shabbat shalom everyone god bless you we want to welcome you to the shabbat saturday meeting of the holy scriptures in israel and we are continuing together with the study of the book of yonah jonah the prophet hopefully you have the word of god in your hand we will pray together and we will read today from the book of jonah in the third chapter jonah chapter three let's ask the lord to bless us today and we will read from the word of god our god and our father we want to thank you so much for the lord yeshua our messiah who gave himself for us and we know we realize that he's above all because of who he is and because of what he has done bless us we pray as we open the scripture in the book of yonah we commit ourselves to you abba our father for we ask it in yeshua in jesus name amen amen well beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends turn with me to the book of Jonah and our reading will be today from Jonah chapter 3.

I'm going to read the 10 verses of this chapter and please follow me as I'm reading Jonah chapter 3 and verse 1 and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey, and Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried and he said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

"For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe from him and covered him with saklos and sat in ashes and he calls to be and he calls it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles saying let neither man nor beast heard no flock taste anything let them not feed nor drink water but let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God yea let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his furious anger that we perish not.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not. And I'm going to stop here in this verse 10 which is the last verse of Jonah chapter 3 this is such an amazing prophecy because it is interesting because Yonah is one of the only prophets of Israel that we don't read in the in his prophecy that he preached a message to his own people Israel although he surely did because he's called the prophet of Israel even by the Lord Jesus the Messiah he is called a prophet a prophet but yet in this prophecy of the book of Yonah what we see is a prophet from Israel going outside of the land of Israel to give a word to another nation usually beloved brothers and sisters when a one received a message from the prophets of israel from the other nations of the world usually they would come to the land of israel and they would hear the message of god from the land within the land from the prophet of israel but that this prophecy here you're not the prophet is going out of the land to give a message from god to a nation to a people to the city that is called Nineveh.

Well up to this point of time in our study together we have covered the first two chapters of the prophecy of the prophet Yonah. We really kind of stole a little bit in chapter two which was so important to study together because in the second chapter of the book of Yonah or we should say from the second chapter of the book of Yonah we have learned how Jonah was a cast into the sea he was swallowed up by a fish at the end of chapter one as we read it in the book of Jonah and he was in the fish's belly for three days and three nights and in the second chapter we have learned if you remember these two lessons number one we have learned about the the four stages in Jonah's experience with the Lord Jonah 2 verses 1 to 10 and secondly we have learned of the five points that we learned concerning Jonah's prayer and if you remember we have learned that Jonah literally died.

He was three days and three nights in the fish's belly and after three days and three nights he was resurrected and ultimately his body remained in the fish's belly as a tomb for the three days and three nights and ultimately the fish have vomited Jonah on a dry land according to the last verse of Jonah chapter 2 and so we saw the four stages in Jonah's experience with the Lord: Jonah's disobedient to God, secondly Jonah's disciplined by God, thirdly Jonah's dedication to God and fourthly Jonah's deliverance by God and that's what we have learned in the second chapter when we looked at the four stages.

We have also presented before you these five points that we have learned from Jonah's prayer while he was still in the fish's belly and we have covered these very interesting threefold prayers of jonah in chapter 1 verse 17 jonah was swallowed by the fish that god had prepared and then we have learned that we have seen that jonah was three days and three nights in the fish's belly and he became a picture and a type of the death and burial and resurrection of our lord yeshua jesus the messiah we have covered it that while jonah wrote his prayer after he was vomited out of the of the fish but jonah's prayer actually took place when

jonah was still in a fish's belly after his resurrection and before he was vomited out upon the dry land and so actually Jonah prayed really three distinct prayers which he had prayer and if you remember when he prayed these three prayers one prayer was in the beginning when he was cast into the water his second prayer was when he was in Sheol and his third prayer was after he was resurrected and he prayed his final prayer before he was cast into the it was actually a vomited unto the dry land and here now we are moving into the third chapter and so in the third chapter very interesting beloved brothers and sisters we really learn

that Jonah is now recommissioned by the Lord to go once again into the but he's called again to by the Lord to go into the city of Nineveh and so this a third chapter divide itself into a few sections first of all in verses one and two Jonah is commissioned once again he's to go to the city of Nineveh secondly in verses three to four Jonah obedience to God's command then in verses five to nine we learn that the people of Nineveh repented and turned back to the Lord and finally we see the forgiveness of God for the people of Nineveh who repented and turned back to the Lord.

