Verses 1-2 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
God’s patience and longsuffering is huge. Instead of judging and condemning and punishing Jonah for his disobedience, He just basically says, “Let’s try it again, Jonah. Get up and go.” And when Jonah finally arrives at Nineveh, God would tell him what to preach. He didn’t even have to prepare a sermon. He just had to listen and do what God commanded him to do.
Application: God will never command His children to perform a task that they are not able to perform. God knows each believer’s abilities and He will not ask a believer to do that which he cannot accomplish and so fail. And the Holy Ghost/Spirit is always present to direct the believer’s words and actions. It is simple. Just do what God commands and all will be well.
Verses 3-4 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
This time Jonah is obedient. He had lost everything in the storm: money, possessions, spare clothing. All he had was the clothes on his back, so his needs would have to be provided through faith by the LORD. It is not known how far Jonah was from Nineveh when he was vomited up by the fish. Perhaps God directed the fish to swim to Nineveh’s general location. Regardless, the journey by foot would allow Jonah plenty of quiet time to dwell upon the recent events and to really get his heart right with the LORD before starting his preaching ministry.
Nineveh was a big city and it took three days to walk through it, so Jonah had a lot of open-air preaching to perform. So on his first day in the city after walking through it for most of the day, Jonah would have seen and experienced the wickedness that God wanted him to preach against. So he warned the people that they had forty days before Nineveh, as they knew it, would come to an end. There would be a doomsday event sent from God.
Verses 5-6 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
It was amazing that the people of Nineveh listened, believed, and responded immediately to the Words of God as spoken by the prophet Jonah. Jonah’s preaching caused a city-wide repentance so that everyone, from the king to the children, fasted and dressed in sackcloth, some sitting in ashes as a demonstration of their mourning and commitment to change. When denying themselves food and wearing sacking material that was very uncomfortable, all the people were at the same level in appearance and behavior before God Almighty: no difference in gender, age, position or wealth. They were all sinners in need of repentance and salvation. This would have been an amazing event to witness.
Application: The people of Nineveh were unbelievers and yet they listened to the warning from God, applied it to their lives, and repented. Converted Christian believers can often become complacent in their walk with God and so fail so see that there are areas that need improvement in their lives. Reading Scripture daily exposes believers to the stories of people from the past who had lessons to learn or who refused to learn those lessons and suffered the consequences of their sins. Believers should never read these stories as merely historical or entertaining events, but should apply them to their lives if they are relevant, take them to heart, and repent. Believers should examine themselves daily and fix anything that is wrong in their lives so that nothing can interfere in their relationship with the LORD God Almighty. The enemy, Satan and his fallen angels, only need a small foothold to enter into a believer’s life.
Verses 7-9 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
The king of Nineveh issued a decree or an official order for a fast that included the livestock or animals of the city. This was a serious event. Again, the wearing of sackcloth for both people and animals physically and symbolically separated the body from the things of the world. There would be no status based on attire. Everyone would be equal, including the animals, as they were all going without food or water. There would be no jewelry or other adornments. There would be just the real person to cry out to the LORD for mercy and to turn away from evil. If overrun by an enemy or destroyed by the power of God, the people would lose everything they valued. By lowering or humbling themselves before the LORD they demonstrated that they were doing an “about face” and going in the opposite way towards righteousness.
Verse 10 And 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)
God repented or changed His mind regarding destroying Nineveh and so, against the prophet Jonah’s wishes, He did not destroy the city and the people dwelling in it.
Application: Nineveh, because of its sin and violence, deserved to be destroyed by a righteous God. Every living man or woman also deserves to be destroyed by God because of the sin in their lives and because of their rejection and rebellion against the LORD God Almighty. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23 It is only because of His mercy, grace, and love for His created beings that sinful man continues to live on this Earth. So just as God provided the prophet Jonah to preach the Gospel to the people of Nineveh, He in the fulness of time provided His Son, Jesus Christ, to preach the Gospel and to be a sacrifice for the remission of mankind’s sins. Just as Jonah, although reluctantly, showed the people of Nineveh a way to salvation, so Jesus Christ showed/shows and provided/provides a way to salvation for every living man or woman who will humble themselves and accept His gift of forgiveness, remission of sins, and eternal life.
Application: The city of Nineveh’s repentance caused God to refrain from destroying it. The church establishment today teaches and preaches the love of God, but often fails to instruct their congregations about the full character of God. He judges, He punishes, and He destroys wickedness. Christian believers should not test Him by willfully sinning and expecting automatic forgiveness all the time. He has limits to His mercy and grace. He knows the hearts of men and women and their motives. No one can hide from His power and His sovereignty. All believers need a healthy fear of His power and might.