Two Cities	[12-19-04]

Jonah 3:3-10

Wiley Coppinger

Nineveh

Today we will look at the story of two cities of the ancient world and how they respectively handled a problem.  The reference to the first city Nineveh is found in the book of Jonah and that is where we’ll begin.

Jonah 3:1-3
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.  Now Nineveh was a very important city – a visit required three days (NIV).

Nineveh was indeed an important city it was the capital of the Assyrian empire.  The Assyrian empire was the dominant political and economic force of its day.  The Assyrians were conquering villages, cities, and countries in vast quantities. In fact the Lord was preparing them to conquer his people the kingdom of Israel.  The Lord had sent many prophets to Israel to try to prevent what was to come but they simply weren’t listening.  So the Lord was going to make good on his promise of punishment for not following the laws of Moses.  But isn’t it great that even in punishment the Lord’s love still shines through?  He was not going to have his people conquered by just any empire but one that had been prepared to take charge of his people.  The Lord wanted the Assyrians hearts right before they took charge of his people.

The city was also important in size as well.  This was no trivial city.  The text referred to a visit taking three days.  If you have ever been to our nation’s capital, you’ve been to a city much like Nineveh in size.  The capital beltway that encircles Washington, D.C. is about 67 miles in circumference.  The city wall of Nineveh was about 67 miles in circumference as well.

Jonah’s mission was to preach repentance to the Ninevites.  In fact the message was so dire that he proclaimed the cities destruction in forty days.

Jonah 3:4
On the first day, Jonah started in to the city.  He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned (NIV).”

What was Nineveh’s response?  Actually what would anyone’s response be to such a proclamation as this?  Would we react and become defensive?  How dare you attack my lifestyle!  Would we be ready to attack Jonah?  Who are you to tell me that the Lord is going to punish me for what I’m doing?  Would we be ready to physically attack Jonah?  After all here he is without a hello or how are you but you and your city will be overthrown in forty days.  Not someday or not in the future but in forty days.

Jonah 3:5-9
The Ninevites believed God.  They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.  When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:

	“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
		Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.  Let everyone call urgently on God.  Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows?  God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (NIV).”

This is without a doubt the greatest example of repentance recorded in the Old Testament and certainly gives rival to many of the examples in the New Testament as well.  In the business world this would be an example of a bottom up communication path.  The ordinary citizens of Nineveh repented first and in fact the text doesn’t even say that Jonah ever spoke to the king.  The king heard about the news from its spread through his people; however, his reaction to this news was certainly remarkable.

Jerusalem

The second city in the message today is the city of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem was the capital city of the kingdom of Judah.  Judah was the smaller and most southern of the divided kingdom.  They were disobedient to God’s law as well as Israel their northern brothers but they were less so and their kings tended to lead them in a more holy manner than did Israel’s kings.

God was also preparing a people to conquer them and all of their neighbors.  In fact God tried and tried to get his people to listen to his word both in the north and the south.  The scripture reports that God sent five prophets to the northern kingdom: Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, and Hosea.  Of course there were many more than these but these are the one recorded in scripture.  In kind, the Lord sent two noted prophets to Judah: Isaiah and Jeremiah.  In the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles the stories of the mixed results are recorded.  In the northern kingdom any repentance that was done was on a personal level.  Contrasted with the south where the repentance was done on a national scale.  The times of repentance was usually started with the king and passed down to the people.

Jeremiah’s message was one of warning to God’s people as had Jonah’s been to the city of Nineveh.  One such passage is as follows:

Jeremiah 11:6-13
	The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.”  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.  So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’ ”
	Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem.  They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words.  They have followed other gods to serve them.  Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers.  Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape.  Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.  The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.  You have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Ball are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
	“Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.”

How did Judah respond to this kind of prophecy?  There are two major examples of repentance recorded 2Kings 18:1-20:21 during the reign of Hezekiah and in 2Kings 22:1-23:30 during the reign of Josiah.  These examples of repentance were top down and all of the people did not participate with their hearts.  The text speaks of many high places that continued to exist.

