Jonah 3:6-9
Big Idea: The repentance of the king of Nineveh is no small thing. Not only does it show God’s extravagant mercy to a king who absolutely did not deserve it, but God will use the official decree of the king of Nineveh to broadcast his mercy and grace to the world.
God’s Mercy _________ the king
Jonah 3:6 (ESV) — 6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Proverbs 21:1 (ESV) — 1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
The Lord cannot use a man, or woman, greatly until He has broken him completely.
He arose from his throne,
removed his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth,
and sat in ashes.
The remainder of v. 6 describes the exciting response by this ruler. He rose from his throne, the seat of his royal power, and humbled himself with the common people. He laid aside his robe, which was a large and beautifully embroidered mantle… (Josh 7:21). In its place the king put on sackcloth as a sign of mourning, and he sat in ashes, a sign of deep humiliation… He who was the highest in the empire took the lowest position of abasement.
God’s Mercy _________ the king
Jonah 3:7 (ESV) — 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh…
God responds to the repentance of the broken hearted and contrite in spirit.
Leviticus 26:40–42 (ESV) — 40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) — 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Although Moses has been discoursing of very severe and cruel punishments, still he declares that even in the midst of this awful severity, God is to be appeased if only the people should repent, notwithstanding that they may have stripped themselves of all hope of pardon by their long-continued sins. For he does not address sinners in general, but those who by their obstinacy and brutal impetuosity have come nearer and nearer to the vengeance of God; and even these he encourages to a good hope, if only they be converted from their hearts. Let us be assured, then, that God’s mercy is offered to the worst of men, who have been plunged by their guilt in the depths of despair, as though it reached even to hell itself. Whence, too, it follows, that all punishments are like spurs to rouse the inert and hesitating to repentance, whilst the sorer plagues are intended to break their hard hearts.
Questions to Consider
Who are you praying will turn in repentance and faith in God? Does the repentance of the king of Nineveh give you hope that this is possible? Why or Why not?
What does the repentance of the king tell you about God? Why does this matter?
