If you've been following these posts on the story of Jonah you'd agree with me that you have been helped by it and your understanding has been enriched. We have just about two more before we're done with the series. Today's post will help you in more ways than one.
Jonah 3:6-10 (NKJV)
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?
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.
Below are three take home lessons that will surely bless your dear heart.
1. The Gospel Can Change Cultures and Transform Nations
Notice that it was the message of a preacher that eventually changed Nineveh for the better.
As Jonah preached, those in government sudddenly received insight on what to do to reposition the city.
Inspired by the preaching of Jonah, the government of Nineveh established a policy that helped to spare the city from the destruction it was programmed to run into.
The change we seek in our nation is not in the government. It's in the church. The change is in OUR MESSAGE. The gospel is the power of God. This power doesn't just transform a life, it can also transform a nation.
The political rulers of our day will yet again and again draw light and instruction on how to lead aright from what we say.
2. Wise Governments Cooperate with True Prophets of God
A wise king, head of state or president will listen to the teachings of anointed servants of God.
God speaks to those in government through His prophets - the men and women He has sent to speak His words.
The government needs the help of the church to know what to do per time.
The king of Nineveh was wise enough to act based on what Jonah said.
Rulers and leaders today who act based on what God's anointed servants say, will prosper. Such governments will enjoy the help and the mercy of God.
3. God Saw Their Works.
When they repented God saw something about them that wasn't there before. There would be what can be seen when a person truly repents.
The fruits of repentance can be seen. Through repentance the inhabitants of Nineveh caused mercy to over rule judgment.
When a person repents they do things different. It's called a change of mind. People cannot see your mind but they can see what you do and what you do says a lot about how you think.
So, what shows that there's a change of mind is that there's a change in what one does. A change of behavior shows that a change of mind has taken place.
When we see people begin to behave a whole lot better, we can tell that their approach to life from the inside has changed.
As we can see from the response of the citizens of Nineveh to Jonah's preaching, repentance is a move to disconnect from the previous way of living because one has chosen not to ignore the fact that God isn't pleased with how things have been.
Repentance is taking praise worthy steps to discontinue the previous pattern of wrong doing; it is deliberately putting things in place to head in a clearly different direction.
Repentance goes beyond feeling sorry; it's taking necessary and planned steps to do what's expected of you.