Nineveh
Open Your Bible
Jonah 3:1-10, Joel 2:13, Nahum 3:1-7, Jeremiah 18:7-10
BY Rebecca Faires
Text: Jonah 3:1-10, Joel 2:13, Nahum 3:1-7, Jeremiah 18:7-10
This is part of a 7-day series on Jonah in the Lent 2016 reading plan.
Nineveh was the worst.
A chief city in the already brutal and wicked Assyrian empire, Nineveh removed the noses and ears of their prisoners to mark and maim them for life. And like most Mesopotamian civilizations, their culture was immoral and generally terrifying—temple prostitution, child sacrifice, abortion, and infanticide.
I love my ears and nose, so I understand why Jonah didn’t want to go.
These are the people who heard God’s call to repentance. These brutal eye-gougers! The Ninevites listened to Jonah and to God. And they repented. They stopped, stripped off their clothes, rubbed their faces in the fireplace, and gave up eating. They were desperate to get God’s attention.
And they did get His attention. God had mercy on even these most wicked people. They didn’t know how wrong they were until God arrested them in their sin. But this is a story only marginally about about the repentant Ninevite hearts, and centrally about God’s mercy and forgiveness.
God knew the depth of their sin, and used Jonah to deliver a call to repentance. Astonishingly, the Ninevites listened, repented, and began fasting.
Fasting hurts: that painful ache in the stomach is hard to ignore. It’s tangible and practical repentance, and repentance must change how we live our lives. We turn from the things that give us false comfort, and only have God.
For the Ninevites, fasting meant giving up their means of power and energy, and depending on God alone for power in a very real way. They humbled themselves publicly and didn’t hold back for pride or fear of what others would think. Even the king—who held an almost god-like status in the culture and had everything to lose—humbled himself, bowing before the one true God. It was a culture-wide repentance, extending from the greatest to the least.
Their repentance was not chiefly about their emotions, how sorry they felt, but about casting themselves wholly upon God’s mercy. It wasn’t about what they could bring to the table. Rather, they said, “Who knows? God may turn and relent” (Jonah 3:9). They recognized that repentance is about what God is doing, not what we can do.
Mercy is not a matter of merit; it is gift from God.
Genuine repentance is a tangible 180-degree turn of the heart. In Jonah’s case, he made a literal about-face—repenting, turning, and traveling on in the opposite direction. God said, “‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command” (Jonah 3:2-3).
Even though Nineveh was awful by any standard, God had mercy on them. I would’ve stubbornly agreed with Jonah that they were just too far-gone. But God’s grace and mercy reach even the blackest hearts.
I’m with Paul, who claimed himself as the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). I don’t gouge eyes out, yet pride, envy, and wrath are always within arm’s reach for me. “But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).
The story of Nineveh’s repentance is about God’s perfect patience, His deep mercy, and His profound forgiveness. Thanks be to God.
62 thoughts on "Nineveh"
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Sorry, I am thinking about my heart today. But God, in his mercy saw fit and sees fit to cover me.
it’s about pride and comparison, how can I ,think I am better than someone else if my sin is inward sin, and his sin is outward sin. It is all sin and it separates me from God. I want to have a heart like
Jesus. I want to see how you love each of us. I want to cast off fear of not enough, to God’s enough
for each of us. I am over whelmed by his love today and He continues to rescue me.
I am blessed by SRT, and the honesty I see. -
The sins of pride and wrath, (among others)these are what I am needing to repent of and struggle with,everyday. I am so truly thankful for his patience with me, everyday.
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In reading today’s passage, I can’t help but to think of the state of the world we live in today and how this message can be seen in today’s times. We are living in a society of Nineveh in current times. Hate is spewed as the norm on a day to day. My heart aches for the world we live in so, image how our creature feels. My prayer today is that we all bow down and humble ourselves before it’s too late. As God user Jonah, I pray that he uses me and other believers to take a stance to spread his word to change our world for the better. Allows us to unite and turn from the hateful and sinful ways so, he will have mercy on us. I pray that I will listen to the lord when he talks to me and follow suit even when it may seem impossible to overcome. If I repent he will relent!!!
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Well said. Amen
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Amen!
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Blessed to tears this morning by these chosen Scriptures and Rebecca’s devotion. So much to ponder. SRT, I look forward to my early morning time with you all every day because you take me deep and you lift me up. I appreciate my Lord and the body of believers more and more because of what you do here. I know that I was Nineveh (not eye-gouging but a sinner nevertheless). BUT praise God, through Jesus I am lost no more. Blessed and on my knees by the thought!
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Amen amen and amen!!
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I am blessed by your articulate response as well. AMEN and AMEN
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Amen…my sweet sister…
God be with you..
