Sermon: GM17-156
Series: Jonah: A Gospel of
Grace
Subtitle: Jonah Does the Unenvied (Part 3)
Scripture: Jonah 3:10
Subject: Jonah uses four illustrations of
God’s grace to motivate his readers to repent of their sin
Scrutiny: How does God demonstrate His grace?
Solution: There are four ways in this passage
that demonstrates the display of God’s grace
Sketch: 1A through the renewal of the commission (1-2) God gives Jonah a second chance to obey him. Throughout
Scripture God is portrayed as a God of a second chance.
2A through the response of
the courier (3-4) Jonah obeys God’s call the second time. He travels to Nineveh as a living
testimony of God’s grace. Jonah proclaims the Word of God to the Ninevites.
3A through the repentance of
the citizens (5-9) The citizens of Nineveh believed the Word of God proclaimed by Jonah.
From the King to the lowest citizen they demonstrate their repentance by their
attitude and their actions. Everyone, including the animals wear the outward
signs of inward repentance.
4A through the restraint of
the creator (10) God
observes the attitude and the actions of the Ninevites. God chooses to relent
from performing His judgment upon the citizens and the city.
Scheme: To provide examples of God’s
grace as motivation to repent of sin in order to maintain a right relationship
with God
Statement: God is gracious
TITLE
Jonah
Does the Unenjoyable (Part 3)
TEXT
Jonah
3:10 (Repeat)
INTRODUCTION
We
are continuing our study in the third chapter of Jonah. As a matter of fact, we
are finishing up chapter three (3) today as we examine the final verse in
chapter three (3). So, if you have not done so already, please take your bibles
and turn once again to Jonah chapter three (3).
We
are wrapping up what I have called the third division of Jonah. I have called
this division, The Preaching Prophet.
As I reminded you last week, let me remind you once again, that we have already
looked at The Prodigal Prophet in chapter one (1), The Praising Prophet in
chapter two (3) and next week, Lord
willing, we will see in the final chapter of Jonah, The Pouting Prophet.
This
is the third message of Jonah the Preaching prophet. It is
entitled, “Jonah Does the Unenvied. Jonah does not want to preach to these
people. He does not enjoy this task that has been given to him by God. It is of
no fun for him. Jonah takes no joy nor pleasure from this task.
The
main theme of this chapter is the principle that God is gracious. God is gracious to Jonah. God is gracious to the
Ninevites. God is a gracious God. One of the aspects of God’s graciousness is
the gift
of repentance. So, this section of chapter three (3) unfolds for
Jonah’s readers the reaction to Jonah’s preaching. Remember Jonah walked around
Nineveh, proclaiming or preaching, “Yet forty (40) days, and Nineveh shall be
overthrown.”
This
verse raises a very interesting question for many people and has caused some
great deal of trouble. This verse along with a few others.
Even
though, it is not the main idea of this verse, and was not intended to become
such a problem and detraction, it does cause us to ask at the very least, does
God change his mind?
Orient the Text
This
morning, I want to continue to speak to you about God’s outrageous grace. Another
element of God’s outrageous grace is the fact that God seemingly relents from
doing disastrous things to His creation and/or to His creatures.
God
has told Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim His Word to the citizens of
Nineveh. As a matter of fact God had commissioned Jonah twice to take His
message of judgment to them.
The
first time, God told Jonah to, “…cry out against it…” The second time
God told Jonah to go and “…preach to it the message that I tell you.”
Jonah
finally did go to Nineveh. We don’t know what his entire message or
proclamation was but we do know that he proclaimed, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall
be overthrown.” It seems that God had determined to completely destroy
the city and everyone in it.
But
the Ninevites do something very unusual, they repent. They don’t try to
bargain with God, earn God’s favor, or even plead with him. They repent.
Their
repentance results in God extending outrageous grace and relenting from
destroying them. These people may have deserved to be destroyed as much or more
than the people of Sodom or Gomorrah or all of the people on earth when God
destroyed the earth by the universal flood.
But
God is gracious. In this chapter we see the outrageous grace of God. As a
matter of fact, Jonah uses four
illustrations of God’s grace to motivate his readers to repent of their sin.
REVIEW
Last week we
look at the fact that God was outrageously gracious. We have noted that chapter
three (3) shows that God was outrageously gracious in at least four (4) ways.
