Nineveh Repents

 

LESSON 11 NOVEMBER 10, 2024 

Nineveh Repents 

Lesson Text: Jonah 3:1-10 

Related Scriptures: Esther 4:1-3; Jeremiah 18:7-10; Amos 7:1-6; Nahum 1:7-14; John 21:15-17 

TIME: about 780 B.C. 

PLACE: Nineveh and vicinity 

GOLDEN TEXT—“God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah 3:10). 

Introduction 

One of the most encouraging things we learn about God in His Word is how willingly He gives a second chance to those who have been disobedient. This is one characteristic that set Him apart from the pagan gods of the nations that surrounded Israel. Those gods were often viewed as continuously angry and vindictive. 

The list of people in the Bible to whom God gave second chances is lengthy. It begins with Adam and Eve, Cain, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph’s brothers. Soon we read about Moses, Miriam, and Aaron. Later, God gave second chances to Elijah, David, and Manasseh. In the New Testament, God continues to work with Peter, John Mark, Paul, and others. Each life is a study of God’s mercy and grace. 

We fit right in. God has forgiven all who believe in Christ and offers them second chances. God’s grace toward Jonah should produce deep gratitude in every heart. 

LESSON OUTLINE 

JONAH: LIMITED TIME—Jonah 3:1-4 

NINEVEH: BELIEF—Jonah 3:5-9 

GOD: COMPASSION—Jonah 3:10 

Exposition: Verse by Verse 

JONAH: LIMITED TIME 

JONAH 3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 

2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 

3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 

4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 

A second chance (Jonah 3:1-2). God first sent Jonah to Nineveh in chapter 1: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (vs. 2). {God did not give Jonah anything specific to repeat, but he clearly was to warn the Ninevites that their wickedness had come to the attention of Israel’s God. God would soon pour out His judgment on them. 

God’s second message to Jonah added some more detail. Jonah was to go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message that God gave him to proclaim. Apparently, God would give Jonah the exact message.}Q1 In both of God’s commands, He emphasized that Nineveh was a great city that needed to hear what God had observed and intended to do. Nineveh was large and powerful, and it was filled with wickedness. The people’s reputation for committing atrocities was known far and wide. 

We do not know where the fish vomited Jonah out, so we do not know how far he traveled. The city’s walls were 100 feet high and broad enough for three chariots to ride abreast on top of them. {The size of the city, coupled with its reputation for cruelty, made Jonah’s assignment a difficult one. We can understand why he wanted to avoid it. The primary reason Jonah had initially avoided the assignment, however, was that he did not want God to spare Nineveh (cf. 4:2).}Q2 

In chapter 4 we will learn that Jonah was still hoping God would destroy this wicked city, but he now knew better than to avoid God’s command. There may be times when God asks us to minister to people we would rather not talk to. In some cases, we might have legitimate cause to be fearful. As we see with Jonah, however, when God gives us difficult assignments, He also gives us the ability to accomplish them, despite our shortcomings. 

A strong message (Jonah 3:3-4). This time Jonah obeyed. He had learned a hard lesson and knew he had no other options. History tells us the Assyrians tortured their captives by impaling them on pointed poles or skinning them alive. Jonah may have been aware of this, but after God’s discipline, he was willing to risk what the Assyrians might do. After all, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). 

Jesus once warned about fearing people more than God. He said to “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Jonah seemingly came to this understanding, so he did not hesitate to follow God’s command this time. He went to Nineveh at the word of the Lord. Running had not accomplished anything! 

In Jonah 3:3, we read that Nineveh was “an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.” There has been lengthy discussion among Bible students about the meaning of “three days’ journey,” and there is not a clear consensus. The city proper was only about eight miles in circumference and a couple miles in diameter. In this case, the “three days’ journey” would apply to Nineveh and several other cities connected to it, similar to what we call suburbs today (cf. Gen. 10:11-12). 

This entire area may have been about sixty miles in circumference, and there were probably fields and smaller towns within it. A day’s journey was usually about twenty miles, so it would take about three days to walk around the outside of this area. In this case, the diameter of the city would be about nineteen miles, or a day’s journey, which fits with Jonah’s actions. {Sometime during Jonah’s first day of walking, he began proclaiming his message. He did not challenge the Ninevites to believe in God; he simply proclaimed the impending doom of the city in forty days.}Q3 

NINEVEH: BELIEF 

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. 

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. 

7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 

8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 

9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 

The response of belief (Jonah 3:5-6). {Why did God give a forty-day grace period to these wicked people instead of destroying them immediately? He purposely gave them an opportunity to repent—evidence of His great mercy toward those who are living far from Him.}Q4 Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet sent to a foreign nation with such a message, so he shows God’s great love for unbelievers. Missionaries who minister with few results are still doing God’s work. 

The people of Nineveh believed God. This is an unexpected twist in the story! The hardened Ninevites, after hearing Jonah’s message for only a day, believed! 

{The people of Nineveh did three things: they believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth.}Q5 The fast and sackcloth were outer evidence of self-affliction, revealing their inner attitudes. They humbled themselves before God like the pagan sailors who had cried out to the Lord in chapter 1. They realized they needed the mercy of God if they hoped to avoid the destruction Jonah had announced. 

{After the Ninevites’ actions, we learn about the king’s response. He stepped off his throne, put aside his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.}Q6 He humbled himself before Jonah’s God. This was even more unexpected than the people’s response. Jonah could never have imagined such a reaction to one simple message. Surely everyone ministering today would love such a sweeping response to his or her ministry! 

