Devotion 5: A Wicked King That Chose Repentance
Joshua Peterson
"The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, 'By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.'" Jonah 3:6-8
The more I run to the Lord, the more my sin is revealed in my life. As I become a brighter light for His kingdom, the more darkness in my life sticks out like a sore thumb. Even though I work at the church and am the student director at our Holly location, I am so broken. Three years ago, I moved from Grand Rapids to Colorado to work at a Christian camp called Sky Ranch and to do a program called the Legacy Fellowship. This program is aimed for college graduates and is designed for spiritual growth. Each year, there are around fifteen college graduates in this program. Everyone in this program is far from home for a year. The people you live with are the same people you work with, and are the same people you hang out with. You don’t have any other options for friends because you are all stuck together on a mountain away from home. The nearest Walmart was roughly an hour and forty minutes away. This remote and close-knit environment revealed my sin all the more.
The Ninevites, just like myself, are sinners. They were part of the Assyrian empire and were known to be very violent, carrying out fleshly desires. They would even cut off the noses and ears of the prisoners and do other terrible acts to strike fear into surrounding nations and enemies.
However, after Jonah shared God’s message, even while the Ninevites lived in wickedness, they immediately repented from their sin and turned to God. The king of Nineveh himself immediately removed his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he called the rest of Nineveh to do the same. All of Nineveh recognized their sin and turned to God. Then, in Jonah 3:10, God chooses not to destroy Nineveh because of their repentance.
God used Jonah to reveal Nineveh’s sin, just like He used people in my life while I lived in Colorado to reveal my sin. As followers of Christ, are you calling out brothers and sisters in their sin? How are you responding to brothers and sisters in Christ when they call out your sin? Are you repenting like the Ninevites, or are you continuing to live in accordance with your flesh?