Nineveh Revival - Jonah story 3

"Something's fishy, err someone..."
Digital Painting- Corel Painter

© Karen Kyle Ericson, all rights reserved.

Jonah 2:10-3:10

2:10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Ok, not much to say about that, "Ewww!"

3:1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." 3 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.  4 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 if a prophet comes to town smelling like fish vomit, with bleached clothes, skin, and seaweed hair, from being inside a fish, what would you do?  I'd repent.  God really knows how to make an entrance.  The Nineveh Revival took place.

5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?"

I think it's safe to say we all pretty much know when we've fallen into evil and sin. Legendary cruelty and torture are definitely things God doesn't like.  We have a built in warning light- our conscience, which lets us know we crossed the line.  When I've shared Christ, I've never met anyone who didn't know they had fallen from God.  It seems sometimes we get so caught up in the wrong stuff, we don't know how to get out of it.  We've all sinned, all fallen.  God's answer is simple, stop, and turn around.  Let Him be Lord.  Even after 36 years as a Christian, I'm still not perfect.  

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23

10 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. 

God stopped the disaster from happening and saved the Assyrians.  His love has no bounds.  He forgives.  Jonah brings us hope; He can use anyone.

And they all lived happily ever after.  Well maybe not.  Jonah still had a problem...

NKJV