Last week we looked at the third way that God demonstrated just how gracious He
was.
God
was outrageously gracious - …through the repentance of the citizens (5-9)
The
citizens of Nineveh believed the Word of God proclaimed by Jonah. From the King
to the lowest citizen they demonstrated their repentance by their attitude and
their actions.
They
showed their repentance by their belief and by their behavior. Everyone,
including the animals wore the outward signs of inward repentance. Everyone,
the multitude and the monarch repented.
·
They called a
fast
·
They ordered the
wearing of sackcloth,
·
The Monarch, the
King, even sat in ashes to demonstrate repentance and humility.
They
hoped by their actions and attitudes that God would not destroy them and their
city.
My purpose this morning is to
continue to use these examples of God’s grace as motivation in order for you to
repent regularly of sin in order to maintain a right relationship with God at
all times.
Our theme continues to be God
is gracious!
[So, let’s now look at our…]
TRUTH FOR TODAY
[To
continue to prove that God is gracious, let’s begin this morning with the fourth
and final way that demonstrated the outrageous grace of God, and that is…]
4A …through the restraint of the Creator (Vs. 10)
As we look at this verse some critical principles
almost jump right off the page giving us tremendous insight into the mind and
working of God.
Verse ten (10) describes two (2) reasons for God to
restrain Himself from destroying Nineveh.
The first reason is described in verse ten (10) and
it is…
1B The Community Repents (10a)
“Then
God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way…”
First of all, let me say that I
know that I mentioned repentance last week. We briefly saw what repentance was
not, and we briefly looked at what repentance was.
Verse five (5) makes it clear that the people of
Nineveh believed God when Jonah said that the city would be overturned.
Second, we saw that their belief
inspired their behavior. They:
·
Proclaimed a fast
·
They put on sackcloth
·
The king put on sackcloth and sat in ashes
·
The king published an order that all men and all animals should fast,
that all men and all animals be covered in sackcloth , that the people should
pray loudly and vigorously to God for mercy, and that the people should stop,
forsake, turn from their evil ways or practices
Third, we also, ever so briefly,
looked at repentance by seeing first, what repentance was not, and second, by
looking at what repentance was.
The question that we have to ask at this point, and
I deliberately did not raise it last week and saved it for today is this – Did
the Ninevites repentance result in salvation and redemption. IOW, did
the entire city biblically repent and receive saving grace?
So, several questions arise that need to be
answered:
·
Is punishment for sin set aside or rescinded when repentance is
evidenced?
·
Does God’s grace & salvation take precedence over threats of
punishment?
·
Why does God threaten wrath, judgment, and punishment?
·
Did God change His mind? (Does this indicate God is fickle?)
·
Was the repentance of the Ninevites evidence of conversion to God?
·
Did God have a reason for sending Jonah to Nineveh?
[To
answer these questions and hopefully all that you might think of, as we look at
the fact that the community repented, let’s look at what is inferred, implied, or
insinuated by their repentance and God’s restraint.]
[First
of all…]
1C the community’s repentance
was reserved
Regardless of how deep or even how sincere their
mourning over their “evil way” (vs. 10), their repentance was not permanent nor
a lasting repentance.
Their repentance did show that they had some
propensity to belief God and for the Word of God, which was evidenced in their
turning and forsaking of their previously evil ways.
This alone was the reason that God according to His
great compassion extended mercy and grace to them. God did not give them what
they deserved, total destruction. God gave them what they did not deserve, a
reprieve from that destruction.
This reprieve was limited. It was deferred for a
period by the outrageous grace of God. Eventually Nineveh returned to their
evil ways, and opposed God, sought to subjugate various nations, and as one
commentator put it, “filled up the measure of their sins” became ripe for
judgment.”
The prophet Nahum prophesized that King Cyaxares
would destroy the city along with Naboplassar of Babylon. In approximately 100
years Nineveh was destroyed at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.
[Secondly…]
2C the community’s repentance
was rewarded
In the meantime God acted according to His
character. God extended grace. God saw their deeds – and what were their deeds?
They turned from their ways of evil.
The verb means to turn, to return, to go back to do
again, to change, to reestablish, to restore, to recompense. This verb is used
over 1000 times in the OT. When the verb is used it simply describes divine or
human reactions, attitudes, or feelings.
