God of Second Chances
On Sunday the 21st of March, Pastor Febby delivered a message based on Jonah 3. So far, Jonah has been a prophet on the run who God has told to “arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah instead attempted to escape God by traveling in the opposite direction of Nineveh, but alas Jonah could not escape God and neither can we. Jonah prayed a prayer of gratefulness and humility to God, from the inside of a large fish. In the third chapter of Jonah, God gives him another chance to obey.
Jonah’s Obedience
God has not forsaken Jonah, but instead pursues him. The same task, call and mission is asked of Jonah a second time.
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you” (Jonah 3: 1-2)
But this time Jonah obeys and goes to Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire. This city was known as a great city with a large populous of 600,000 to 1 million people. In the original text, the book of Jonah is written in Hebrew and the native translation of “arise, go” (Jonah 3:2) is “kum yallah”, which means to go immediately. This is important to know, as Jonah obeyed and went immediately. He traveled a three day journey (Jonah 3:3) and did not delay. Pastor Febby said it well when she said,
“Delayed obedience is still disobedience”
God is in equal measure a loving, forgiving, compassionate, just and holy God. How many chances does God need to graciously give, before we repent and live devoted lives for him?
Nineveh’s Repentance
In as short as five words in the original Hebrew (translated into eight words in English) do the Ninevites repent and surrender their lives to the living God.
“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! And the people of Nineveh believed God” (Jonah 3:4-5)
The Ninevites were known to be devoted worshipers of Dagon, originally a Babylonian god of fertility who became a Semitic god of fertility and fish. Seeing that Jonah had survived “three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17) in the belly of a large fish, the Ninevites were quick to respond in repentance. The response from the Ninevites could not be credited to Jonah’s talent or presentation, but solely to God who in his sovereignty worked in the hearts of the Ninevites and gave Jonah the words to speak. The Ninevites repented, and publicly expressed their sorrow by adorning garments of sack cloth, fasting and even arranging for the animals to fast.
“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.” (Jonah 3:5)
Even the King of Nineveh (unnamed in the book of Jonah) expressed his repentance by removing his robe, donning a sackcloth and sitting in ashes (Jonah 3:6). The wearing of sackcloth and use of ashes is mentioned in the Bible to denote regret and express sorrow (Genesis 37:34, 2 Sam 3:31, Act 30:4). The King of Nineveh calls for his people to repent saying, “let everyone turn from his evil way and from the evil in his hands” (Jonah 3:8).
Repentance is the prerequisite to Revival
This means that if we want revival, we need to repent which requires us to be convicted of our sin, have a contrite heart, confess our sin and make a 180 degree change. If there is no change, was there genuine repentance?
A Relenting God
As Christians, we serve a compassionate, merciful and holy God. He is capable of overthrowing cities like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), and also capable of relenting of his plans out of love for his people. In the book of Jonah, the King of Nineveh was hopeful that God would relent.
“Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish” (Jonah 3:9)
At the conclusion of chapter 3, God witnesses true repentance in the city of Nineveh and “how they turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10), leading God to relent of the disaster otherwise due to them. God gives the Ninevites another chance, and spares them from being overthrown. As Christians today, are we really deserving of the chances God gives us? No, we are not. But praise be to God, who is merciful and lovingly sent his son, Jesus Christ, to receive the death penalty for our sinfulness.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your compassion and grace. I pray to repent of my sinful ways and to follow you obediently. Would you Holy Spirit help me in living for you, and would you give me words to speak when the gospel is shared? All the glory and praise belongs to you, Father.
Amen.