5 : ‘They believed God’s message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
6 : When the king of Ninevah heard what was happening, he also dressed in sackcloth; he left the royal palace and sat in dust.’
NOTES
a) just like the gentile sailors in chapter one, the people of Nineveh (Israel’s enemies) are quick to believe and to respond – their genuine belief is proven by their acts of repentance (fasting, dressing in sackcloth, sitting in dust) – how do our actions illustrate or deny our faith / belief in God?
b) the mighty king of Nineveh believes also in God’s message without ever meeting Jonah himself (Jonah only managed a day in the city); the king takes off his royal robes, and leaves his throne and palace, and ‘humbles himself’ – it’s an image St. Paul picks up in Philippians when he describes Jesus leaving the riches and glory of heaven, and descending to earth, as a response to the sins of the people, and as a way of enabling people to turn / change their ways / repent
PRAYER
Oh kneel me down again,
Here at Your feet
Show me how much You love humility
Oh Spirit be the star that leads me to
The humble heart of love I see in You
You are the God of the broken
The friend of the weak
You wash the feet of the weary
Embrace the ones in need
I want to be like You, Jesus
To have this heart in me
You are the God of the humble
You are the humble King
AMEN.
(song by Brenton Brown)