UBF Daily Bread

NINEVEH REPENTS

Passage: Jonah 3:1~10

Key verse: 5

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah^(A) a second time: ²“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

³Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,^(B) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.^(C)

⁶When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.^(D) ⁷This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.^(E) ⁸But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call^(F) urgently on God. Let them give up^(G) their evil ways^(H) and their violence.^(I) ⁹Who knows?^(J) God may yet relent^(K) and with compassion turn^(L) from his fierce anger^(M) so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented^(N) and did not bring on them the destruction^(O) he had threatened.^(P)

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1. A reluctant missionary (1-4)

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time to go preach in Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed God s word. He went only because God commanded him to go. He preached the word God told him to preach. He did not love the people of Nineveh; he did not feel any compassion for the people living there in sin and ignorance; he was not sorry about God's impending judgment. There may be humanitarian motives for world mission, but the bottom line is obedience to the Lord's command.

2. Nineveh repents (5-10)

An amazing thing happened. The Ninevites believed God. When the king of Nineveh heard God's word, he repented. He ordered everyone- people and animals--to repent. They turned from their evil ways. When God saw the sincerity of their repentance, he had compassion on them and did not destroy the city.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your powerful word and for your compassion on repentant sinners. Help me to obey your word whether I feel like it or not.

One Word: Repent and obey God