Imagine that the Lord was calling you as a missionary to the last place on earth that you would want to go to. What would be going through your mind and how would you expect people to respond? What dangers, difficulties and frustrations might you encounter along the way? In your mind, have you already written them off? Do you think they deserve to hear the gospel preached? And when you arrive, will that day be the last day of the rest of your life?
The God of the second chance
Jim Elliot risked it all for the Lord. Jim and his friends reached out to the Auca Indians and were martyred almost immediately. Amazingly, Elizabeth Elliot extended astonishing grace giving the Auca Indians a second chance. Elizabeth and her friends returned, remained and ministered and some were brought to faith in the Lord.
Don Richardson served and lived amongst the hostile tribes of Papua, Indonesia. When they heard of Judas betraying our Lord, the Sawi were impressed, not horrified! “The highest ideal was to ‘fatten a victim with friendship’ before taking his head in treachery and feasting on him.”[i] Don’s books include ‘Peace Child’, ‘Lords of the Earth’, ‘Eternity in their hearts’ and other titles. To resolve blood feuds, two tribes would exchange two children from the respective tribes, which were known as a ‘peace child’, which Don used as a springboard to share the gospel with them. The Lord made a way where it seemed impossible and thereafter some came to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Matthew Henry wrote, “God’s servants must go where He sends them, come when He calls them and do what He bids them; Jonah faithfully and boldly delivered his errand.”[ii]
Recently in their era, the Ninevites had experienced two plagues (765 BC) and a total eclipse of the sun (763 BC). Also, Jonah had been residing in the belly of the great fish for three days. The Ninevites worshipped Dagon, the fish god and some commentators note that the acid may have bleached Jonah, dramatically altering his appearance and especially his face. So in addition to these tumultuous events, they now had a sign from God and a prophet came by a great fish, preaching repentance!
The Lord graciously came to Jonah the second time. Our Lord is the God of the second chance. If the book of Jonah were portrayed as a film, chapter 3 verse 1-2 is a second take of chapter 1 verse 1-2. Sadly, sometimes we learn the hard way and we never gain anything by disobeying the Lord. It is the height of folly to chart our own course in life and merely attempt to shoehorn God’s plans into our plans. Sometimes we miss an opportunity to share the gospel. In our minds, we sometimes rewind the situation and wish we could have said something else at the opportune moment. Thank the Lord that He is the God of the second chance and that if we are willing, He will use us again for His glory.
The gospel is shared worldwide
At other times we want to go somewhere, or do something and the motive is right, yet God closes the door. But as God closes one door, He is abundantly able to open another door. Think of how the gospel came to Europe. Paul and Silas wanted to venture to Galatia. Their desires were not ungodly, but the Spirit forbade them. They also wanted to head for Bithynia, but again, the Spirit forbade them.
A vision appeared to Paul in the night involving a man from Macedonia. The message was simple, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9). Immediately, they sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord called them to preach the gospel there. Are you glad that Paul and Silas obeyed? I certainly am because the gospel came to Europe. Preaching the gospel matters, evangelism matters and one on one conversations have everlasting implications.
Are you glad that Philip ran and caught up with the Ethiopian eunuch, to a man who was of great authority and came and sat with him in his chariot and explained Isaiah 53 to him (Acts 8:26-40). This man had come to Jerusalem to worship, probably to celebrate one of the great feasts, possibly Pesach (Passover). Philip preached Yeshua (Jesus) to him. Are you glad that Philip was immediately obedient? The eunuch was serving Queen Candace of Ethiopia and was returning from Jerusalem. Consider Philip’s witness for Ethiopia and the gospel coming to the continent of Africa. How vital it is that we obey the Lord the first time and that we go where He sends us. Jonah was sent as a prophet to the Gentiles and as he engaged with the Assyrians, he was way out of his comfort zone!
Preaching to Nineveh
So Jonah returned the second time and was instructed to preach the message that God had given him. What did he preach? “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4). In view of who he was speaking with, there may have been a temptation to water down the message. He might have wanted to soften the preaching, so that his life would be preserved. How careful we must be to follow Scripture and proclaim the message that God has given us.
