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Jonah 3 (ESV)

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

⁶ The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, ⁸ but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

REFLECTION:

Chapter 3 describes the second time God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach the message. The following points are worth noting:

• God gave repentant Jonah a second chance to serve. This is God’s patience towards people, but the most important thing is that people have a repentant heart; you may feel unworthy to serve because of past failures, but serving God is not a piece of work earned by yourself. No one is worthy to serve God, but God still allows us to complete His work. Today, you may still have another chance.
• Nineveh’s repentance had several factors. They had already heard of the great deeds of the Hebrew God, and the miracles of Elijah and Elisha would also reach their ears; God sent Jonah to the dry land in a fish belly had become their miracle (see Luke 11:30). But these are just pre-work for their repentance and conversion, and what really calls them to repent is God’s own work. The repentance of people today is also the work of the Holy Spirit, and preaching and testimony are only the medium of salvation.
• Nineveh’s repentance was complete, from top to bottom (5), including livestock; it was humble and true, and the king was also clothed in sackcloth (6); it came with action of repentant fasting. Their faith and hope (9) express their active repentance, and these are the factors that should be possessed by true repentance.
• God’s “relent” is mentioned twice in the scripture. This does not mean God’s change. God’s principle of treating people is always to reward good and punish evil, but when people change their evil deeds, God will change His mind from punishment to reward. This is the true meaning of unchanging.

PRAYER:

Dear God! Please help me to learn the complete repentance from the people of Nineveh, not only with faith, but also with action and hope. You will not despise a sad and contrite heart.

HYMN:

His Mercy Is More – youtu.be/I1GiZL60c80