So, just as they king had hoped, God accepted their
repentance. The reward for their repentance was that fire and brimstone did not
fall from the sky and burn up the city, nor did the ground open up into a
massive sinkhole swallowing up the city.
[Thirdly…]
3C the
community’s repentance was restricted
I say it was restricted because I am not sure that
we can determine if this actually led to the actual conversion of the
Ninevites. IOW, the questions remains whether we will see these people in
heaven.
Let me make three observations at this point about
the repentance of the Ninevites:
·
The reality of this event isn’t discredited because there is no mention
of this event in any Assyrian records. The truth of the matter is that there is
a real lacking of material and information from the eighth century BC. We have
very little information from this period. But many scholars want to deny this
event because it hasn’t been found in any Assyrian records.
·
The reality of the Ninevites repentance must not be thought of as
unusual, impossible or unreal if we keep in mind that Jonah’s preaching comes
on the heels of two plagues, a lunar eclipse, and civil unrest.
Superstitious people would naturally react in such a
way to someone who was preaching judgment after experiencing these things.
·
The reality of the text doesn’t necessitate the conclusion that the
Ninevites were converted to the worshipping of Jehovah.
Alexander in his commentary made this statement, “Although
the Ninevites repented there is no indication that they were converted to
Yahwism.” [1]
What could they have learned about God or salvation?
There is no mention of the Ninevites becoming proselytes to the Israelite
religious system. It is somewhat doubtful that they were actually redeemed.
We should not look at Nineveh's repentance as a
repentance unto salvation, but more as a superstitious repentance that God
nevertheless honored in His common grace.
The superstitious elements can be seen in the
sackcloth upon the animals. Often in the OT unbelievers repent a repentance that
is not onto salvation, but one that causes God to at least relent from
immediate judgment, Nebuchadnezzar one such example.
The fact that only a generation later true faith
could not be found in Nineveh, and only sin and idolatry could be found, is
another clue.
It is not a question of believing the Word of God or
not, and it is not a question whether Nineveh's repentance was heart-felt. The
question is - was it a repentance unto
eternal salvation. That is not clear from the text.
We would have to assume that Jonah's sermon was much
longer than 3:4, and that Jonah would have explained the gospel of the coming Messiah,
but there is no gospel in Jonah's recorded message. It was not unusual for
pagan cultures to genuinely fear a certain god at a certain time and repent to
that god, but that doesn't mean it is a repentance unto eternal life, and I
think that this better explains the evidence from Nahum, which gives no
indication that the generation under judgment left the gospel or abandoned it having been given to them from the
previous generation, but it seems they are judged for many years of idolatry
(Nahum 1:14).
This generation however was spared from immediate
physical death and the destruction of all that they knew.
[So,
let me summarize and wrap up this point so that we can move to the next one.]
In
my opinion the short answer may be that the whole generation of Ninevites was
spared from immediate judgment, but that a smaller number might have been saved from eternal judgment. This afforded
those spared the opportunity to be saved, and thus escape eternal judgment.
I
think it is not always easy to separate the individual from the nation in the
Old Testament. It is not always easy to equate Old Testament events with
salvation.
[For
example]
·
I don't think that all who were passed over and escaped from Egypt were
true believers.
·
Neither do I find reason to
conclude that all who physically entered the Promised Land were believers,
either. Some were; others probably were not. But then this isn't all that
different from today.
·
There are lots of church members, but not all members are saved.
So,
with all of this in mind, remember, our theme is God is gracious!
[I
am attempting to continue to prove that God is gracious, and we are looking the
fourth and final way that demonstrated the outrageous grace of God, and that
is…]
…through the restraint of
the Creator (Vs. 10)
I
said that verse ten (10) describes two (2) reasons for God to restrain from
destroying Nineveh. The first reasons described in verse ten (10) is The Community
Repents, and the second is…
2B The Creator Relents (10b)
“…and God relented from the disaster that He said He
would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”
First of all, this last verse
closes out this chapter with the greatest encouragement to be found for God’s
people to repent. Here we have the response of God to the actions of the
people.