Let's just go over these verses together in the third chapter of the book of Jonah. In verses one and two, beloved brothers and sisters, from these two verses we learn three things actually. Three things we learn from verse one and two. Let me read them to you. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, verse two now, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. We learn three lessons here from verses 1 and 2. The first thing that we learn is from verse 1 and the first part of verse 2, that God is a God of the second chance.

I'm repeating that. God is the God of the second chance and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying arise and go unto Nineveh.

In other words God is the God of the second chance and god is willing to restore his servants to serve him this is so important because many time beloved brothers and sisters we as believers and believers throughout the history whether it is the history of israel or whether it is the history of the assembly the ecclesia the church God's people are oftentimes failed alone and God is always ready to restore his people and to use them once again to continue to serve him again you remember what we read we oftentimes mention this in first john chapter one and verse nine john says to the believers to whom he wrote and he's writing to the brethren

to the believers who are already belong to the lord and he said if we confess our sins now as believers he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness god is always ready to restore his people that air that have gone astray and so in verse 1 in verse 2 we read and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah notice the second time now what happened at the first time when the Lord called him in chapter 1 and verse 1 the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai saying arise go to Nineveh that great city and cry against it for the wickedness

is come up before me and what we did read in verse 3 but Jonah rose up to flee and to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord here's a servant in disobedience he he went west instead of going east he went toward Tarshish instead of going to Nineveh disobeying the Lord, a disobedient servant, and yet because he repented and confessed his sin before the Lord, as we have read it in the second chapter, God was ready to forgive him, and God was ready to restore him and to use him again.

It is good to remember these beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters because you and I a time failed the Lord and then because we failed the Lord we a time assume that God has done away with us that's it he doesn't want us anymore he's not going to use us anymore but then when we read the prophecy of Jonah how God is so gracious and he was ready to forgive him and to restore him you remember when when we read in chapter 2 when my soul fainted within me i remember the lord and my prayer came unto thee into the thine holy temple that they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy but

i will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving i will pay that which i have vowed salvation is of the lord jonah cried in his prayer and the lord gave a command to the fish and the fish vomited him on a dry land we do not know how much time passed between chapter one and chapter two it seems like it just continued immediately and we don't know where exactly Jonah was vomited which dry land was he vomited upon whether he was vomited in the city of Yaffa where he first took the the ship or whether he was vomited closer to his to Gat Hefer where he closer to where he lived we do not

know where the fish vomited him but one thing we know that god was ready to use his servant once again let me remind you that even father our father abraham he had lapse in his life according to genesis chapter 12 and verse 10 abraham who should have remained in the land of he went down to egypt and there in egypt he had to realize that he was not in the right place where god had intending him to be and he needed to come back to the land later on in chapter 20 we read of abraham going once again away from the land into the land of gerar and if you remember beloved brothers and sisters

what happened in the land of Grah Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country this is Genesis chapter 20 and we read and he dwelt between Kadesh and Shur and his surgeon in Grah and Abraham lied about his wife Sarah saying that she was his sister and then Avimelech the king took her.

And then later on, Abraham had to confess that he was wrong. God preserved Sarah, but Abraham was wrong by going down to Egypt, going down to Grar. God sent him to, brought him from Mesopotamia to come to the promised land of Canaan to take care of him. But Abraham, like you and I, like Yonah, like others, had failed the Lord and he needed to be restored the lord used him again doesn't it remind us also beloved brothers and sisters of peter when peter denied the lord yeshua the messiah three times and yet the lord restore him as we read in the book of john in the gospel of john in chapter 21 you remember what we read in john chapter 21 and verse 15 onward we read that jesus says and unto them come and dine and you remember simon peter is asking him three times he denied him three times and the lord challenged him three times and he uh and he said to him a simon shimon loveth thou me more than these and you remember Remember how Simon Peter responded?

