"Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.' 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he cried, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!' 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them." (Jonah 3:1-5 RSV)
A young man from a famous family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. “Bill" and his father had spent months looking at cars. The week before graduation, they found the perfect car. On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift-wrapped Bible. Bill was expecting a car, not a Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again.
It was the news of his father's death that brought Bill back home. As he sat one night going through his father's possessions that he was to inherit, he came across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier's check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.
Sometimes, life carries with it mistakes we make along the way. We live with those mistakes, those sins, those failures. When we stray down the wrong path in life, we ultimately suffer. We can hurt those who are the closest to us. Oftentimes, we hurt ourselves and our relationship with God. But God does not leave us to suffer for these mistakes forever. God gives us a way to make things right and to put those mistakes behind us. God offers to us forgiveness, a new start, peace in our hearts. All it takes is for us to give up our pride, admit our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, seek to repent, and change those things that are wrong.
In the scripture reading above, the prophet Jonah was called by God to challenge the people of the city of Nineveh. Jonah was to point out their sin and to give them a chance to repent, to change their lives, and to reach out to God asking forgiveness. Jonah, the prophet, was called by God to speak of the sin of Nineveh. Jonah had a message of doom that was to befall them for their sin. Jonah shouted out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” The people of Nineveh believed God; proclaimed a fast, and wore sackcloth as a sign of repentance, and they sought God's grace and mercy.
The people knew they had sinned. They cried out to God asking forgiveness. They did not eat. They put on sackcloth, which was rough material used during religious rites. It was a sign of repentance. They knew if they didn’t change, Jonah’s word would come true.
Have you ever noticed that when we’ve done something wrong, it’s hard to eat. You might feel nauseous or get a headache. It’s the body’s way of saying something is wrong in your life. I think when we don’t feel like eating because we’ve done something wrong that the body is telling us to make things right before pursuing our normal course in the day. In this scripture above, the people stop eating, proclaim a fast, to show they have sinned and as a sign of forgiveness. Even, our own nature makes us lean toward Godly ways and shows us we need to repent.
The news of Jonah’s proclamation reached the king of Nineveh. Now, it’s one thing for a poor person to put on poor clothes and stop eating as a sign of fasting. It’s very different for a king to do such a thing. But, in fact, the king of Nineveh does show repentance. Later in the book of Jonah, we are told that “tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” He proclaimed throughout the city: “Let neither man nor beast taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” Thus, even this great king did not feel so full of pride as to not repent of his sin. He took off his fine clothes, donned sackcloth and placed himself in ashes. The ashes were a sign of repentance. They were a sign that of mortality. From dust you came, to dust you shall return. Those ashes remind us that we were created from dust and we will go back to dust. They are reminders that in a moment, God could incinerate us. They are a reminder that God surely holds our future in his hands.
I once visited a home wherein they had a small-group Bible Study. I arrived early to talk with the homeowners for a few moments before everyone arrived. As we toured the house, we walked into the den. On the mantle of the fireplace in the den, I noticed something unusual. There was an urn, the kind that ashes are placed in from someone who’s been cremated. I asked the wife if a relative was cremated, and the ashes were in the urn. “No,” she said. I then asked why the urn was there. She told me that someday, she was going to be cremated and her ashes were to be put in that jar to be buried. I asked her why she kept the jar on the mantle. She responded with a great piece of wisdom: ”That jar reminds me that I soon will be ashes, and my life on this earth will be over. I better make sure I use the days God’s given me to make sure that while my ashes end up in the ground, my spirit ends up in heaven.” Life is short. We all need to look at each single day as a gift from God and make sure to live it rightly.
The story of Nineveh from the book of Jonah ended with good news: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it (Jonah 3:10).” God forgave the people of Nineveh and the king. Their sackcloth, their fasting, and their ashes were a sign that indeed they were sorry for their sins and desired to live rightly with God.
Today, you have a chance to be humble before God as well. You have a chance to make things right in your life. Is there a past sin lurking hidden in your heart? That sin may haunt you. Have you been blind to your sin? Isn't it better to shine a light on it, so it doesn't control you? Let your repentant heart be that sign to God that you too long to be forgiven. Say a prayer right now showing God how sorry you are. Change what is wrong. Make amends. Atone for your sin. You can be close to God again in just a few short hours, maybe even minutes or seconds. Like the people of Nineveh, if your heart is right, you too will see God’s forgiveness. You will feel God come back into your life, You will know forgiveness if you repent from a true and faithful heart. Don’t let your pride stand in the way. Without repentance, you will not feel peace again. With repentance, God removes the sin and the need for guilt and shame (See Psalm 103:12-14!). King David did it. The apostle Paul did it. Peter did it. It's your turn. Don't wait.