Second, it wasn’t because of the
outward ceremonies performed by the Ninevites that caused God to relent. It
wasn’t the fast, or the sackcloth, it was the fact that they believed
God. So, the question is…
Does God
change His mind?
[First the bible tells us
that…]
1C God Is Immutable
Scripture teaches the concept of God’s immutability, i.e.,
the notion that his essence, character, and will are stable and perfect and
they never change.
So, while ordinary things undergo transformation,
the changeless Creator does not. He is the same forever (see Psa. 102:26-27).
“With God there can be “no variation, neither
shadow that is cast by turning” (Jas. 1:17 ASV; cf. Heb. 13:8).
To suggest that God is whimsical, or that He
constantly changes his mind, or the fluctuations that are characteristic of
humanity, is to reflect upon the very nature of divine being.
“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor
relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” (1 Samuel 15:29, NKJV)
Nevertheless, the Bible also says that God will not
repent.
[For
example]
Psalm 110:4 says, “The
Lord has sworn; he will not
repent: “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
“I, the Lord, have spoken; it shall come to
pass, I will do it, I will not go back, I will not spare, I will not repent; according to your
ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.” (See Jeremiah 4:27-28.)
But even more important than these are the texts
that say God would be like a man if he repented. In other words, God’s freedom
from a need to repent is based on his deity. Being God means that
he cannot repent.
Numbers 23:19 — “God is not a man that he
should lie, or a son of man that he should repent.”
The Bible seems so clear, God does not repent, He
does not relent, He does not change, and He does not change His mind.
This
seems to settle it doesn’t it? These passages are so clear and we should not
have any questions about whether God would repent or relent.
But
we have so many places where it seems to say that God does repent, or relents,
or changes his mind: Does God repents?
Well…
·
Before the flood (and just after the sons of God had sex with the
daughters of men), God repented for having made humans.
“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and
it grieved him at his heart.” Genesis 6:6
·
After Aaron made the people dance naked around the golden calf, God
decided to kill all of the Israelites. But Moses talked him out of it by
saying, "What will the neighbors think?" “So God repented of the evil he'd
planned to do.”
·
“And Moses besought the LORD ... Wherefore should the Egyptians speak,
and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and
to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and
repent of this evil against thy people. ... And the LORD repented of
the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” Exodus 32:11-14
·
God threatens to judge his people and repent by killing everyone,
saying, "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall
devour flesh."
For the Lord shall judge his
people, and repent himself for his servants.... I kill ... I
wound ... I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour
flesh. Deuteronomy 32:36-42
·
After Saul failed to commit complete genocide as God commanded, God
repented of making Saul king.
It repenteth me [God] that I have set up Saul to be
king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my
commandments [Committing complete genocide on the Amalekits] ... and
the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. 1 Samuel 15:11, 35
After God killed 70,000 men (and 200,000 or so women
and children) in a pestilence to punish Israel for a census that God (and/or
Satan) inspired, "the Lord repented him of the evil" and quit killing
people.
The anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,
and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. ... So the
LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed:
and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the
LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed
the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. 2 Samuel 24:1-16
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked
David to number Israel. ... And God was displeased with this thing; therefore
he smote Israel. ... So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of
Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy
it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him
of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine
hand. 1 Chronicles 21:1-15
God told Hezekiah that he would die soon, but
changed his mind (repented) after Hezekiah's prayer. So he let him live another
fifteen years.
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And
Isaiah ... said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for
thou shalt die, and not live. ... Thus saith the LORD ... I have heard thy
prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen
years. Isaiah 38:1-5
If a nation repents of its evil, God will repent of
the evil things he had planned to do to it.
If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn
from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to
do unto them. Jeremiah 18:8
If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from
his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them
because of the evil of their doings. Jeremiah 26:3
Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and
obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him
of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. Jeremiah 26:13
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at
all to death? Did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the
LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus
might we procure great evil against our souls. Jeremiah 26:19
If ye will still abide in this land, then will I
build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up:
for I [God] repent me of the evil that I have
done unto you. Jeremiah 42:10
If a nation does evil, God will repent of the good
things he was planning to do to it.
If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my
voice, then I [God] will repent of the good,
wherewith I said I would benefit them. Jeremiah 18:8
So,
we have a number of places where it seems that God has repented. Is this a
contradiction of all those places that says that God does not repent?
