Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet - 15

The Bible states in verse 5 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

This particular verse gives us a summary of the situation.

The summary of the situation. v5

This captures for you and I what took place following the preaching of the Word of God.

We see their faith in the first part of verse 5.

“...the people of Nineveh believed God...”

It is noted that the grammatical construction of this phrase in verse 5 is very similar to what is used in Genesis 15:6, speaking about Abraham, “6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”

“So the people of Nineveh believed God” [אנשׁי - Man, ויאמינו - believed, אלהים - God]

And because of this real living faith, we see the action of the people following their faith.

And this always is to be the case, that our beliefs determine our behavior.

In other Words, a living faith will result in action.

The Bible says, [they] “…proclaimed a fast...”

[they] “…put on sackcloth...”

This matter of wearing sackcloth had to do with symbolically representing contrition and poverty of heart. They outwardly displayed the grief in the heart in eastern cultures.

In Gower’s Manners and Customs of the Bible it is explained, “Goat’s hair cloth garments [sackcloth] were worn so as to cause discomfort; the breast beaten(Luke 23:48) and clothes were torn to demonstrate how grief-stricken people were.”

In Freemans book on customs of the Bible he states, “Sackcloth was a rough cloth made of camels hair, goat hair, hemp, cotton or flax…Garments made of sackcloth, which were often loosely weaved like burlap, were worn as a sign of mourning or penitence. The garments were sometimes worn in place of regular clothing, or were loose-fitting sacks put over the shoulders, or simply a loin cloth… In Nineveh, the king commanded that both “man and beast be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:8) as a sign of national repentance.”

And we are told not just of their faith and their actions, but we are told of the scope of this faith and these actions.

We see the scope of this faith and these actions.

Notice the Bible says, “…from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

John Philips testifies of an example in his own life, “Several times during the dark days of World War II when Britain stood alone with her back against the wall, I can remember the king calling for a national day of prayer. But he never called for the kind of repentance that the king of Nineveh decreed.”

This was a tremendous thing that took place.

And is described for us, that the people believed God.

Some surmise because of the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning Jonah being a sign, that either by appearance, or by Jonah’s explanation or by the Mariners word or a combination some or all that Jonah’s history just before this was known.

And so, one can see how this would certainly be a powerful sign endued by the work of the Holy Spirit to understand that what was being preached and heard was truth.

This ought to encourage us, that at the preaching of the Gospel people can be saved.

Lives can be changed when God’s message is proclaimed by His people in faith.

In reading book on Jonah, I was shocked to see this example citing the country of Russia. Especially because the book was published in 1986.

The book is called Preacher on the run by Gordan J. Keddie.

[I am not endorsing this book, I just came across this quote in studying.]

Gordon J. Keddie had this to say, “What would you say if a lone preacher from one of the spiritually decadent countries of the so-called Christian West were to preach the gospel for three days in Moscow and witness a mass revival of the Holy Spirit, then this issued in the conversion and baptism of the Politburo and a directive from the Kremlin that abolished state atheism in favour of complete freedom for the worship of God and the preaching of Christ?

Do you believe such things could happen?

You already have difficulty believing that your own church, far less your community, could come alive for the gospel!

An entire city? In an atheistic state like the Soviet Union? ‘What a fairy-tale!’ you might think, even as you piously remind yourself that with God nothing is impossible.

Yet this is precisely the level of significance in the ancient world of what happened in Nineveh because of the preaching of Jonah!

Nineveh repented and believed in the living God. And this astounding event was a mighty act of God which, according to the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to stand throughout human history as a sign and witness against both the poverty of our obedience to the Lord and our low expectations for the success of the gospel in our own time.

Gordon J. Keddie, Preacher on the Run: The Meaning of Jonah, Welwyn Commentary Series (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 1986), 87.”

There is certainly some truth here voiced in this statement concerning our lack of faith as to what God can, will, has and does accomplish as His Word goes forth.

