Jonah 3:6

The Bible says in Jonah 3:6-8, “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.” This king did something that all leaders should do: he led his nation into spiritual revival. Every good leader should do that. It should always be politically correct to talk about our need of God, and our need to repent of our sins and to turn to God. The right leaders emphasizing our spiritual needs in the right way can have a tremendous positive effect on the people. One of the reasons that America has been blessed is that we have had several leaders who did that very thing. George Washington wrote, “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” Samuel Adams said, “The name of the Lord (says the Scripture) is a strong tower; thither the righteous flee and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Let us secure His favor and He will lead us through the journey of this life and at length receive us to a better.” John Adams said, “The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.” Thomas Jefferson wrote, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Andrew Jackson wrote, “[The Bible] is the rock on which our Republic rests.” Abraham Lincoln wrote, “And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God … and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.” From the original Harvard University Handbook in 1636, “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well: the main end of his life and studies is “to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life” (John 17.3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him (Prov. 2.3).” Harry Truman said, “The fundamental basis of this Nation’s law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings which we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul.” Dwight Eisenhower said, “Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.” Theodore Roosevelt said, “I believe that the next half century will determine if we will advance the cause of Christian civilization or revert to the horrors of brutal paganism.” Franklin Roosevelt said, “[The United States is] founded on the principles of Christianity.” If our nation turns away from its Christian principles, it will be the fault of our leaders as well as the people.

The king of Nineveh gave a decree to the people that had two main parts to it. He told them to pray, and he told them to repent: to turn from their “evil way.” The leaders of every nation should give the same message to their people. Judgment is coming unless people call out to God and turn from their wicked ways. God says in Second Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The Bible says in Jonah 3:9-10, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
[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.” The king of Nineveh made a statement in verse 9 that should be the motivation for many people to repent and turn to the Lord. He said, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” He was talking about their nation perishing and being destroyed, but that kind of destruction is symbolic of dying and going to hell. If you do not want to be destroyed in hell forever and ever, then turn to the Lord Jesus while you have time. When the King of Nineveh said, “Who can tell if God,” that was kind of like saying “Maybe God will,” or “I hope God will.” By the way that is not the strongest faith in the world. A stronger faith would have said, “I know that God will,” or “I am certain that God will.” The king did not have perfect faith and he did not have the strongest faith, but the faith that he did have (however weak and however small) he put in the Lord. It does not take a lot of faith to benefit from trusting in God. It only takes taking whatever faith you have and putting it in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said in Luke 17:5-6, “And the apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you.”

Any time that anyone asks God for mercy, the response from the Lord will always be as it says in Jonah 3:10, “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.” This great truth never changes because of what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. The number of your sins, nor the severity of your sins, nor the frequency of your sins will change this truth. The Lord will always forgive whoever honestly repents and turns to Jesus. This verse demonstrates the details of what true repentance is. First notice that it says, “God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them.” The basic meaning of the word “to repent” is “to change one’s mind.” Once you were walking through life in a direction that left you without Jesus as your Saviour and with the guilt of you sins still on you. When you repent, you change your mind about living such a life without God, and you want a new life: one that includes believing in Jesus and following Him. Because repentance involves making such a dramatic change of mind, true repentance will always result in a better life. That first moment that you turn to Christ gives you salvation because salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. But if you truly did repent, you will start doing good works. If you never do good works, it is hard to believe that you truly repented. That is why it says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” There was evidence that the people of Nineveh truly repented because it says in Jonah 3:10, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.”

The Bible says in Jonah 4:1-2, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.[2] And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Why did Jonah get “very angry?” There are several things that we can say about this. It certainly demonstrates one of the differences between God and man. God loves to see people saved: any people. Jesus said in Luke 15:7, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” The most important event for any human being is that they get saved through faith in Jesus Christ, so of course God is happy when that happens. God sent His only Son to die the horrible death of the cross of Calvary so that people could be saved, so of course God is happy when people get saved. Why did Jonah get angry? For one thing Jonah was not spiritually-minded enough. Jonah did not value souls the way that God values all souls. For another thing, Jonah was prejudiced. The people in the city of Nineveh were not Jews like Jonah, and they were traditional enemies. But God loves everyone on this earth. He has given each person life, He died for each person, and He wants to save each person. No matter is their race, their religion, or their sins; Jesus loves them and wants to save them. The people that you regard as your enemies, God loves. No wonder that Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-46, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

One thing about Jonah is that his beliefs were fine. He believed the right things, but he did not know how to apply those beliefs to his own life consistently. Jonah said in verse 2, “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Since Jonah knew that great truth about the mercy and kindness of God, Jonah should have also truly believed how good it is for every person on this earth to come to know that truth. But Jonah’s human nature got in front of his spiritual nature. Christians have that same battle of the old nature vs. the new nature. It says in Galatians 5:16-17, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.[17] For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Too many Christians have made the same mistake as Jonah. They studied and learned the Bible and they know all about the Bible. They can talk about it all day long. But many of them never learned to apply the spiritual principles to their own lives as incidents arise in their daily lives. Instead of living by faith in the Lord, they get angry when things do not go their way. Aren’t you trusting in the Lord to work out all the details of your life?

The Bible says in Jonah 4:3, “Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” His is the second time that Jonah wanted to die. Remember when Jonah told the mariners to throw him into the sea. Normally, he would have died from such an act except for divine intervention. So on more than one occasion Jonah decided that ending his own life was a solution to whatever was bothering him. It is hard to understand how a believer could be that far from appreciating God’s will for life. God is the Giver of life and only He should take it. Life is precious because it comes from God and because life is so short. From a spiritual standpoint if the Lord wants you to leave this earth, He has plenty of ways to end your life. And so if God keeps you alive, then He wants you to live life to the fullest, according to the will of God for your life. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that when you are rightly-related to the Lord, He will give you the will to live. He will help you understand how precious life is and what a great gift that He has given you. When Christ is your life, He becomes more important than what has happened to you or what will happen to you. It says in Colossians 3:3-4, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” If Christ is not your life today, He can be. You can bow before Jesus and receive Him as your Savior and then His life will become your life. That is what we call “oneness.” Become one with God.

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