GO THERE AND SPREAD MY WORD
Jonas 3 : 1-10
Key verse 3 :2
God gave Jonas a second chance to
accomplish his mission which entailed telling the inhabitants of Ninive to
repent. By denying himself, Jonas' message
bore a lot of fruits.
1.
Go there and spread the Word (1-6)
Ninive was the capital of the enemy's
country. How can one love the inhabitants of Ninive ? However, that was
the condition of God's heart towards them. After his repentance, Jonas was saved
from the fish's stomach and he was convicted that God forgave him. Moved by
God's grace, Jonas obeyed God's ordered and He took off joyfully. During one
day Jonas preached the message of repentance. His message was very powerful.
The result was remarkable because the inhabitants of Ninive, who were
idolaters, abandonned their idols and started believing in God. It was not a
simple matter of wanting to believe in Him but it was a national call for
repentance. All of the citizens covered themselves with sackcloth as this act
was symbolic for penitence. This information even reached the King who swapped
his royal garments for sackcloth .
2.
Who knows if God might… (7-10)
The King then made a decree calling for
a national day of fasting. Therefore all of the inhabitants of Ninive and even
the animals neither ate nor drank anything in order to express their profond
penitence. All of creation suffers because of man's sins. That's the Apostle
Paul's theology. The animals in Assyria were suffering as a result of their
owners sins. They repented as well by covering themselves in sackcloth and by
shouting towards God. However, only man is reponsible for changing his ways
before God. Every man, animals not included as they are without sin, came back
to God and turned away from his sinful ways. The decree is verse 9 seems a bit
weird. However, it clearly shows at what point the Assyrians were desperate for
God's help. « Who knows if God might… »This is the desperate cry of a
hopeless man standing who is awaiting God's judgement. God saw their sincere repentance and He changed
his mind. He decided to no longer judge the city. Therefore, we see how God
blesses the penitent heart and the fruits of repentance that it bears.
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