Jonah and Ninevah - Pt 1

The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 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, 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. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 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. (Jonah 3:6-10 ESV).

Fortunately, for both Jonah’s sake and ours, the Lord is truly the God of second chances. So often we fail to obey him when He first calls us, but in His grace He does not give up on us. David got a second chance after his sin with Bathsheba (cf. 2 Samuel 11:1-12:15a). Peter got a second chance after he denied Christ (cf. John 21:15-19). Jonah got a second chance to preach to Nineveh after he first fled from God’s calling (Jonah 3:1-3a). All of us could list second chances we have received to serve and honor God. None of these have been earned or deserved. God never owes us a second chance, and we have no right to presume upon the Lord’s grace. Nevertheless, God does on many occasions give us further opportunities to follow Him when we fail. Today’s reading records what happened the second time the word of the Lord came to Jonah regarding Nineveh. Having been rescued from death in the sea and returned to dry land, (cf. Jonah 2:10), Jonah went straight to the capital of Assyria, the city of Nineveh, the second time God called him to announce judgment on the Assyrians (cf. Jonah 3:1–4). And when Jonah preached, something incredible happened, the “people of Nineveh believed God” and they repented (v. 5). This was not mere belief in God’s existence, which means nothing before His judgment seat (cf. James 2:19); rather, the Ninevites affirmed the truth of God’s words and acted accordingly. That is what believing God looks like. Moreover, the repentance of the people was so thorough that even the king himself joined in repentance, calling for all of his citizens, even the animals, to repent as well (vv. 6-9). A whole people were saved from complete destruction because of one man’s obedience in telling the truth of God’s grace. I wonder who needs to hear about the grace of God from you today?