#DailyDevotion Would You Repent?
Jon. 3 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and preach to it what I will tell you.” 3Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the LORD told him. Nineveh was a great city before God, a three-days’ walk. 4Jonah started to go into the city a day’s walk, and preached and said: “Forty days yet, and Nineveh will be destroyed.”
Having been delivered alive unto the shore by the LORD, He comes to Jonah a second time with the same command as before, “Go to Nineveh and preach what I tell you.” Nineveh was a great city. It was founded by Nimrod (yes that Nimrod). It was a three day walk. Some debate what that means. Some think it took three days to walk around it. Nineteenth century scholars and those that followed doubted the size of it. New archaeological digs now confirm the size of it. For not only was there the city proper with its walls, but it had suburbs as well, like many modern cities. It was great also because the population was great. The LORD didn’t want to kill that many people for their wickedness. He would prefer they repent and live—this is always the case with the LORD. This is why He is sending the prophet in the first place.
So Jonah went into the city a day’s walk and preached, “Forty days yet, and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Forty. That’s a nice biblical number. In Noah’s time it rained for forty days. The Israelites roamed wilderness forty years until the unbelieving generation died out. Moses was on the mountain forty days and nights on the mountain, twice, talking with the LORD. Jesus fasted for forty days while being tempted in the wilderness. There’s a whole lot more of forty in the Bible. Anyway, the LORD is giving them forty day to hear the message of destruction coming upon them because of their wickedness. That’s plenty o f time for Jonah to preach throughout the city and for its inhabitants to spread the word. We would probably think he is a kook today. Would we listen? Would we repent of our sins? The LORD is manifesting to the world daily His call to us to repent. Fire, hail, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, terrorist attacks, and wars are all there calling us to repent of our sins daily. Are we repenting of our sins daily? In Revelation, it says all these things happened and the people did not repent. Do you repent when you see these things happening?
5Then the men of Nineveh believed God and announced a fast and dressed in sackcloth from the greatest to the least.
Well, the men of Nineveh believed God. This was a great gift of God to them that they would believe His message and repent. They announced a fast and dressed in sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least. You know, rich and poor, powerful and weak, they all started fasting and wearing the traditional clothing for mourning. This wasn’t just an outward show but outwardly showing an inner condition. Yes, I know, Jesus said to anoint your face and smile while you are fasting. He was correcting the hypocrital fasting of His day which had no heart to it. It was all for show. If your heart is in it and you aren’t doing it for show the LORD accepts it. People today could just as well be condemned by Jesus by their proudly not putting on sackcloth and ashes for a show. They were grieved to the heart. Do your sins grieve your heart or do you just dismiss them because you heard they were forgiven? Do you think lightly of your sins because you heard they were forgiven or do you understand how horrific they are having been forgiven? Do you turn away from your sins or use forgiveness as an excuse to continue?
Merciful God and Father, grant us the gift of repentance so we can see our sins rightly and turn from them to Your Son, Jesus Christ, where there is forgiveness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.