So it would seem that repentance has something to do with the heart.  Nineveh’s repentance was very striking because of the depth of it.  “The king took of his royal robes and covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. (Jnh 3:6)”  He proclaimed a fast for all citizens and their animals as well.  He also declared that the citizens and their animals be covered with sackcloth.  He called for universal prayer to the Lord to spare them.  He called for them to give up their evil and violent ways in order to hope to please God.  This repentance started with the people but the message of God was so powerful the king was compelled to put his own approval and led the repentance by example.

The repentances of Judah and Jerusalem in contrast to this would seem to be only half-hearted.  These repentances were certainly led by the kings and the priests but all of the people did not take part so that at the death of that king then the country would fall right back into sin.  Even the temple in Jerusalem would be defiled by offerings and alters to false gods.  So if the heart is not involved then the repentance is then suspect.

In the New Testament there are examples of mass repentance, for instance at the occasion of the first gospel sermon.  “When Peter said “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’  Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.  With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Ac 2:36-41).”

The Individual

But what do these nice stories do for me on this Lord’s Day in 2004?  Repentance is a personal act in response to recognition of sin in our lives.  This is what the Lord requires from us in order to truly give us the forgiveness that he has promised. In fact there are many examples of personal repentance throughout all scriptures.

One of the greatest of these is David’s repentance on the occasion of Nathan’s challenge to David regarding the sin in his life.  In the 51st Psalm David pours out his heart to God in prayer begged for forgiveness.  His repentant heart is very much evident in this psalm.

Psalm 51:3-6
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.  Surely I was sinful from the time my mother conceived me.  Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place (NIV).

We can see from this passage that David was cut to the heart enough to humble himself before his God and his people.  This humility of spirit is what God seems to want from us.  Look at the sackcloth and the dust and the fasting of the Ninevites.  Without humility do we really have repentance in our hearts?

In the book of Mark (which is Peter’s story), the reaction of Peter to his betrayal of Jesus is recorded in chapter 14 versed 72.  “Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him:  ‘Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.’  And he broke down and wept.  Peter through the words of Mark is not afraid to tell us of his own failures.  After all we may benefit from knowing these things, especially his repentance.  Both Matthew and Luke also record that Peter went outside and wept bitterly.  Peter was touched in his heart by what he had done and repented.

Paul sinned and he reminded the church at Galicia of his sin in the following passage:
Galatians 1:13-14
For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.  I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my won age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers (NIV).

He also reminded Timothy of his sin to illustrate the mercy of God.

1 Timothy 1:13
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

The problem that I referred to in my opening remarks was of course sin.  Both Nineveh and Jerusalem had to deal with their sin.  Also David, Peter, and Paul had sin in their lives to deal with.  The overriding question is what did they do?

The answer is found in repentance.  For if sin is discovered and there is no repentance then how can there be forgiveness?  In every case but Jerusalem’s there was a cutting to the heart and a deep felt repentance and subsequently forgiveness at some level.

So since sin is really on a personal level our repentance has to be as well.  Even in the case of Nineveh the king called on each individual and their animals to repent.  Should we follow their example today?  How can we not.

Is that what we see in our world today, true heartfelt repentance?  Or do we see a whitewashing of sin by labeling it simply inappropriate behavior.  Do we see dealing with sin as just another and should be acceptable lifestyle?  I think that from the examples covered today that we can easily see that God expects something more from us.  Maybe not sackcloth and fasting; however, a humble, sincere, and contrite heart when we repent is a good starting place.  For repentance is not only necessary for forgiveness of our sins but also the starting point for healing in our lives.

For as we see what happened to Nineveh, we can see that our lives can be salvaged and changed by God’s forgiveness.

Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

Also in Peter’s life the Lord had compassion the apostle John writes:

John 21:15-19
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “ Do you love me?”  He said “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.  I tell you the truth, when your were younger you dressed yourself and went where your wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hand, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jess said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter world glorify God!  Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Conclusion:

Jesus had a lot in store for Peter to do.  Peter had a big role to play in the beginning of the Lord’s church.  So you see, if true repentance is there, then there is forgiveness, and all can have inclusion in God’s family as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit.