Day 10 - Jonah 3:6-8

A Fasted Journey for Spiritual Renewal

Day 10

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

Two days in a row from Jonah…hmm, maybe the next chapters of the “Welcome to Nineveh” series are closer than they have been since I wrote the first two! Ha. Time will tell. Jonah remains on my mind as I continue my own 3 day sojourn in a wicked and corrupt capital city. This morning Steve and I attended a breakfast. There were a bunch of congresspeople there. Somewhere around 12. Much to my surprise, they started it off with a prayer. I was grateful for that, and I think that is why in large part these next verses in Jonah persisted for me today coming off of yesterday.

Yesterday’s verse said that the people of Nineveh called for a fast. Today’s says that the king heard of this and then issued a decree that all people and animals fast. Now, on one hand, it is great to see a king moved by the people in such a way. It is also great to see a king turn to the one true God. Yet, tyranny is not acceptable. It forces people to say, do and “believe” things that they otherwise would not. Forcing Nineveh into this theocratic time of repentance clearly implies that at least some of the people did not have a true heart. Heck, maybe even most of them did not.

Nonetheless, the king taking this measure is indicative that he believed impending doom was near. As I thought on this today and thought of these political “leaders” whom we spoke with this morning, I also found myself wondering if they have a true heart. Not my place, yet based on the overall actions of our collective government, hard to truly believe that they have a proper understanding of government’s role or even a proper understanding of truth. I pray that isn’t the case for those whom we had breakfast with this morning.

My bible commentary points out that “however deep the penitential mourning of Nineveh might be, and however sincere the repentance of the people they acted according to the king’s command; the repentance was not a lasting one, or permanent in its effects. Apparently the Ninevites responded from fear (cf. Jonah 3:8-9) under the power of Jonah’s proclamation. Though the people were outwardly contrite there may have been no enduring spiritual change.”

Primarily I am concerned with my own sin. That being said, the overall sin nature, wickedness and anti-Christ stance of so many in our society and indeed in our government is appalling. We need not wonder at any of it though. That is the way of man; we will all turn to our own wicked sin nature and desires if we fail to accept the truth that we are wretched. That we are sinful and that we do need Christ’s atonement for our own sin. As in Nineveh, there is hope for America too. God can work and move in ways unimaginable. I certainly have seen that over the last 20 months or so. He has the power to do all things. Even save a wicked nation.

Jeremiah 18:7-10 says, “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.”Let’s pray that our country turns from it’s wickedness, repents, and turns back to Christ.

I am not a medical professional. This journal is about my spiritual path and about that which the Lord has placed on me. This is not medical advice, nor was this fast done for any medical purpose. If you have a medical interest, seek medical advice. If you have particular health concerns, seek medical advice and/or conduct your own research. Any fasting advice, effects, realizations or anything else related to my fast come from my personal reflection and experience. If you are considering fasting, consulting with a healthcare provider may be appropriate for you.