Ask The Ninevites

Bible Book: Jonah 3 : 1-10

Subject: Revival; Judgment

Introduction

Spirit led words though they are few; will amaze the world in what they will do. Ask the Ninevites. We read in Jonah 3:1-10, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

In verse four we read, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Please note Jonah’s message is only eight words in English likely spoken over and over again for three days. The Assyrian capital, Nineveh, was so large it would require three days to walk across it.

Dr. John Koessler, author of Folly, Grace & Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching, explains, "How to analyze an audience when preparing for evangelistic preaching". Dr. Koessler writes, "Most evangelistic sermons I hear take some form of the four spiritual laws (from Campus Crusade), combine them with a few proof texts, sprinkle in an illustration or two, and then cap it all off with the 'sinner's prayer.' The sermon's theology is sound, but the sermon takes the same form regardless of the audience. The sermon feels like a suit off the rack. It doesn't take into account the audience's unique size and shape.

To some extent, this is understandable. The fundamental content of the gospel never changes, no matter who the audience is. The life situations and presuppositions of our listener, by contrast, vary widely and should affect the shape of the sermon. Formulating a series of true propositions and lobbing them in the direction of the audience does not mean we have preached effectively. Genuine communication involves what is heard as much as what is said.

This means if we hope to be understood by our listener, we must analyze the audience as carefully as we analyze the text. This analysis commonly focuses on the demographics of the audience, their specific life situations, and the occasion of the sermon."[1]

According to Jonah chapter 1, Jonah knew his audience very well. He did not want to share the gospel message with the arch-enemies of his nation. His audience came from a wide spectrum of socioeconomic and educational levels. From Jude 22-23 we read, “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”

From Jonah 3:4 we see from this message three things.

I. First, we see the limitation of God’s patience.

From Jonah 3:4a we read, “Yet forty days. . .” Jonah warns about the limitation of God’s patience.

Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander (1809-1860) poetically expresses in the second stanza of his hymn, “There is a line, by us unseen, / That crosses every path, / The hidden boundary between / God's patience and his wrath.”[2]

Paul the Apostle writes about the limits of God’s patience in Romans 2:1-11, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”

John recounts in Revelation 2:18-23, “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ‘I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”

David explains in Psalm 145:8-9, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, / Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, / And His tender mercies are over all His works.”

Moses writes in Genesis 6:3a, “And the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:5-9, “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Dr. Vance Havner (1901-1986) writes, “We are hearing much about ‘one world’. The Christian thinks in terms of three worlds. The first was destroyed by water. The second will perish by fire. The believer looks for a third, where righteousness dwells. This present world is reserved for fire. The new world is reserved for us who have become citizens of heaven, to whom this present evil world is about our passage, not our portion. We are strangers and pilgrims, we seek a city.

The people of the first world ‘knew not’ until the flood came. Only Noah had his eyes open. The people of our world know not, nor will they know, until sudden destruction comes. They pride themselves on what they know, but it is only educated ignorance. There are those today, however, like Noah who know what time of day it is. When the last storm begins to break and all heads in this world droop, they will lift up theirs, for redemption nears. The Third World is about to begin!”[3]

II. Second, we see the location of God’s judgment.

We read in Jonah 3:4b, “and Nineveh. . .” Jonah warns about the location of God’s judgment. This is a local judgment before the last judgment.

We read in Isaiah 28:21, “For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon—That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.” God’s judgment is His strange work, but God does not judge capriciously. Only those who deserve it receive it. Dr. Luke writes in Acts 12:21-23, “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” God judges individuals and nations.

In fact, Matthew 25:31-46 refers to the judgment of the nations. Matthew writes, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ‘Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ‘Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ‘Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We know from Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” For believers it will be the Judgment Seat of Christ for reward in heaven (Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10) and for unbelievers it will be the Great White Throne for retribution in hell (Revelation 20:11-15).

Abraham asked in a rhetorical fashion in Genesis 18:25b, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The expected answer is, of course “the Judge of all the earth” will do right.

III. Third, we see the laceration of God’s sword.

In Jonah 3:4c we read, “. . . shall be overthrown.” Jonah warns about the laceration of God’s sword. Jesus warns in Matthew 26:52, “all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” The Assyrians were a violent nation as we know from history. One hundred years later we know the sword came to Assyria as Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) explains, “There are many dates assigned to this book and this prophet. Dates are given anywhere from 720 to 636 B.C. by conservative scholars. It seems reasonable to locate him about 100 years after Jonah and about 100 years before the destruction of Nineveh — between 660 and 612 B.C. He probably lived during the reign of Hezekiah and saw the destruction of the Northern Kingdom.” Dr. McGee continues, “THEME: The burden (judgment) of Nineveh (Nahum 1:1). MESSAGE: Nahum sounds the death-knell of Nineveh and pronounces judgment, by total destruction, on Assyria. God was just in doing this. Jonah, almost a century before, had brought a message from God, and Nineveh had repented. However, the repentance was transitory, and God patiently gave this new generation opportunity to repent (Nahum 1:3). The day of grace ends, and the moment of doom comes (Nahum 3:19). Assyria had served God’s purpose (Isaiah 10:5) and would be destroyed. The destruction of Nineveh, according to the details which are given in this written prophecy, is almost breathtaking. This is a message of comfort to a people who live in fear of a powerful and godless nation. God will destroy any godless nation. Some folk think Nahum should be called Ho-hum! However, Nahum is a thrilling book to study. It reveals the other side of the attributes of God. God is love, but God is holy and righteous and good.”[4]

