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THE K I N G ' S B US I NE S S The brute creation suffers with man (Rom. 8:20) “ F or the creature -was made subject to vanity, not w illingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” God cared for the cattle (4:11) “ And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot dis cern between their righ t hand and their left hand; and also much ca ttle !” National sins call for national repent ance. Nations and corporations must be judged and receive reward or pun ishment here. A national repentance may avert a calamity. Read Isa. 10: 13, 14 for God’s charge against Assyria. The world deserves judgment. It needs Jonahs who will warn of coming doom. Nineveh repented after one sermon, but the Jews refused after years of warning. The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment (Luke 11:32) ‘"The men o f Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment w ith this generation and shall condemn it; fo r they repented at the preaching o f Jonah; and, behold, a great er than Jonah is here.” The besetting sins of Nineveh were cruelty, violence and vileness. They gave up their evil works, they turned to God and God “ repented.” That is, He changed His attitude to man because of man’s change. God never changes, but the conditions are changed. The Nineveh to whom Jonah spoke ceased to be and a' new Nineveh took its place. They changed so there was a seeming change in God. So it. is with the sin ner. God never yet turned away from any penitent heart. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The reluctance of Jonah to go is like the reluctance of the church to accept its missionary commission. (2) Jonah had to be shut up before he would show up. (3) The church needs a Jonah ex perience to bring it to its senses. (4) Jonah had a second chance. Many Christians will never have. (5) Three days in a dungeon would be a wholesome dose for shirking saints.
(2) JONAH’S COMPLIANCE, vs. 3, 4. No more discouraging field ever open ed to a missionary. Noah, had his fam ily, Paul, his companions; the disciples went two by two; but Jonah went a- lone. The Assyrian army had overrun Palestine and the surrounding country was tributary. To the Ninevites the God of Palestine was the God of a nar row strip of land and quite unable to protect the inhabitants. They were liv ing in splendour and power and had every reason to believe in their own prowdss and future glory. For this strange man, with his strange message, to walk alone into such a city, with such a message, meant much. To pass under the great walls, to push by its priests and princes, to stand under the shadows of the temple and palace and give such a message, required faith and courage of an un usual sort. If ever a man needed God’s help and guidance, Jonah needed it and he had it. From street to street he went, openly, fearlessly, emphatical ly. A man who has himself been de livered is just the man to preach de liverance to others. To give warning to sinners is God’s plan. (Jer. 18:7-10) Our Lord ut tered warnings to the Jews and to’ the world (Matt. 23:13-36) (3) NINEVEH’S CONFESSION, vs. 5- 10 . “ So the people believed.” This is wonderful! One man, one day, one message,— and a whole city brought to its knees, king and peasant alike! There was no mercy, no promise, only warning of doom. The people believed God ( n o t Jonah). Fear possessed them all. They repented, and the sign of their repent ance was manifested by the fast and sackcloth. (Joel. 2:12-14) The king set a noble example. The decree affected both man and beast.
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