But in the interim, Jonah had seen the Lord’s power, precise timing and control of the sea and His creation. He had seen the transformation in the sailors who now feared God exceedingly. There would be no money required for the return journey, courtesy of an underwater taxi! Jonah had learnt that we make our plans, though the Lord directs our paths.
Three times Nineveh is described as a ‘great city’ and on one occasion, ‘an exceeding great city’. The three days journey is emphasised. The liberals contend the length of the city and the journey. Little was known of Nineveh until 1845,when Austen Henry Layard excavated the city.
In Layard’s book ‘Nineveh and it’s Remains’ without proper materials it was almost impossible to move gigantic lions and other colossal sculptures.[iii] Ropes in the country were not sufficient to support the considerable weight and so he sawed off the sculptures.[iv] Layard used levers of wood and utilised marble cutters from Mosul, nearby in Iraq.[v] Much of the Assyrian Galleries in the British Museum are due to the ingenuity of Austen Henry Layard.
But what of the size of Nineveh and the three-day journey? What has been uncovered? Nineveh is around sixty miles in circumference, allowing 20 miles per day and not necessarily travelled in a straight-line, fits with the biblical account. The inner part of the city is smaller, but passing through many nearby settlements, this is feasible.
“Jonah’s statement is confirmed by heathen writers, who describe Nineveh as 480 stadia in circumference (Diodorus Siculus, 2.3). Herodotus defines a day’s journey to be 150 stadia; so three days’ journey will not be much below Diodorus’ estimate.”[vi]
“Jonah (ch. 4.11) mentions the children as numbering 120,000 which would give about a million to the whole population.”[vii]
“It might be termed a “garden city”; for it enclosed both gardens and pastures, thus providing food for both man and beast within its walls.[viii]Williams additionally notes that more recent surveys as well as the ancient historians Siculus and Herodotus also support the record in Jonah 3:3[ix]
The Ninevites were given forty days to repent and this reminds me of Moses intercession for Israel after the Golden Calf incident (Deuteronomy 9:17-29). Moses’ face shone and it is likely that Jonah’s visual appearance was noticeable too. They were God’s mouthpiece who heard from God, urging the Assyrians to repent and trust in Him. They were granted forty days to repent and that put everything that they knew into perspective. If you had forty days to live, or until God’s judgement, how would that affect the way that you live your life now?
The people of Nineveh believed God. But what does it mean to believe in the Lord? After all, James tells us that the demons believe that God exists, yet they tremble (James 2:19). The writer to the Hebrews informs us that we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The believer is not merely agreeing with facts about God but is actively trusting in the Lord for salvation.
What does true repentance look like? From the greatest to the least, they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth. They humbled themselves. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:10). They had re-ordered their priorities and would turn to God and cry out to Him. It was remarkable to see a widespread repentance from a city! The gospel is a great leveller of all people and we will all die and we will all meet God. We will all stand before the Judgement of God and give an account of our lives. It is ludicrous to sit on the fence or put off trusting in the Lord. Who knows what will happen in forty days’ time?
Praying for rulers and those in authority
Notice the king of Nineveh repented. This is astonishing concerning Assyria’s history and the likes of Shalmaneser V, Tiglath Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon who are mentioned in Scripture. We are instructed to pray for kings and for those in authority in 1 Timothy 2 and this should encourage us. Remember the Babylonian and Persian kings. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled but then he glorified God. Later Darius would proclaim that the Lord is the living God and His dominion shall endure to the end. Cyrus was God’s servant who the Lord used to enable the Jewish people to return to their homeland. Ahasuerus (Xerxes) listened to Queen Esther and the Jewish people survived despite Haman’s plans.
How important it is that we pray regularly for our rulers and those in authority. “The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water, He turns it, wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)Does biblical history and Solomon’s advice, encourage you to pray often for our leaders? The king of Nineveh hoped the Lord would turn from His fierce anger so that he might not perish.