Our struggle reckons on, I believe, the state of man and not the insufficiency of God.

But nonetheless, let this be a stark reminder that you and I do not know what tomorrow holds outside the explanation of God’s Word on these matters.

But we do know this, that (1) the God we serve is Almighty God. (Genesis 17:1, Revelation 1:8)

We do know that the God we serve, the One True Living God, (2) does save to the uttermost and is still saving souls today. (Hebrews 7:25)

We do know that (3) His Holy Word is powerful. (Hebrews 4:12)

And we do know (4) that His Spirit is at work in this world at this present moment. (John 16:8-11)

Next we see in verses 6-8 in our outline the seriousness of the situation.

2. The seriousness of the situation v6-8

The Bible says in verse 6, “For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.”

The idea that is being expressed is that the whole matter came before the king.

Albert Barnes - “The whole account,” namely, how this stranger, in strange austere attire, had come, what had happened to him before he came, how he preached, how the people had believed him, what they had done, as had just been related, “came to the king.”

“People are slow to carry to sovereigns matters of distress, in which they cannot help. This was no matter of peril from man, in which the counsel or energy of the king could be of use.”

Another expositor said this, “He [the king] exchanges purple, gold, gems for the simple rough and sordid sackcloth, and his throne for the most abject ashes, the humblest thing he could do, fulfilling a deeper degree of humility than is related of the people.”

However it came to be, it was so serious that “word came unto the king…”

I thought about this very incident and was compelled to think about the testimony of local NT church going through revival.

We have before us a time set aside to hold what we call “revival” meetings.

We set aside this time to seek the Lord’s face desiring to be renewed; to gives ourselves wholly to our Lord and Savior.

- To re-examine our spiritual poverty.

- To turn our eyes upon our Lord once again.

- To give up the ways of selfishness and pride.

- To see His work go forth first in our hearts and then outward into the world.

Can you imagine such a thing taking place?

Can you imagine it affecting such a broad amount of people in this country that word, that cannot be denied pierces into the White House and eclipses all that is going on elsewhere in the world’s stage?

Would if the remnant of God’s people were so moved in this country to a place of purity so evident that it could not be passed off as some fanatical emotional experiment?

This king (1) arose from his throne, he (2) laid his robe from him, he (3) covered himself in sackcloth, and removed himself from his royal cushion into a heap of ashes.

We cannot in our day even fathom such a thing taken place in our government.

What a strange event it would be to see C-Span broadcasting the leaders of this place trading their seats for humility before God.

Verse 7 shows us the reaction of the king and his nobles.

The Bible says, “…he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh...”

And this was the proclamation, “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God:...”

Now I have purposely stopped in this spot on the decree. Because we have the outward contrition that is being decreed.

Those physical actions they were to take in their repentance.

Can you imagine the wailing not just from the people, but the animals as they are deprived of food, as they are deprived of water?

“The moanings and lowings of the animals, their voices of distress, pierce man’s heart too, and must have added to his sense of the common misery.”

What a commotion that must of transpired in this event.

To add to the subjection of humility they covered themselves with irritable garments that were fit for inanimate objects with no senses.

We see in the seriousness of this, that is was not just an outward expression that took place.

Notice the second part of this decree, of which I did not read at this first.

“yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands...”

This was a decree that called upon every person to turn from his evil way and turn to Almighty God.

This struck at the heart of what the Assyrians were known for, “the violence that is in their hands..”

We come to understand that this call of repentance was to be personally appropriated.

We come to understand that the individuals affect the whole.

I wonder this morning as we close in the middle of this section, how serious are we concerning the state of our own lives, of our own local church, of our own nation?

How serious is it for us all that is taking place?

We will come back next week and examine the rest of this repentance concerning the people of Nineveh.

We will see the statement that is made in verse 9 and God assessment of what took place.

Do you know what is going to matter at the Bema Seat of Christ? The Lord’s assessment.

Do you know what is going to matter at the Great White Throne Judgement? The Lord’s declaration.