Contrite before God Jonah 3:4-10

Contrite before God Jonah 3:4-10

Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let's do the same. Confession is good for the soul." In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn't confess. The others pressed him saying, "Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?" Finally he answered, "It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here."

Big Picture: Who knows, God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.
Text: Jonah 3:4-10

3:4 God’s message of repentance is for everyone.
• In this case the message was; “Repent and turn to God within 40 days or you will be overturned.”
• God wanted the Ninevites to repent and turn to him.
• Jonah still hated them and was a reluctant prophet (as we’ll see next week in chapter 4).
• Yes, Jonah finally obeyed God but he still need to repent of his hatred toward the Ninevites.
• We tend to think of Jonah as this great prophet who helped bring the Ninevites to repentance.
• Actually, Jonah had plenty to repent of even after he was thrown off the ship, swallowed by a large fish and spit out onto dry land.
• God needed to get his attention…continually!
• As a result, the wholesale repentance of the Ninevites was a miraculous work of God, not Jonah.
• “Pagan sailors and a pagan city responded to the reluctant prophet, showing the power of God in spite of His servant’s weakness.”
• At times we think “Oh that person will never come to Jesus.” Or,
“Those people are so wild, they are going to party all the way to Hell.”
• God’s message of repentance and the need for a savior is for everyone. No one is beyond his grasp.

3: 5-6 The response of the Ninevites serves as a great example for us today.
• They listened to God, changed their ways and took His message seriously.
• The repentance of the Ninevites stood in stark contrast to Israel’s stubbornness.
• The people of Israel had heard many messages from the prophets, but they refused to repent.
• The people of Nineveh only needed to hear God’s message once.
• Matthew 12:39-41

As a sign of obedience to God, the people of Nineveh declared a fast, put on sackcloth, sat down in the dust and ashes.
• Fasting
- Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food.
- Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God.

- Distress and Grief. David fasted as a sign of grief when Abner was murdered (2 Samuel 3:35). There was a seven-day fast at the death of Saul (1 Samuel 31:13).

- Spiritual Preparation. Fasting is a self-sacrifice that makes one humble and more accepting of God's will. Moses fasted for forty days in preparation for receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). Daniel fasted for three weeks before receiving his vision (Daniel 10:2-6). Elijah fasted forty days before speaking with God (1 Kings 19:8). Jesus fasted for forty days in preparation for His temptation by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).

- Repentance and Atonement. When Jonah predicted the downfall of Nineveh, The Ninevites fasted as a sign of repentance in hopes God would spare their city (Jonah 3:3-9). The Day of Atonement was an annual obligatory day of rest and fasting for the Israelites (Numbers 29:7). When the Israelites had sinned, they often humbled themselves and fasted in hopes of regaining God's favor (Judges 20:26, 1 Samuel 7:6).

Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him.
- Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.
- Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast.
- What are some things you could fast from in your life to better focus on God?
- 2 Corinthians 7:1

• Sackcloth and ashes (Job)
- A symbol of sorrow and repentance,
- It was a course, dark cloth unfit for normal wear, think burlap sack. Made of coarse black goat's hair. Rev. 6:12
• Sitting down in the dust
- A sign of helplessness and despair.
- Job 2:8, 42:6, Esther 4:1, Micah 1:10

v. 7 There was such a need for repentance that the King made an official decree:
• He traded his royal robes for sackcloth and ashes.
• No eating or drinking (fasting)
• Man and animal covered in sackcloth
• Everyone call urgently on God, give up their evil and violent ways.
• And then, who knows, God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.
• This is called a holy fear or respect for God.
• “Correct me Lord, but only with justice, not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.” Jeremiah 10:24

v. 10 Sure enough, God saw their seriousness, how they turned from their evil ways and he then had compassion.
• He didn’t bring upon them the destruction (they deserved) and he had threatened.
• God responded in mercy.
• God can respond either way though, when it comes to our wickedness and disobedience.
• He can just as easy go ahead with his planned destruction…and we never want to forget that.
• Jeremiah 18:7-8

Conclusion:
• In verse 4, The Hebrew word for overturned (hawfak) could be taken two ways: destroyed or turned around (brought to repentance).
• God still has the ability to either flip our lives upside down (overturn) or bring us to full repentance.
• The question is, “How do we respond when we know God is asking us to change?”
• All of Nineveh was converted despite Jonah’s reluctant, half-hearted preaching.
• Psalm 106:43-45

Communion intro…