Who is on the throne?
How did the king repent? He got off his throne and we also need to get off our thrones too. I give out stacks of ‘Knowing God Personally’ booklets[x] and on the centre page there are two pictures. On the left side, there is an illustration of self upon the throne and Messiah is outside this person’s life. This is a self-directed person because self is on the throne and Jesus is outside this person’s life. People like this have never trusted in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. They remain guilty and cut off from God by their sin.
But on the right side of the centre page, everything is the opposite since a change has occurred in that person’s life and now the Lord is on the throne. The self is now trusting in Jesus as Lord and Messiah and that person has been forgiven and reconciled to God. That is also a useful and an effective means to help us trust God rather than ourselves. The problem can be diagnosed a long, long way back. Consider Satan’s lofty ambition to be on the throne and exalt his throne above the stars of God (Isaiah 14: 13).
Those who are not trusting in the Lord, do not want to leave their thrones. It is as futile as a toddler throwing out their toys from the throne of their highchair! The king of Nineveh lay aside his robe and covered himself in sackcloth and ashes. Our Lord is able to remove our filthy garments and replace them with a robe of righteousness. Make no mistake in that we have no righteousness of our own and we cannot make ourselves righteous. We only stand righteous before God when His righteousness is imputed to us having believed and received Him.
Genuine repentance
Who was the king of Nineveh? Probably Ashur-dan III who reigned from 772-755 BC. We know little of him, but during his reign, two plagues and an eclipse of the sun came before Jonah’s arrival to Nineveh. The king published and proclaimed his decree throughout Nineveh audibly and in writing. Everyone, even the beasts, herds and flocks would cease to eat or drink water. Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth Of God. Only our Lord can give people living water, so that they will never thirst again.
Consider at the language employed in Jonah 3:8. “cry mightily to God.” Do we do that? My old Bible lecturer recalled his mother crying out to the Lord for him to be saved in the early hours of the morning. That is what seeking God looks like. They cried mightily to God and they pleaded to Him. How rare it is to find preachers plead and implore their audience to trust in the living God. The king of Nineveh recognised their evil ways. Just for a moment suppose that you are about to approach Nineveh. Most likely your stomach would turn at the grisly sight of heads impaled on spears and piles of skulls stacked at the entrance as a warning.
A question is asked, “Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” (Jonah 3:9), yet there remains a glimmer of hope. We see that there was repentance, fasting and God’s character is revealed as gracious and merciful (cf. Joel 2:12-14). So we see two sides of the same coin. The anger of the Lord is fierce; He is indescribably holy and just and we must avoid His wrath. Yet He is also gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and He relented from judgement.
We can derive encouragement from the closing verse in this chapter. “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10)
With respect of why the Lord relented, Jeremiah 18:5-11 aids our understanding. “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” ’ ”
This helps us to understand God’s actions and character and gives us both clarity and hope. This gives us confidence to pray and make petitions to the Lord and continue serving Him. Our Lord hears instantly, acts mercifully and justly in His perfect timing. Our God is the God of the second chance and by His mercies we are not consumed. How vital it is that we preach the gospel, reach the unreached and that we continue to pray for them.
[i] Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird December 17th, 2021 Don & Carol Richardson’s Peace Child Light Magazine Inspiring faith for every day life https://lightmagazine.ca/don-carol-richardsons-peace-child/
[ii] Matthew Henry Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Moody Press, Chicago), p642
[iii] Austen Henry Layard Nineveh and its Remains (Pantianos Classics, First Published in 1848; p84
[iv] Ibid, p84
[v] Ibid, p84
[vi] Jamieson, Faussett & Brown Jamieson, Fausett & Brown’s Commentary (Zondervan, 1961; Grand Rapids), p808
[vii] Ibid, p809
[viii] George Williams Williams’ Complete Bible Commentary (Kregel, 1994; Grand Rapids), p656
[ix] Ibid, 656
[x] Knowing God Personally https://agape.org.uk/knowing-god-personally/
