The City-wide Repenting
Jonah 3:5 – “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his [b]nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?”
5“So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
In response to Jonah’s obedience to God and his preaching to the people of Nineveh, three astounding things happen – the people of Nineveh believe God, they proclaim a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. We’re not sure whether Jonah expected this to happen and if he didn’t, then this would have been most astounding to him. He was preaching a message that seemed to be final and binding on the people of Nineveh, one which the Lord had decided on, and was not going back on. He was warning of God’s impending punishment on the people on account of their sins and it came with a deadline, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)
The fact that the people believed Jonah and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth instead of arguing with, questioning, attacking, or reasoning with Jonah, is an indicator that they themselves knew that their lifestyle was displeasing to God and deserving of punishment. It’s much like when we do wrong and are aware of it, we don’t really question when it’s exposed and we allow ourselves to be held accountable for it. It’s only the very rebellious and stubborn person who would try to justify his sin. It’s those who acknowledge their sin that has a chance of finding mercy and forgiveness from God, not those who seek to cover up their sins In fact that’s what the wise King Solomon himself said in Proverbs 28:13, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
It wasn’t long before the news of what was happening in the city came to the knowledge of the king. What’s even more astounding is the fact that not only did the people acknowledge their sin, but even the king readily acknowledged his sin and that of the people. He did three things that demonstrated his personal repentance – he got off his throne and laid aside his robe (of royalty), covered himself instead with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. This was a common symbol of repentance – wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes. When he got off his throne and laid aside his royal robe, he was saying in effect that though he was an earthly king, He was in no way comparable with God - the King of the universe. By covering himself with sackcloth and sitting in ashes, he was saying in no uncertain terms that he was acknowledging his sin before the God-King of the universe and pleading for His mercy and forgiveness.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water."
Not only did the king repent, but he also passed a decree throughout the city of Nineveh instructing all people and animals to undertake a fast, where they abstained from both food and water. The king had exercised authority before, but no one would have ever heard of a decree of this nature before. He was taking advantage of his position as ‘king,’ to bring the entire city to repentance. While many people in positions of influence might use their influence in ways that are not conducive to national growth and would rather better themselves, while they can, here was an instance where the supreme authority in the land was using his authority in a good way – to expedite a change in the lifestyle of both himself and his people, so as to save the lives of both himself and the people he led. He was so serious about his decree that it not only affected humans but animals as well. The decree prevented any person or animal from consuming food or water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
Not only did the king sit in sackcloth as a symbol of repentance, but he also made all the people and animals follow suit. He went one step further in his act of national repentance. He asked that every person, “turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” Here he was getting to the root cause of the problem. God was not concerned about the attire they wore to display their repentance as much as he was in them turning from their sinful ways, and that’s exactly what the king asked each person to do - to turn from their evil ways and from the evil that was in their hands. He seemed to know that this was the very reason that God was angry with his city. It was their sinful lifestyle that God was displeased with and was about to destroy the city on account of this. Instead of pretending that sin didn’t exist or trying to reason it away, in humble acceptance of his and his people’s sins, he repented and ordered that everyone else also repented. That speaks highly of him as a leader – humble acceptance of his wrong-doing – not a very common trait among most leaders today though.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?”
The king then goes on to make a statement of faith in God. He seems to believe that perhaps God will be merciful and change his mind when he sees the repentance that he and his citizens demonstrate. He doesn’t seem to be sure that God would change His mind but seems to have a ray of hope that God just might. Where he got that grain of faith from or that understanding of the nature of God from we don’t know, but he did seem to believe that this was a remote possibility. He seemed to be saying, “If we repent, God may relent and be merciful to us.” He seemed to know more about God than many of believer of today who claims to know God. So often we are guilty of wanting to see God’s punishment or acts of chastisement on those who’ve wronged us, forgetting that we worship a loving, merciful God who is willing to give people a long rope, demonstrating his love and patience, just as He demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate to us on a daily basis.
When we look at the above verses, it might be a good thing to stop and take a look at our own lives, both individually and as a part of The Church-at-large. Let’s ask ourselves where we stand before God. When God looks at our lives, does He see people who love and honor Him – not only in the way we talk, sing, and write but in the way we live our lives as well? Or does He see people who are so sinfully self-centered that despite all His love, grace, and mercy that He has showered on us (and continues to), we continue on in our own sinfully selfish and rebellious ways of living that are in total contrast to His divine nature and expectations of us? Have we falsely come to believe that since Jesus died for our sins, it doesn’t really matter how we live? Have we begun to take God’s grace for granted? Are our lives any better than the world around us or are we worse off than they are? Are we honoring God and giving rise to the world around us honoring Him as well, or are we dishonoring God by our lifestyles and giving cause for the world around us to blaspheme the name of God. We play a major role in the way the world sees God as we are the body of Christ here on earth and we were meant to be a reflection of Him in every way.
I believe that each one of us needs to do a Holy Spirit-led, soul-searching, and repent of our sinful ways and ask God to have mercy on us. Let’s not take God’s love, grace, and patience for granted, because if we do, we will have to face the consequences, and then we will have no one to blame, but ourselves. This need for repentance is a huge need – not so much for the world, as it is for us The Church of today.
This global pandemic has come to shake us up and wake us up as The Church, and instead of us getting lethargic and delving deeper into our sinful ways, let’s instead decide to repent and turn back to God – get back to that level of intimacy we once enjoyed with Him. It was that intimate relationship we enjoyed with God that enabled us to do what we did and live the fruitful lives we once lived. It’s what gave us our sense of identity, purpose, meaning in life, hope beyond the grave, and everything else that God intended for us to be and do. It’s never too late to repent – today is the day – we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Hebrews 3:15 says, “Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Let’s repent while we have time, knowing that we do worship a merciful, loving, forgiving, gracious God, who is willing to forgive us and restore us to that relational intimacy we once enjoyed.
God bless you and have a great day or night.