He responded and he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love thee?" And the Lord told him, "Feed my sheep." And again he asked him again, "Loveest thou me?" And again he said to him, "Lord, thou knowest that I love thee?" And he said unto him, "Feed my sheep." And the third time he said again, "Do you really love me?" using a different Greek word. And then Peter, after the third time, he says, "Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee." And Yeshua said to him, "Feed my sheep, feed my land." When we fail and we are so discouraged, the Lord is always ready to use his servant again and again and again if we only repent and turn to the lord back for the word of the lord came unto jonah the second time and so the first lesson we learn from this verse 1 and verse 2 is that god is a god of the second chance and although sometimes we do not give a second chance to one another god is not a man and praise god that we have a loving god and a gracious savior is always ready to restore us and to reuse us for his service even after we fail but secondly notice what we learn here from these verses that we learn that god is not only a god of the second chance but He is a God who has concern and love for all people.

Although Yonah was a prophet of Israel, and although Yonah was a part of the nation whom God had chosen for Himself, but Israel was called to be a light to the Gentiles. Or lagoyim, Israel was called to be a nation that will lead the Gentiles to come to the living and true God. And so notice again, as we are reading these two verses here, again we learn that God loves all humanity. So he said, "Arise and go to Nineveh." Nineveh is not part of the nation of Israel. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. Nineveh was the city and the capital city of the kingdom that was already foretold by God that they will come and they will destroy the nation of Israel, which they did a few years later.

And so the ancient Assyrian city, it was in upper Mesopotamia in a modern day city today of Mosul in modern Iraq today in the northern of Iraq and it was situated there in the east banks of the Tigris river the capital and the largest city of the neo-Assyrian empire. Nineveh is the largest city in the world for several decades and you can see how the city of Nineveh was a large city, was a wicked city. They've done evil in the sight of the Lord, and yet God has a concern for the people of Nineveh, for the people of Assyria, as he has concern for all the nations of the world in any generation.

And although we do not read much about God's dealing with the nations surrounding Israel with respect to going to them to share with them the message of the of the love of God yet we are confident that in every generation the message was proclaimed to the various nations surrounding Israel although we don't have a record of it in the word of God but people like Rahav and people like Hut de Moabiah and people like from other nations have come and embraced the god of israel over the generations so god's love is not limited to israel but god's love is for all people let me remind you what we read in first timothy chapter 2 and

verses 3 and 4 i want to read these verses to you first Timothy chapter 2 and verses 3 and 4 we read listen to this for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior who will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth God will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth in second Peter chapter 3 we also read beloved brothers and sisters and I should read this to you as well second Peter chapter 3 and verse 9 this is also beautiful verse to realize that in verse 9 we do read that the Lord is not slack concerning

his promise as some men count slackness but is long-suffering usward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance God is a God who has concern and has love for all nations beloved brothers and sisters no wonder he's sending jonah and he's giving him a second chance to go to minister his word to preach his word in order that many from nineveh will come to know it to know the god of jonah you remember what we read in the end of the Gospel of Matthew where the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah in our present day said in the foundation of the assembly before he was ascended to heaven in Matthew chapter

28 he says "Go, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo i am with you all way even unto the end of the age unto the end of the world amen this is the heart of god and although we are living today in a different dispensation as it was in the days of of yonah yonah was under the law under the prior to the coming of the mashiach of the messiah yeshua but we live today in the dispensation of the grace of god where the message of

the gospel is going to all the nations of the world and god is uniting both jewish and gentile individuals and forming what is known to us today as the ecclesia the called out once a heavenly company the bride of the messiah awaiting for the coming of the lord but you notice this that god's heart is towards all people as he asked jonah to go and present his message to the people of Nineveh but the third thing we learned from jonah chapter 3 verses 1 And two, we learned the third thing there, that God is expecting from his servant to preach what he bid him to do.

No more and no less. God wants his servants to preach sincerely the word that he gave him to preach. And that's why we read, and I'm reading again, Jonah 3 verses 1 and 2a. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise and go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. You tell Nineveh? You preach to Nineveh? The Hebrew word for preach is the Hebrew word likro, kral, call out and present before Nineveh exactly what I am telling you to preach to the people of Nineveh. This is also, beloved brothers and sisters, a very important lesson to learn here in these two verses, because God wants us to preach His Word, because it is only His Word that affects the hearts of mankind.

you remember what we read again i'm back to timothy in second timothy chapter 4 and verse 1 paul said to a younger believer to timothy and he's saying to timothy i charge you notice that second timothy chapter 4 and verse 1 i charge thee therefore before god and the lord jesus christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearance at his kingdom notice verse 2 it says preach the word preach the word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine in other words give the word give the word of God preach the Word, no more and no less.

