Nineveh will be ‘Overturned’
Dr. James Smith
Jonah 3
17 October 2004
When we last left Jonah, we found that he had finished his downward descent into sin and was kept alive in the midst of the confines of death.
One might even suggest that the fish, which was more obedient and faithful to God than the prophet, found Jonah to be an “indigestible burden” and so at the command of the Lord, it gladly “vomited” up Jonah onto “terra firma.”
Over the course of chapters 1 & 2, Jonah experienced first hand, “that you can run from God, but you can never hide from God” and that in spite of ourselves, we serve a God who gives “2nd chances.”
This brings us to yet further ironies found in chapter 3.
Chapter 3 actually begins the 2nd scene found in the book of Jonah, and you will notice that same word from the Lord that began the book in chapter 1 is repeated at the beginning of chapter 3. (See bulletin handout).
After his spiraling descent to near death, Jonah is once again called to “arise, go and proclaim” God’s word to the Ninevites.
God’s 2nd call on Jonah, reasserts His divine authority over his rather unwilling prophet. In fact, one doesn’t have to read too far into chapter 3 to realize that Jonah is only partially obedient to the Lord.
While he physically goes to Nineveh, his heart is far from truly submitting to the will and purposes of God.
After all, verse 3 says that Nineveh was a very “important” or “great” city to God, depending upon your English translation.
In fact, the “greatness” of the city in relation to God, suggests that it is a large city that the Lord claims ownership over and cares for, unlike Jonah.
So Jonah grudgingly obeys God, but his heart is still not moved by the heavenly father’s concern for both his as well as the city’s well being.
In fact, Jonah reminds me a lot of “Spanky” in the old black and white re-runs of “The Little Rascals.”
I remember in one short, there was a scene where Spanky was at the breakfast table with his parents. He refused to eat his oatmeal until his father put his foot down and said, “Spanky, you’re going to eat your oatmeal and you’re going to like it!”
Spanky glumly recognized the authority and power of his father, but defiantly replied, “I’ll eat my oatmeal, but I’m not going to like it!”
And so Jonah who had been “spanked” in chapter 2, shows how the power struggle continues as he arrives in Nineveh and proclaims only 5 brief words (in Hebrew) to the people there. “40 more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
There are several things we should notice about Jonah’s short proclamation.
The first is that this is one of the shortest prophetic utterances in the whole Old Testament. The second is that it doesn’t begin with the standard prophetic formula, “Thus saith the Lord” or “This is what the Lord says.”
This has led some Bible scholars to suggest that maybe Jonah was preaching God’s word, but maybe not all of God’s words for Nineveh.
Notice that Jonah doesn’t even tell the Ninevites why God was going to judge them, which seems somewhat unreasonable and unfair, doesn’t it?
This is when religion gets “mean and vindictive.” It lacks a clear and full message of the whole truth and reminds me of some Christians who seem to relish preaching on the idea of hell.
I’ll never forget the story that I was told by non-Christians in Deb’s family of the time when her great uncle Jake died.
He had lived over 100 years and at his funeral, the old preacher got up and began his sermon saying, “We all know that Jake was a sinner and is now burning in hell.”
Now just a minute, we don’t know if old Jake gave his heart to the Lord prior to his passing. We just have to leave that in the Lord’s hands.
But I do know that when the messenger tries to “co-opt” or control the situation, and offers no good news about the love and compassion of God through faith in Jesus Christ, then he has forgotten his place, as well as his own humanity.
And this kind of situation that is found here in Jonah 3, lends itself to one of the greatest ironies in the entire book, much to Jonah’s shame.
Jonah’s preaching and prediction will ultimately mock him and the sinful Ninevites will undermine him as well.
You see, in Hebrew, the word that is translated as “overturned” or “overthrown” has a wonderfully ambiguous meaning. It can also mean that in “40 days, Nineveh will overturn or overthrow itself.
This means that despite Jonah’s mean spirited preaching, the Ninevites heard the message and accepted it as God’s word for them.
Notice how in verses 5-9, the people, the king and even the animals “overturn” or “overthrow” their propensity to wickedness and violence. They do not merely say that they are repenting with their mouths, but they respond with external acts of humility.
Even the king, has “overturned” himself, by removing himself from the throne, changing his dress and denying himself his royal dignity.
He also shows his repentance by saying “’who knows’ God may still relent” undercutting any idea that God could somehow be manipulated.
In short, the Ninevites had changed inwardly and been “overturned,” but not as Jonah had intended or hoped.
I think we can learn several important lessons from Jonah 3. One such lesson is that our God is persistent and his call on our lives is equally persistent.
And the persistence of God is an example of His love for us. He frequently gives 2nd chances to those who do not deserve them. God’s persistence is actually a kindness that wears down our foolish resistance.
And no matter how hard we try, God will never be “co-opted” for our selfish and short-sighted purposes at the expense of His divine and far-sighted purposes.
We have a God whom we cannot stick in a box, domesticate, tame or control for our personal whims or pleasures.
This God loves His people with an everlasting love, but is not content with His people acting spoiled or selfish. His love and mercy are to be shared with those very people, whom we like the least.
And just as the king of Nineveh came down from his throne and “overturned” or “overthrew” his own wicked heart, so we too need to get off our little thrones and allow God’s son, Jesus Christ, the right to be king over all the aspects of our personal lives.
And next week, we will find out just how loving, merciful and longsuffering God really is especially to his angry and unfaithful servant as the Lord continues to employ servants from the natural world such as a plant, a worm, a hot wind and the blazing sun.
Let’s Pray