We read about “the sword of the Lord” in the book of Judges, as God spoke to Gideon (Judges 7:18). Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) shares the following in the first stanza of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1861), “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; / He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; / He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; / His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.” [Emphasis mine][5]

For one hundred golden years Nineveh enjoyed the privilege of knowing the living and true God. The deliverance of Nineveh was remarkable!

Nahum recounts the destruction of those in Nineveh. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, “the Judge of all the earth”, warns, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Nineveh received the mercy and grace of God. They became a disgrace to God’s grace. The destruction of Nineveh was regrettable!

Dr. Herb Reavis, pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, shares, “A skeptic once told Billy Sunday [1862-1935] that revivals don't last. He answered, neither does a bath, but it helps!”[6]

If you study revival in much detail you will encounter the issue of conserving the results of revival. In other words, when revival comes we want to see a lasting effect. Even though the effects of the revival recorded in the book of Jonah did not last, it did deliver those in Nineveh from God’s judgment for a century.

Conclusion

As I share in a message titled “Beware of Loving It Without Living It!” based on Ezekiel 33:30-33, “Like it or not, preaching is part of the warp and woof of the fabric of the life of believers down through the ages. The practice of preaching began with Noah, ‘a preacher of righteousness’ (2 Peter 2:5). In An Exposition of the Old and New, Dr. John Gill (1697-1771), cites a work ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (80-118 C.E.), titled Pirke R. Eliezer or Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Eliezer shares an excerpt of Noah’s message according to Jewish tradition: ‘Be ye turned from your evil ways and works, lest the waters of the flood come upon you, and cut off all the seed of the children of men.’ [John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1810), 2 Peter 2:5] Sadly, no one outside Noah’s immediate family believed.

In a similar way, the message of Jonah the prophet is recorded in the book that bears his name, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ (Jonah 3:4). The account of Jonah proves short sermons can be effective. In Jonah 3:5-10 we read,

‘So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.’ This is the record of the greatest revival in history.”[7]

Dr. Theodore H. Epp (1907-1985) explains, "An important lesson to be drawn from Jonah's short message directly from the Lord is that if we believers want results, we need to preach God's Word. Some individual Christians, including some preachers, talk about everything except God's Word and then wonder why they see so little spiritual response. God has not promised to bless our message; He has promised to bless His own message. Although we need to present the message in a way that touches individuals, proclaiming the Word of God is much more than telling tear jerking stories. Jonah's preaching was powerful because he preached God's Word."[8]

From 2 Timothy 4:1-4 we read, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” We read in 1 Peter 4:11, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” In Jeremiah 23:29 we read, “‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the Lord, ‘And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?’” From Hebrews 4:12 we read, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Paul writes in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The response of those in Nineveh was repentance and reliance resulting in spiritual awakening and revival. Spirit led words though they are few; will amaze the world in what they will do. Ask the Ninevites.

[1]John Koessler, "Connecting With Non-Christians" in The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching, ed. Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), p. 179

[2]Samuel Willoughby Duffield, English Hymns: Their Authors and History (New York / London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1886), p. 382

[3]Vance Havner, Day by Day by Vance Havner (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), “THREE WORLDS” (2 Peter 3:6, 7, 13), Available from: http://vancehavner.com/?cat=7&paged=49 Accessed: February 27, 2012

[4]J. Vernon McGee, “Nahum and Habakkuk,” Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee WORDsearch Corp., also available from http://thruthebible.ca/notes/Nahum-Habakkuk.pdf accessed: 23 February 2012

[5]Julia Ward Howe, “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1861), Available from: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/h/bhymnotr.htm Accessed: 12/20/11

[6]The Baptist Messenger, "Never Stop Proclaiming" [Theme of the State Evangelism Conference held in Moore, Oklahoma, January 28-29, 2008], Volume 97, Number 6, (Oklahoma City, OK: Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, February 7, 2008), p. 7

Available from: http://ds.bgco.org/docushare/dsweb/GetRendition/Document-5508/html Accessed: 03/17/12

[7]Franklin L. Kirksey, “Beware of Loving It Without Living It”, Sermon Notes, (Ezekiel 33:30-33)

[8]Theodore H. Epp, "The Beginning of Revival", Sermon Notes, (Jonah 3:1-10) [Online] available from: http://library.guidogardens.com/redir.asp?sessionid=hali3L0e7bX5seHw1NiZdY8gf&login=yes accessed: 23 February 2012

By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527

Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com

http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Biblical-Preaching-Giving-Bible/dp/1594577684