Sending you hugs wrapped in love…xx
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“The story of Nineveh’s repentance is about God’s perfect patience, His deep mercy, and His profound forgiveness. Thanks be to God.”
This part hit me. I’ve always thought of the story of Jonah as a story about Jonah, or secondarily about the Ninevites…but never really thought of it as a story about God. GOD working in and through Jonah to bring him to a place of desperation and repentance and whole-hearted running after God. GOD working in the Ninevites to show them mercy when they realized the depths of their sin and repented before God. It’s a great reminder of the thread of redemption He is weaving throughout all of history, and Jonah and the Ninevites simply had the privilege of having their little part of the story written down as an example of what God can do when hearts are changed. Thanks be to God indeed! -
Did you realize that there was one word recurring in nearly each passage? Relenting. This was interesting to me, cause in my German bible all those passages have the word “regretting”. And this is what I was always told and never quite understood – that God regretted his words. But relenting is quite something different (correct me if I´m wrong): it´s a deliberate step towards somebody to meet their need. This makes me see all those well-known passages in a different light.
What an enrichment to read and discuss God´s word in another language! :)
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… and it makes me rethink my own conduct – am I willing to relent like He does or am I insisting on having my way?
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…”am I willing to relent like He does or am I insisting on having my way?”. Thank you, this has spoken to my heart, feeling quite convicted.
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me too!
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Thanks for that comment. I agree, Marianne. There are times when I am confused by something in the Bible, especially in my recent Bible study. It may not strike me quite right the way it reads…and that is the key…the translation. If I do a little research, especially as to what the original word was and meant, I can usually resolve that conflict and gain an even deeper understanding. Reading different versions helps me also pin point where I am confused! Thanks for reminding me of this! I know God has a plan for all of us, so if we search, we will start to understand what He is trying to tell us.
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But this is a story only marginally about about the repentant Ninevite hearts, and centrally about God’s mercy and forgiveness….
Amen…Amen…Amen.
What absolute truth…the Ninevites chose that way of life..they chose to be like that…But God…Oh But God…He went even further and beyond to give them yet another chance at repenting…another chance at being His people, another chance at living the life He would have them live…
What a gracious God. What a loving God. I’ll say it again, What a loving God..
And as to the forgiveness of those awful, awful things they had been doing, ugh, it takes a Mighty, Loving, Merciful God to forgive, and forgive He did…
This Matt Redman song came to mind…
You alone can rescue…here’s the link.http://youtu.be/Mgl_GWeHO-kPraising and thanking you Lord God that ONLY you can save, only you can rescue, thank you that it is only in YOU that we find the freedom to be the people you call us to be…and that it is never too late because you Lord God, would go even further to save us and bring us back to you…Thank you Lord God..Thank you, in the life giving name of Jesus, I pray…Amen.
Ladies, praying the Lord God turn His face to shine on you today with grace, peace, and love in abundance…Amen.
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I love your thoughts, Tina. I love how no one is too far gone for God to save. He saves us all out of the ugliness of our sin.
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And if no one is too far off, then certainly not my ‘non-christian’ friends who do ‘nothing wrong’ (at least from their point of view). I might feel like it’s a waste of time trying to be a light in their life, but, if the ninevites can repent, then surely they can. It reminds me not to give up just because I feel like they are not ‘interested’ (yet?)
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“I don’t gouge eyes out, yet pride, envy, and wrath are always within arm’s reach for me.’ But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life’” (1 Timothy 1:16)
Reading this was such a powerful moment for me. The Lord continues to teach me humility and leave me in awe of His mercy. Jonah, Nineveh, myself, *everyone*, we’ve all fallen short of God. In His eyes we are equal. And yet He made us for our distinct, unique purpose. The extreme experiences I’ve had have given me lessons most others are never taught; a view that comes from being in that desperate last place with only God.
I feel a sense of oneness with Peter. We are the epitome of change, the epitome of what God can accomplish. Every day, we all have the opportunity to lay ourselves down to God and do His will. We have the utter privilege to breathe His name, to praise Him, to repent in Him, to have our sins cleansed by *His* sacrifice, and even still, we can pray for help! It’s an unfathomable amount of love I doubt I’ll ever understand. We are all so blessed.
Praying for all of you. A big thank you to the ones who read this, and to ladies behind She Reads Truth for providing the material and opportunity to share our thoughts on this platform. God bless!
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to *the ladies
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amen
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Such great words. Every day we have the opportunity to Lau ourselves down to God and do His will.
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Sorry I can’t see what I type until it posts. Know that your words are being savor rd by me today.
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Great words, I can identify. God bless you
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