In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matt. 6:31-32). Instead He said that we should “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (v. 33). Rather than running from God as Jonah had done, we are told to follow God and live by His righteousness. When we live as God wants us to live and do as God wants us to do, then we shall receive “showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 34:26), just as Jonah and the people of Nineveh experienced.
Jonah, having quit running from God and having repented of his rebellion against God, was approached a “second time” by God’s Word and was told, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you” (Jonah 3:1-2). “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord” (v. 3). Having entered the city, Jonah “cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” (v. 4). Jonah was blessed by God with a second opportunity and with the fruits of his labor, as he obeyed God.
The people of Nineveh received God’s blessings as well. Verse 5 tells us that “the people of Nineveh believed God.” They proved their faith through the symbols of their repentance. They “proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them” (v. 5). Even the king repented and led the people in repentance before God: “He arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes” (v. 6). Throughout the land he proclaimed that everyone should fast and repent, putting on sackcloth, and that everyone should “cry mightily to God” (vs. 7-8). In fact, he said specifically, “Let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands” (v. 8). He added, “Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” (v. 9). Either way, regardless of what God may do, we will repent, said the king of Nineveh.
What a great attitude! Here we see true repentance. The king of Nineveh did not tell God, “I will follow you, if you do such and such for me.” No, what he did say is, “I repent of my evil ways because they are wrong. I must turn away from them and follow you, Oh God, with no strings attached.”
The people of Nineveh were an evil and violent people (v. 9). Yet they recognized that the disaster that was about to befall them was the discipline of God because of their rebellion against Him. Therefore, they turned away from their evil ways and chose to follow God. As a result, they received God’s blessings as He “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” (v. 10).
When you follow God and live as God wants you to live and do the things God wants you to do, you receive His blessings. Actually, God’s blessings are literally showered upon you. Those blessings begin with His forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with Him. They continue through His many provisions in your life. He sees you through your times of trouble and meets all your needs as you follow Him. He even showers you with the blessings of the fruits of your labor for Him. The bottom line is that He cares for you and wants you to follow Him. Amen.
