Forty Days

Today’s Passage: Jonah 3

The word of the LORD comes to Jonah a second time. God tells him to get up and go to Nineveh. This time Jonah obeys. He walks one day into a massive city and delivers one short sentence. The people hear the reluctant preacher, and God relents.

Jonah 3:1–3 (BSB)

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: ² “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.” ³ This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time. You see the same God, the same city, and the same command. The message is the exact one God gives him. Jonah gets up and walks to Nineveh. A person’s feet can obey before the heart agrees. The text states plainly that he went.

Jonah 3:4 (BSB)

⁴ On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”

Jonah preaches one brief sermon. In English, it amounts to eight words. He states the bare facts. He declares that in forty days Nineveh will face destruction. He delivers the warning God gave him, and the city listens.

Jonah 3:5–6 (BSB)

⁵ And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. ⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

The Ninevites believed God. From the greatest official to the lowest servant, they declared a fast and put on sackcloth. When the report reached the king, he stepped down from his throne, removed his royal robe, covered himself in sackcloth, and sat in ashes. God’s word produced this response.

Jonah 3:7–9 (BSB)

⁷ Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. ⁸ Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”

The king accepts the warning without bargaining. He commands the entire city to stop eating, to call out to God, and to abandon their violence. He expresses hope aimed at the proper authority. He recognizes that God might turn and relent.

Jonah 3:10 (BSB)

¹⁰ When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.

When God saw their actions, that they had turned (שׁוּב) shuv, pronounced SHOOV. Strong's H7725, to turn, return, turn back. Turn means a literal change of direction. The people of Nineveh abandoned their violent paths, and God saw their obedience. The preacher remained stubborn, but the word accomplished its purpose. from their evil ways, He relented. They changed their course, God saw their action, and God withheld the disaster.

Jonah spoke a short warning he despised. The city turned. God relented. The word of God operates with full authority even when the messenger lacks passion. A violent culture heard the truth and changed course. God owed them no mercy, yet He gave it freely.

Forty days was the warning. The city heard the message, and God relented. Jonah merely delivered the words. Today, speak one true sentence from Scripture to someone you feel reluctant to address. If you cannot see them, pray for them by name, asking God to help them hear His truth and turn.

Pray to Close

Praise God that His word accomplishes exactly what He sends it to do. Thank Him for showing mercy when people change their course. Ask Him to speak His truth through you today, even when you feel reluctant to share it.