The Nineveh Factor!

Those who hear the message and repent will be saved. Look at the writing of Jonah and the city of Nineveh in their historical setting. The book of Jonah is said to have been written about 760 BC which was just 38 years before Assyria conquered Israel’s Northern Kingdom. God instructed Jonah to carry His message of repentance to the city of Nineveh. God gave the Ninevites opportunity to determine their own destiny. Nineveh represented the seat of government for the Assyrian Empire which was Israel's most cruel and despised enemy. It is probable that Jonah was called to deliver God's message to Nineveh to purge Assyria before God used them to conquer Israel. Many who heard Jonah's message would still have been alive in 722 BC when Samaria, the capital city of Israel, fell. The city of Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians between 625 and 612 BC Therefore, Nineveh's relevance to the ministry of Jonah and God's timetable was from 760 – 612 BC (148 yrs.).

Why was the city of Nineveh so important to God at the time of Jonah's writing? It was part of the system of government for the Assyrian Empire. Therefore it was a portion of the governmental structure and the seat of government. The height of world power for Assyria was from 900 – 625 BC The area of Nineveh was used by Assyrian kings as their primary location to rule their territories. The Assyrians conquered many nations in the Middle East. Their method of control was to scatter the nations to different locations within their borders. God used the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their sins and allowed them to force the northern tribes into exile.

It is important for the government of nations to know and submit to the leadership of God. History has taught us that those who don't will inevitably fail. King David tells us in Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Although God used Assyria to discipline Israel, He also used Babylon to bring judgment on Assyria in their fall from world domination. We can see the cycle of world powers change to serve the will of God, the Ruler of the Universe.

We are told in the book of Jonah that the wickedness of this great city cried out for judgment. Jonah 1:1, “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” God said, “for their wickedness is come up before me.” Ellicott states, “the Hebrew implies especially evil-doing against others, that violence which in Jonah 3:8 is recognized by the Ninevites themselves as their characteristic sin.” Jonah 3:8, “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.” This was the decree by the King of Nineveh thereby the people of Nineveh acknowledged their great sin and repented in sackcloth and ashes.

It is noteworthy that the Word of the Lord to Nineveh was not against a person or group of people but against an entire nation. Nineveh was the seat of government for the Assyrian Empire. The issue before God was a system of wickedness which required repentance and change. And it was to begin with leadership at the highest level.

The Nineveh Factor – Leadership/government is judged along with the people who have consented freely to such leadership/government. Repent and return to God!