The proclamation of repentance (Jonah 3:7-8). The king’s proclamation reveals he knew the severity of the situation. He decreed citywide repentance with external evidence of it. He gave a fourfold command. First, he ordered that neither people nor animals taste anything. He clarified what he meant by saying they should not eat any food or drink any water. Second, the king ordered that all people and animals be covered with sackcloth. This involved the wearing of a very coarse, uncomfortable cloth. {It served as evidence of genuine repentance and humility. It might seem strange to us that he would command this for the animals too. This is not as odd as we may think, however. In Exodus 20:10, God’s command for Israel to rest on the Sabbath included rest for the animals. In the case of the Ninevites, since the animals were incapable of humbling themselves, they were humbled as their owners’ representatives.}Q7 

Third, everyone was to cry out to God mightily. They were to be strong and powerful in reaching out for divine help. It was not the time for insincerity or halfheartedness. This was a desperate situation and required the wholehearted plea of everybody in the city. 

Finally, they must turn from their evil actions and violence. It was obvious to the king that their wickedness was causing the judgment, so to receive mercy, they must change immediately. 

Many question the sincerity of this wholesale change of heart because in less than seventy years, Assyria conquered Israel, and within roughly one hundred fifty years, Nineveh was destroyed. Perhaps these Ninevites failed to pass on their convictions to their children and grandchildren. Perhaps their repentance was superficial, like King Ahab’s (I Kgs. 21:27). 

There would be little wonder that the Ninevites did not pass on their contrition to their children and grandchildren since our missionary Jonah seems to have abandoned the Ninevites, given his actions in Jonah 4, and did not serve as their pastor. But at least this generation recognized the necessity to change its conduct to avoid God’s judgment. That is more than many in our culture today are willing to do! 

The rationale for action (Jonah 3:9). Even those of us who are believers in God and have studied His Word for many years sometimes cannot understand why and how God works. We would like to come up with some hard and fast rules that would guarantee the same responses from God every time. We would like to put God into a box that our finite human minds could always understand. We wish that when we did something, God would always immediately respond in a set way. 

We certainly should not fault the king of Nineveh for doing what he thought might deter God from His announced judgment. He had far less knowledge of God than we do, so he acted on the basis of his common sense and understanding of gods. It is uncertain if he became a wholehearted believer in Israel’s God, but at least he paid attention to Him and wanted to appease Him. {His rationale was that maybe God would change His mind if He saw a positive change in the citizens of Nineveh.}Q8 

When he heard Jonah’s message, the king arose from his throne in a most unkingly manner, stripped off his kingly robes, and put on his sackcloth and ashes. He was emphatic that everyone should repent. He ordered a severe fast, even from water. He commanded that even the animals fast. We might say, with tongue in cheek, that even the animals repented. 

The king’s main concern was that he and his people would not perish, which was the prophesy’s threat. This is a natural and normal response. We all have an instinct for self-preservation and will usually take whatever measures are necessary to protect ourselves. This king knew that they had to take the actions already outlined if there was to be any hope. 

Exactly what did the king hope for? He hoped God would turn and repent from sending the intended destruction. Maybe Jonah’s God would stop, turn back, and regret His decision to destroy the Ninevites. Unless this mysterious, foreign and unfamiliar God showed mercy, they were all doomed. 

GOD: COMPASSION 

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. 

{God responded to Nineveh’s actions exactly as the king had hoped. Had they not repented, God would not have either.}Q9 Repentance is a turning around, replacing one course of action with another. The people of Nineveh, including the king, had repented sincerely. Because of this, God changed His mind and decided against the destruction. God is not the harsh, unbending ogre some portray Him to be. He is loving, kind, and forgiving. 

We may wonder, however, how God can make an apparent change in plans when He is portrayed in Scripture as both unchanging and omniscient (all-knowing). He would have known ahead of time how the Ninevites were going to respond to Jonah’s message, so why did He initially proclaim that He was going to destroy the city if He knew He ultimately would not? In what sense did God relent or repent from His proclamation to destroy Nineveh? 

We should first note that God’s relenting is a demonstration of His grace, mercy, and compassion. {Although it is difficult for us to comprehend, God deals with us as persons—he interacts with us in a personal way. He grants to us the ability to make choices, and responds accordingly. There are a number of examples of this in Scripture. An interesting one is found in Amos 7:1-9. Twice God revealed to Amos what He was planning to do, and after Amos prayed, He relented from His plans. The third time God spoke, however, He indicated that there would be no change of plans. (Ezekiel 33:10–20 further develops God’s promise not to judge those who repent from wickedness.)}Q10 

God is unchanging in His character, and part of that unchanging character is His mercy toward those who repent. Yet it is often the very message of God’s wrath against sin that leads a person to recognize the need for repentance. To say that God should not send a message of judgment when He knows repentance is coming is like saying we should not take a broken car to the mechanic when we know it will be fixed by the time the mechanic is done with it. In His mercy, God urges us to repent. He promises to forgive all who turn to Him. As He showed compassion to Nineveh, so will He show compassion to us. God’s mercy is never failing. —Keith E. Eggert

Union Gospel Press, Union Gospel Press. Bible Expositor and Illuminator (pp. 287-297). Union Gospel Press. Kindle Edition.