The Word of God, "Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God." That's why it is so important to realize that even in our days today we are to give the Word of God. That's why we are doing it through radio. That's why we are doing it through video. That's why we are doing it through meetings together. That's why we are doing it when we converse with one another because there is an effect the word of god will not return unto him void there is power in the word of god because it is empowered by the spirit of god and faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god and that's why god is very specific with yonah is saying to him, "Go unto this Nineveh, rise and go unto Nineveh, that great city, and not as preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." That I bid thee.

Beloved brothers and sisters, whether it is for unbelievers or whether it is for believers, the Word of God is that which the Lord wants us to present. No more and no less. Simply the sincere milk of the word. For the believers, the sincere milk of the word help us to grow thereby and to mature, but the preaching must be true to his word. You remember there was a man by the name of Bilaam who was a false prophet and when our forefathers the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt and they were on the way to the promised land Bilaam was hired by a certain king Balak to come to curse the people of Israel and every time he sought to curse the people of Israel for gain because Balak promised him so much.

God turned the cursing of Bilaam to actually give parables that were blessing for the nation of Israel. In every generation you have these false prophets, false preachers, false teachers that God is warning his people to be careful and only to preach the word of the lord to timothy paul said in first in second timothy chapter four and verses he continue on he said in verse three for the time will come verse three in second timothy four and verse three the time will come when they shall not endure sound doctrine but after their own lust shall they heap for themselves teachers having itching ears, and they will turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.

You now preach the word that I am telling you to preach, and every servant today and in every generation is called to preach the word of the Lord. just want to read one more verse in first peter in chapter 4 first peter in chapter 4 and verse 11 where we do read if any man speak let him speak as the oracles of god if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ through Yeshua HaMashiach to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever amen if any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God you're now you're are going to preach you're going to speak now to the people of Nineveh preach unto them the words that I am calling you to preach what a lesson we learn here from these two verses of Jonah chapter 3.

Jonah received a second chance because God is a God of the second chance and God is a God who is concerned with all people from every people tongues and nation and God is expecting from Jonah and from all his servants to preach exactly what he bid them to preach preach the word no more and no less but preach the word of the Lord and so now notice this beloved brothers and sisters in verses 3 and 4 Jonah's obedience to God's command. You see in chapter 1 Jonah disobeyed God. In chapter 2 he repented and he said salvation is of the Lord. And now after God has commanded the fish to vomit Jonah and to vomit him into a dry ground, now Jonah is obeying his God, the God of Israel.

And so we do read in verse 3 and 4, notice we read, so Jonah arose and he went unto Nineveh. Notice, according to the word of the Lord, now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey. Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey and he cried and he said yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown now you can see beloved brothers and sisters that Jonah in his mission he gone to Nineveh and Nineveh again is the capital of the enemy nation of Israel imagine this in a few decades they will wipe israel of the of the political map and if we know that's where in 721 bc when the assyrian took our own people the northern the 10 kings of king the 10 tribes of israel and destroyed them and dispersed them all over and placed upon them havoc and terrible things happened to the people of israel when the assyrian came and took them and yet he's going now to the a city of nineveh in obedience to the lord and you notice that he's coming all the way from the from the land of israel from gat hefer or from yafo we do not know how much time have passed between chapter 2 and chapter 3 and he's going down north and east all the way and he's arriving to the city of Nineveh.

How beautiful to see that this time he's obeying.

Now remember beloved brothers and sisters that we have already shared with you that Jonah had a reason as to why he did not want to go to the city of Nineveh because he knew from the prophets of Israel from Amos and Isaiah what God declared about the decree that God will punish the people of Israel his own people and he will use the Assyrians and so Jonah did not want to be the vessel that will be sustaining in other words allowing himself to be a vessel where the Assyrians will will remain to come and judge his people sometimes people say well he hated the gentiles but that's not true no prophet of god who knows

the heart of god will ever hate anyone if he has the mind of the lord and the heart of the lord but jonah knew what will happen later on and the trip is about 700 miles would have given Jonah probably some even suggest even a month in order to get to that place where he's going whether he rode on a donkey or whatever he took but he had to go for a long journey to get all the way to the city of Nineveh and now he is arriving to the city of Nineveh Notice we read in verse 3, so Jonah arose and he went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.

