As a child, I learned a song that goes like this, “Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe. Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily. Action is the key do it immediately, joy you will receive. Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.” It is encouraging to read that when God gave Jonah a second chance, that time he obeyed!
Transition
As we examine Jonah’s Obedience, we will note Jonah’s Reply, Nineveh’s Response, and God’s Reaction. As we do, we will find several present-day applications.
Jonah’s Reply (v.1-4)
- God again commanded Jonah to preach (v.1-2)
- As we compare Jon 1:2 with Jon 3:2, we see that God had not changed His orders. His command was still the same. God still cared about the Ninevehites and He wanted Jonah to warn them of coming judgment.
- God’s command still had three parts.
- Arise – quit what you are doing and get ready.
- Go unto Nineveh – that heathen city far north
- Preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee
☆ This is much like the command Jesus left with Christians just before He returned to heaven. (Mark 16:15) “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Though Jesus gave that command to Christians nearly 2,000 years ago, the command has not changed for us today. If you are a Christian, you have a message to preach to unbelievers. If we do not seek to witness regularly, we are no better than Jonah when he fled to Tarshish.
- Jonah obeyed
- He arose without delay or excuse (v.3)
- He went to Nineveh just as God commanded
- Nineveh was an exceeding great city. One historian claims that the walls of the city were 30 metres high and wide enough for three chariots to travel on top side by side. He claims that the city had 1500 high towers on the wall and that the wall was about 100 km long around the city. (JFB Commentary)
- It was a city of three day’s journey. No one knows for sure what this means. It could mean it took that long to walk around the city wall. It more likely means that it took three days to wander through the main streets to preach this warning.
- Jonah cried out and announced God’s coming judgment (v.4). Read the message! Did Jonah preach this message with compassion? His displeased response in Jonah 4:1 suggests that he was looking forward to the coming judgment. Even after spending three days and nights in the big fish, Jonah still does not appear to have any compassion for the Ninevites. He obeyed God but he did not share God’s heart for these people.
☆ It is easy for us to lack compassion for the lost around us. We see their ungodliness and wicked lifestyles, and we forget that if it were not for God’s saving grace, we would be just like them. (1 Corinthians 6:9) “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” We forget that God loves sinners though He hates their sin. (John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We must pray that God will give us a passion for souls.
Nineveh’s Response (v.5-9)
- The people believed (v.5)
- Jonah’s preaching reached into their hearts and brought the fear of God in their lives. They believed and their belief changed their actions.
- They fasted and put on sackcloth. Sackcloth was a course, rough, thick fabric that was used for making storage bags. It was uncomfortable to wear as clothing. Fasting and wearing sackcloth showed humility and sorrow.
- They all believed – great and small. This was a great revival.
☆ Multitudes today claim that they have believed on the Lord and are Christians, yet their lives show little or no change. They live like unbelievers. They talk like unbelievers. They watch the same entertainment and listen to the same music as unbelievers. They dress like unbelievers. Something is wrong! If you claim to be a Christian yet God has not changed your life, you need to examine your faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5)“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
- The king believed (v.6-9)
- He rose from his throne. He did not ignore the news. The news of God’s coming judgment struck fear in his heart as well.
- He took off his kingly robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. Sitting in ashes was another symbol of humble mourning and sorrow.
- He decreed that all his people and even their animals must become humble before God.
- He ordered everyone to pray mightily for God’s mercy.
- He believed that through change, humility, and prayer, God may turn away His anger and spare the city (v.9).
☆ Though Jonah preached God’s word without compassion, God’s word did a mighty work in the hearts of the wicked people of Nineveh. We must remember that God’s word is powerful. (Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It can break the hardest of hearts. (Jeremiah 23:29) Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Our words cannot save, but God’s Word can. (1 Peter 1:23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. The word of God builds faith in unbelieving hearts. (Romans 10:17) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We must be sure to use the Bible when we witness. Quote helpful verses. God’s Word is powerful.
God’s Reaction (v.10)
- God saw the response of the Ninevites
- He saw their works (sackcloth, fasting, sitting in ashes)
- He saw that they turned from evil way.
- Were these people truly converted to faith in God? Some may have just obeyed the king’s command, but evidently many of them truly turned to God. If this was not true, why would have God changed His plans? They might fool men, but no one ever fools God. (Psalms 44:21) Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. No one can hide his true feelings from God. He knows every thought and intent of the heart (Heb 4:12).
- God repented of the evil he had planned
- Repent means to change one’s mind. God changed His mind because sinners humbled themselves before Him.
- God did not send the planned judgment.
☆ Though God is holy and hates sin, He does not want any sinner to perish in hell. Instead, He wants all to come to repentance – a change of mind about their sin and need for God’s salvation. (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Conclusion
Because God loved the people of Nineveh and did not want them to perish, He commanded Jonah to preach His warning to them. The same is true for us today. God does not want anyone in our world to perish either and He has commanded Christians to preach the gospel to them. It is our duty! If you lack compassion, remember that if you had not been saved, you too would be living a wicked life and heading for hell. Remember that God’s Word is powerful. It is like a hammer. It is alive and gives life. Hearing it builds faith. If you are not the witness you ought to be, then ask God to help you speak out for Him.
Like the people of Nineveh, if you claim to be a Christian your life ought to be changed. You ought to have a new life in Christ with new desires for the things of God. If not, examine your soul.
Song: Give Me a Passion for Souls – 306
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Jonah’s Obedience
6 December 2015 AM – Jonah 3:1-10 – Jonah2015 – Scott Childs