God, Yahweh is sovereign over him and his city.