And now Nineveh was an exceeding great city. Now that expression, very interesting expression, here in Jonah chapter 3 and verse 3, That expression, an exceeding great city is mentioned three or four times, beloved brothers and sisters, here in this book of Jonah. In fact, it is mentioned in chapter 1 and verse 2. It is mentioned here again twice in chapter 3 and verse 2 and verse 3. Arise and go unto Nineveh, that great city. And verse 3, and Nineveh was an exceeding great city. And it will be mentioned once again in chapter 4 and verse 11. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city? Now, Nineveh had been a great city. And it is interesting that it had been said that the city of Nineveh, Nineveh was the center of other cities that were around the city of Nineveh, and together with another three cities, Nineveh became such a huge, great city that many have lived not too far from the city itself.

In fact, I want you to go to Genesis for a moment, to chapter 10 when you have the the names of the various nations that are listed before us in genesis chapter 10 we have three other cities that are mentioned along with Nineveh the city of Rechovot the city of Kalach and the city of Resen it is mentioned in Genesis chapter 10 in verse 11 and 12 out of that land went forth Ashur notice here is that Assyria Ashur and the notice and builded Nineveh and the city of Rechovot and Kalach in Hebrew then verse 12 and Rezen between Nineveh and Kalach is the same notice that the same is a great city so what you have here really four cities together Nineveh and then we have Rechovot Kalach and Resen in Genesis chapter 10 and verses 11 and 12 and Nineveh in a sense was it's like you know it's like you have a city like Toronto or Jerusalem and you have greater Jerusalem or greater Toronto, greater New York, and so on, or any other suburbs, smaller cities, but the city of Nineveh became that great city, the one that was recognized, even though there were other suburbs around it.

And so you notice in verse 3, Jonah is rising up and he went to Nineveh.

secondly Jonah arrived to the city of Nineveh and then thirdly we learned beloved brothers and sisters from verse three that the size of the city of Nineveh was a three-day journey three days journey when you really think about the the to walk for three days if you walk for let's say a day of work or day of walk is 8-10 hours imagine if you walk from one side to the other side it will take you three days to cross from one side of Nineveh to the other side of Nineveh which will include Rechovot, Kalach and Resen three days journey it was huge city surrounded city protected city the city of Nineveh and Jonah have entered

into the city according to verse 4 as he's entering into the city notice then he's entering into the city and he's going only one day journey notice it says in verse 4 Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey he doesn't get even to the center we might say but he's already beginning to preach the word of the lord and notice the message that he gives he doesn't say to them god love you although god did love all men he doesn't say to them he doesn't preach to them any we might say a gospel message as we know it today but what does he preach it says listen to that what a word

the lord told him to to preach yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown in hebrew it says od arbaim yom venineveh nehepechet the word nehepechet is the hebrew word overthrown turning upside down mean to turn upside down yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown now it is interesting because he's using the number 40.

the number 40 in the hebrew scriptures is often time used beloved brothers and sisters as a number that representing testing it is a number that representing in the word of god it is often time it represent a testing but it's also represent chastisement god you know numbers in scripture are often time represent something that God conveys in his word for example the number seven speaks of a completeness of the full number every number has a meaning in the word of God the number three speaks of the number of resurrection Yeshua was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth Jonah was three days and three nights in Ephesians belly it speaks of resurrection death and resurrection and so the number 40 is very important because it seemed to be that as john as jonah is preaching yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown overthrown in other words it is a message of judgment judgment is coming judgment is coming Yet 40 days in, Nineveh will be turning upside down, "nehepechet." Now just to mention, if you are for your own record, often times the number 40 is mentioned in the Word of God as a number of testing.

Noah was in the flood and the flood took place for 40 days and 40 nights according to Genesis chapter 7 and verse 4 and then from verse 12 to verse 17. Moses was 40 years in Midian according to Acts chapter 7 and verses 29 and 30. Israel, our people of all, were 40 years in the wilderness according to Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 3.