Absolutely not. We have to remember that…
2C God is Intelligent
God’s threat of punishment can be set aside
temporarily when repentance is evidence. God did not change in His essence, His
being, His character or nature, God changed in the way that He dealt with
Nineveh.
·
God accommodates His word to our understanding
John Mackay writes, “When God is said to change his
mind, matters are viewed from our human perspective. It appears to us that
there has been a change in God, but what has in fact changed is our human
conduct.” [2]
·
The HS used a different word with God than He did for the Ninevites
o
The word for the Ninevites repentance meant to turn from evil to good
o
The word for God’s repenting or relenting denotes an inward suffering.
The best way to explain this is that God was moved to pity. Pity motivated God
to relent temporarily from inflicting his judgment on the Ninevites. Another
way to think of it is to understand that God had compassion on the Ninevites.
·
God can do this, this relenting is an option for Him:
“At times I threaten some nation or kingdom that I
shall tear it up, break it down, and make it perish; then the threatened nation
turns from its wickedness and I relent over the punishment I intended to carry
out.” [Jere.
18:7]
·
God’s character and promises do not ever change. But we see in a number
of places that God’s plan of action can change according to his purpose.
God works out His plan in various ways and sometimes
it seems as if he changes his plans, but they are still worked out according to
a perfect and eternal plan – God accomplished is will. He works differently
with men at different times under different circumstances, including relenting
of a planned action and completing it at a later date.
Don’t forget, God did overthrow or destroy Nineveh.
He did not change His mind about that. About 100 years later there is not a
thing left of Nineveh. God experienced compassion or pity when He saw the
Ninevites repentance, and by the way, that wasn’t a surprise to Him, it wasn’t
a curve ball, He knew from eternity past that they would repent, so in
accordance to his perfect plan, based on his compassion at their repentance, He
relented for 100 years and then fulfilled His word which he had spoken through
Jonah.
So,
God does not change His mind. God is not fickle. He does not change. He does
change in relationship with how he deals with mankind based upon circumstances
such as repentance.
[What do you say we wrap
this up?]
CONCLUSION
The citizens of Nineveh
believed the Word of God that was proclaimed by Jonah. From the King to the
lowest citizen they demonstrated their repentance by their attitude and their
actions. Everyone, including the animals wore the outward signs of inward
repentance.
The multitude proclaimed a fast and wore sackcloth. The monarch issued a decree demanding that
both animals and peoples show their repentance through wearing sackcloth,
fasting, praying, and abandoning wicked, evil behavior.
And
so we have seen this morning that God is gracious. This morning we were able to
see that God demonstrated His outrageous grace…through the relenting of the creator
(10)
Our theme this morning was, God is gracious! And so, my purpose this morning was to continue to use these examples of God’s grace as
motivation in order for you to repent regularly of sin in order to maintain a
right relationship with God at all times.
Lord willing next we will conclude chapter three (3) by
examining verse ten (10). As we look at verse ten (10) there are at least two
things I want to carefully look at in additional to the meaning of verse ten
(10). Those two things are:
·
What does it mean “…the people of Nineveh believed
God.”
·
Does God change His mind?
What
does God want my people to believe?
God wants you to believe that He is
outrageously gracious so that you are not hindered by anything conceivable from
maintaining an intentional, strategic, and loving relationship with Him.
Why
do my people need to believe this?
So many people struggle with doubts
of whether God really does love them, has forgiven them, and fully accepts
them. Knowing that God is outrageously gracious erases and removes any of these
fears or doubts.
What
do they need to do?
Seek to know both intellectually and
experientially the grace of God. Bask in His grace. Delight in His grace. Pray
that God would make you more sensitive to his graciousness towards you.
Let’s
pray! J
Father, please, help us today to
realize just how gracious you really are. Help us to know that you not only
desire to be gracious to your children, but you delight in being gracious. Help
all of us to remember that you are patient, kind, merciful, and gracious even
when we fail you and sin against you.
Father, help us to follow the Ninevites
example of responding to your great graciousness through the means of
repentance. May we always be reminded to genuinely recognize our sin and to
repent of our sin?
Thank you for being so loving and so
gracious to us! Thank you for Jonah’s great proclamation and for your gift of
repentance to the Ninevites.
Amen!
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