He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. (Jonah 3:7-10, NASB)
You probably know the story of Jonah. God commanded Jonah to go preach to the city of Nineveh (located in present-day Iraq), but Jonah could think of no people to which he would rather not preach salvation. Jonah ran away from God. He boarded a ship which was headed westbound in the Med. When there was a storm, the sailors and other passengers determined that Jonah was to blame, so they threw him into the sea. God appointed “a great fish” which swallowed Jonah, which later spit him up on a beach. Jonah then reported to Nineveh, where he conveyed God’s message: Repent or perish!
The king of Nineveh believed Jonah’s message, and as you read above, issued a proclamation, which stated that every person and beast was to fast and wear sackcloth, and each person was to pray for God’s forgiveness. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” We see that God indeed relented when He saw the Ninevites’ repentance.
We see that God forgives us on a personal level and a national level when we ask Him to forgive us. Jesus is the answer for each person. We must ask God to forgive our sins, and trust Jesus to take over our lives. For the Nation, we have to collectively repent. We have much to ask for forgiveness!