A young man from a famous family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. “Bill" and his father had spent months looking at cars. The week before graduation, they found the perfect car. On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift-wrapped Bible. Bill was expecting a car, not a Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again.
It was the news of his father's death that brought Bill back home. As he sat one night going through his father's possessions that he was to inherit, he came across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier's check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.
Sometimes, life carries with it mistakes we make along the way. We live with those mistakes, those sins, those failures. When we stray down the wrong path in life, we ultimately suffer. We can hurt those who are the closest to us. Oftentimes, we hurt ourselves and our relationship with God. But God does not leave us to suffer for these mistakes forever. God gives us a way to make things right and to put those mistakes behind us. God offers to us forgiveness, a new start, peace in our hearts. All it takes is for us to give up our pride, admit our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, seek to repent, and change those things that are wrong.
In the scripture reading above, the prophet Jonah was called by God to challenge the people of the city of Nineveh. Jonah was to point out their sin and to give them a chance to repent, to change their lives, and to reach out to God asking forgiveness. Jonah, the prophet, was called by God to speak of the sin of Nineveh. Jonah had a message of doom that was to befall them for their sin. Jonah shouted out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” The people of Nineveh believed God; proclaimed a fast, and wore sackcloth as a sign of repentance, and they sought God's grace and mercy.
The people knew they had sinned. They cried out to God asking forgiveness. They did not eat. They put on sackcloth, which was rough material used during religious rites. It was a sign of repentance. They knew if they didn’t change, Jonah’s word would come true.
Have you ever noticed that when we’ve done something wrong, it’s hard to eat. You might feel nauseous or get a headache. It’s the body’s way of saying something is wrong in your life. I think when we don’t feel like eating because we’ve done something wrong that the body is telling us to make things right before pursuing our normal course in the day. In this scripture above, the people stop eating, proclaim a fast, to show they have sinned and as a sign of forgiveness. Even, our own nature makes us lean toward Godly ways and shows us we need to repent.
The news of Jonah’s proclamation reached the king of Nineveh. Now, it’s one thing for a poor person to put on poor clothes and stop eating as a sign of fasting. It’s very different for a king to do such a thing. But, in fact, the king of Nineveh does show repentance. Later in the book of Jonah, we are told that “tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” He proclaimed throughout the city: “Let neither man nor beast taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” Thus, even this great king did not feel so full of pride as to not repent of his sin. He took off his fine clothes, donned sackcloth and placed himself in ashes. The ashes were a sign of repentance. They were a sign that of mortality. From dust you came, to dust you shall return. Those ashes remind us that we were created from dust and we will go back to dust. They are reminders that in a moment, God could incinerate us. They are a reminder that God surely holds our future in his hands.
I once visited a home wherein they had a small-group Bible Study. I arrived early to talk with the homeowners for a few moments before everyone arrived. As we toured the house, we walked into the den. On the mantle of the fireplace in the den, I noticed something unusual. There was an urn, the kind that ashes are placed in from someone who’s been cremated. I asked the wife if a relative was cremated, and the ashes were in the urn. “No,” she said. I then asked why the urn was there. She told me that someday, she was going to be cremated and her ashes were to be put in that jar to be buried. I asked her why she kept the jar on the mantle. She responded with a great piece of wisdom: ”That jar reminds me that I soon will be ashes, and my life on this earth will be over. I better make sure I use the days God’s given me to make sure that while my ashes end up in the ground, my spirit ends up in heaven.” Life is short. We all need to look at each single day as a gift from God and make sure to live it rightly.
The story of Nineveh from the book of Jonah ended with good news: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it (Jonah 3:10).” God forgave the people of Nineveh and the king. Their sackcloth, their fasting, and their ashes were a sign that indeed they were sorry for their sins and desired to live rightly with God.
Today, you have a chance to be humble before God as well. You have a chance to make things right in your life. Is there a past sin lurking hidden in your heart? That sin may haunt you. Have you been blind to your sin? Isn't it better to shine a light on it, so it doesn't control you? Let your repentant heart be that sign to God that you too long to be forgiven. Say a prayer right now showing God how sorry you are. Change what is wrong. Make amends. Atone for your sin. You can be close to God again in just a few short hours, maybe even minutes or seconds. Like the people of Nineveh, if your heart is right, you too will see God’s forgiveness. You will feel God come back into your life, You will know forgiveness if you repent from a true and faithful heart. Don’t let your pride stand in the way. Without repentance, you will not feel peace again. With repentance, God removes the sin and the need for guilt and shame (See Psalm 103:12-14!). King David did it. The apostle Paul did it. Peter did it. It's your turn. Don't wait.