Moses again went to the mountain of Sinai to receive the law and he was there for 40 days and 40 nights according to Exodus chapter 24 and verse 18 Elijah the prophet was 40 days and 49 in search for food according to 1st Kings chapter 19 and verse 8 and in fact beloved brothers and sisters according to the brita hadashah to the new covenant our lord yeshua jesus the messiah was 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness according to matthew chapter 4 and verses 1 to 8 where he was he did not eat for 40 days and 40 nights just to read it to you beloved brothers and sisters where we do read in

matthew chapter 4 and then when yeshua was led up in of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was afterwards hungry then it was the time when satan came to him and he said to him if thou be the son of god so the number 40 according to the word of god is representing a number of testing it is representing a number of chastening and how God is dealing with his own people and how God is testing mankind that number 40 is mentioned in the word of God many times to speak of testing and so here in a sense it

seemed to be that by Jonah preaching yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown will be judged by God that number 40 suggests that God in a sense is offering an opportunity although we realize that the king of Nineveh had very little information about the God of Israel and yet there is a suggestion that God is giving there a way whereby an opportunity for repentance.

Will Nineveh repent? Will the king of Nineveh repent? Will they turn to God? Will they trust the God of Jonah? What will they do with the message that came from the man from Gat-Hefer, the man from the land of Israel? whom God had sent to give this preaching to the people of Nineveh. Now that word in verse 4 "overthrown" is used specifically in connection with Sodom and Gomorrah. I want you for a moment, we have just a little bit more time to turn with me please to the book of Genesis for a moment and in Genesis chapter 19 verse 21 we read you remember what happened in the city of Sodom when God went to Sodom and the city of Sodom was filled with sin and corruption and God would judge the city of Sodom when you remember the two angels went in and how they went into the city of Sodom and how Lot wanted them to come to his house and they didn't want to go initially because Lot, although he was a believer in the God of Abraham, yet he was away from God, he was living in a city filled with corruption and sin and then eventually they went these two angels went to be with a lot and you remember what happened how the men of of of the city of sdome wanted that lot will allow will give these two men which were two angels to come that they may know them know them physically sexually and how eventually God had to judge the whole city of Sodom.

Listen to what we read in verse 21 of Genesis chapter 19: "And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city for which thou had spoken." and we continue notice that in the same chapter chapter 19 and verse 25 in verse 25 we do read beloved brothers and sisters i read verse 24 and the lord rain upon sdom and upon gemora brimstone and fire from the lord out of heaven and notice that he overthrew the hebrew word is the same word overthrown and he overthrew those cities all the plain and all the inhabitants of the city and we in the which grew upon the ground in verse 29 we do read again and it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain that the god remembered abraham and he sent lot out of the midst listen of the overthrow turn it upside down destruction god remembered abraham and notice it says when he overthrew the cities in the which lot dwelled that expression overthrow speak of turning around, turning upside down in judgment.

And that is what the message Jonah set before the people of Nineveh, where he told them, "Yet 40 days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Now notice that as we are moving along now. In verses 5 to 9 we see the people of Nineveh repenting. They apparently understood from the message of Jonah the prophet, they understood somehow that if they will repent, and if they will confess their sins, and if they will will fast and put ashes upon themselves, the God of Jonah will forgive their sins. So notice what happened. This is fascinating. Jonah is giving a message of judgment, and look what happened. The Spirit of God was working in the hearts of the people of Nineveh.

Verse 5, the people of Nineveh believed God, believed the message. So the people of Nineveh believed, listen to the word, they believed God. They believed that God will judge them. They believed that the judgment of God, 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. This is amazing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And even though Jonah gave them a message of judgment, yet 40 days, and Nineveh nehepechet, they will be turning upside down, the city of Nineveh will be judged, yet the people of Nineveh believed God. You know what a wonderful thing it is to give the message that God gave us to give, because God works in the hearts of individuals.

Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Preach the word, God said through Paul to Timothy, preach the word, give the message. And so they believe God. What do they do? Notice that. First of all, we see their faith in verse 5, they believe. Secondly, we see that they proclaim a fast. They did something about it. They proclaim a fast. thirdly we read in the same verse that they put sackcloth upon themselves they put on sackcloth and fourthly we read that this is included everyone in the city according to verse 5 from the greatest of them even to the least of them from the older to the younger from the wealthiest to the poorest, all of them came to a point that they repented.

