Nineveh Believed God

March 7, 2010

Lesson: Jonah 1:1–6; 3:1–6

Key Verse: Jonah 3:5

Introduction

The Lord God of Israel spoke through Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, during the time of Jeroboam (2 Kings 14:23–25). The Lord sent his prophet to Israel that they might repent. “For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel” (2 Kings 14:26). Jonah knew what it meant to preach the Word which was given him by the Lord. He also knew that God was merciful, and he preached with the hope of Israel’s repentance and restoration. However, Israel was not repentant. Jonah’s heart must have been heavy because of Israel’s sin.

Now the Lord would have Jonah go to a heathen city, the great city of Nineveh. It had walls about 100 feet high, with bricks some 50 feet thick. It is said that if Jonah 4:11 is recording the number of children to be 120,000, then there could have been a population of 600,000. The population probably overflowed outside the city wall. Jonah also records the greatness of the city, saying that it would take three days to walk through Nineveh” (Jonah 3:3).

Jonah, a prophet of the Lord God Almighty, was called to preach to a city which the prophet thought was not worth saving. They were not of Israel but of Assyria. They were pagan in nature. What if God would do the same to Nineveh as he desired for Israel: that if they repent they would witness the great mercy of God? Jonah had to learn the depth of God’s grace that he will have mercy upon whom he chooses to have mercy.

A Great Wind: Jonah 1:1–6

The Word of the Lord came to Jonah, the word which he must bring to those to whom he is sent. Jonah was to travel the sea to the foreign land of Nineveh. There is urgency in this commission, for the wickedness of Nineveh had come before the Lord. The prophet is not to hold back in his preaching. He will cry! He will roar! He will call out with the urgency of keeping one from running off a cliff. Jonah is called to proclaim the Word of God as one summoning people to a court of the King. At this court, they will come face to face with the Lord who holds the cords of death and life.

Jonah knew what it meant to obey the will of the Lord. He knew how to preach the message of repentance. Yet he rose from that commission “to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah was not afraid to travel. Tarshish was further away than Nineveh. He was not afraid of Nineveh. He was afraid of God and what he would do. He wanted no part of this commission. He wanted no part of God’s plan for Nineveh; all this in the face of the truth that he could not escape from the presence of the Lord. We too act as fools in the presence of our Lord, acting against that which we believe in our hearts.

Jonah follows his own foolish will and goes to Joppa and finds a ship on which to sail to “Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” It is repeated again that Jonah is fleeing from the Lord’s presence. Remember this very important truth that, when we sin, when we disobey our Lord, we are running away from his presence, a presence which we cannot escape, and a presence which we really do cherish very much. Obedience should stamp this promise upon our hearts: “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at the right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). The Lord had his plan for Jonah. He would not escape his responsibility of a chosen prophet. God’s will and purpose will be done, as it is in heaven. As a teaching elder or under-shepherd of Christ, we are his chosen; not the other way around that we have chosen to serve God in these particular deeds.

The Lord sent out a “great wind into the sea.” The sailors were afraid as the ship felt like it would fall apart beneath their feet. They cried out, “every man to his god.” They tried to lighten the load by throwing cargo overboard. In the meantime, Jonah was fast asleep in the hold of the ship. The ship master soon came to Jonah, asking, “What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.” There will come a time when men will have to come before the true God and turn away from the gods who neither talk nor walk.

Discussion: From what, not who, was Jonah fleeing?

The Mercy of God: Jonah 3:1–6

“The word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” Jonah went to Nineveh, in obedience to the word of the Lord. He walked into the city, summoning them to come into the court of the Almighty God. Having heard the preaching of the word of the Lord, “the people of Nineveh believed God.” 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” (Jonah 3:10). To repent is to turn away. God did as he promised: he turned away from destroying them as they turned away from their evil ways. Was this not a judgment upon Israel who declared their union with God and yet turned away unrepentant when they heard his Word? Are we not taught to pray for God’s forgiveness as we show to others the same spirit of forgiveness (which reveals the spirit of repentance)?

It is the Lord who is most compassionate. His Word teaches us, “But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (Lam. 3:32). The Biblical word compassionate means to cherish, to love as good parents deeply love their children. It means an inmost love of the heart rooted firmly in a special bond between two people. This bond is known by the Psalmist who called upon the Lord to deliver his soul: “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful” (Psalm 116:4–5). “Like a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth (has compassion on) them that fear him” (Psalm 103:13). The prophet knows the love of God as he asks, “Who is God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity?” The answer is that he will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities: “and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18–20).

Jonah was willing to accept God’s compassion and mercy for himself and his people, but not for those across the sea. Can we really know the compassion of Christ for and in us if we do not see his compassion toward others? Remember God’s redeeming grace is in us to incite us to his redeeming grace and mercy in others; “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:8–10).

Discussion: What is the meaning of God’s compassion?

Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2010 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.