They believed God, they proclaimed the fast, they put on sackcloth, and all of them were those that were included in this repentance. remember what the lord jesus the messiah said in matthew chapter 12 and verse 41 when he spoke to those who did not accept him he said in matthew chapter 12 in verse 41 he said the man of nineveh shall arise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Yonah and behold greater than Jonah is here. Yeshua said the people of Nineveh will arise in a day of judgment and they will condemn this generation of those who rejected him they will condemn that generation why because these people of Nineveh they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and yet look, in your midst you have one that is greater than Yonah, and that one that is greater than Yonah is none other but our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

And so quickly, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 6 we read the action of the king, even the king, the king of Nineveh we read for the word came unto the king of Nineveh and he himself arose from his throne and he laid his robe from him and he covered himself with sackcloth and he sat on he sat in ashes even the king the king realized as Yonah was preaching yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown and apparently he understood that he has to turn to God to the God of Jonah and the people understood the Spirit of God worked and imagine beloved brothers and sisters when we might say when a servant of

the Lord goes to a town and preach the message of the gospel where do you ever find in human history where the whole city a whole city come to faith in God come to faith in the Lord Jesus and the Lord Yeshua HaMashiach Well here we read in verse 5: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, they proclaimed a fast, they put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them, and the word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe before him, and he covered himself with sackcloth, and he sat in ashes." and so apparently he gave a proclamation and i

would like to close with the proclamation of the king in verse 7 8 and 9 just let me read these what does the king do he make a proclamation and he proclaim it to all his own people in the city of Nineveh and so we read in verse 7 and he that is the king he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles saying let neither man nor beast even the animals none men or beast heard no flocks taste anything let them not feed no drink water look at the fast that he proclaimed in verse 8 he commanded all to wear sackcloth let men and

beasts cover with sackcloth then in verse 8b he commanded to cry unto god in repentance let them turn everyone from his evil way and from this violence that is in their hand let them cry notice verse a b and cry mightily unto god and let them turn away everyone from his evil and from the violence that is in their hand stop to do evil turn to god in prayer cry to god for mercy maybe he will forgive our sins and then the third thing that we find out in verse 9 at the end we read, "Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his furious anger and we that we

perish not?" Who can tell maybe God will forgive our sins that we perish not?

And so beloved brothers and sisters just to conclude our third chapter in verse 10 we find the forgiveness of God this is so beautiful the forgiveness of God and God saw their works that they turned from the evil way and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not he did not judge the the people of Nineveh he did it not because he saw that there was a change in their hearts their action proved that there was a change in their life and that's remind me of what the apostle Paul said to the Roman believers where he said to them, Do you despise the riches of God's goodness and forbearance and long-suffering?

Don't you know, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? God is such a good God, And the goodness of God ought to work in the life of mankind to turn them back to God, to realize that God is a God of forgiveness. God is willing to forgive sins if anyone will only turn to Him and confess his or her sins unto Him. And I'm going to close with this one verse that is found in Ephesians chapter 1.

In Ephesians chapter 1, we do read in verse 7, in whom we, speaking of ourselves today, in whom we have redemption through his blood, this is the blood of Yeshua the Messiah, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace you know beloved brothers and sisters the lesson that we learn here is that God's goodness leading us to repentance and on the basis of the shed blood of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah we have forgiveness of sins and it is according to the riches of God's grace god in his grace provided for us a way of salvation which he provided for us through the person and the work of our lord yeshua and

jesus the messiah praise god that he is a gracious god who forgives sins and i trust that anyone who listened to this message who is still or him or her who is still without their sins forgiven to recognize that judgment will come sooner or later but God is extending his hand and he says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest believe on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and you shall be saved, repent of your sins, turn to him because he loved you, and he gave himself for you, for me, for all who will only come to him by faith.

Well may the Lord bless his word my dear friends, until the next time we wish you the Lord's blessing, God bless you, we say shalom shalom to you, bye-bye our God and our Father bless your word we pray for we ask it in Yeshua's name Amen. Thank you. Shalom, shalom. Bye-bye.