SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/31/2025 12:15 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1“A Royal Mandate”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 3:7-8
Message of the verses: “And he cried out and said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, animal, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat, and do not let them drink water. But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God with their strength that each may turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands.”
I begin this SD by trying to answer why did the king cry out with a loud shout after Jonah began to walk around the city shouting that Nineveh was going to be overthrown in 40 days. I suppose that if you think about this kind of thing you may remember seeing on the news from time to time that people are doing the same kind of thing in different parts of the world and the only results that they get is that people think that they are crazy. Nor so with Jonah’s “preaching” for he was doing exactly the thing that God had called him to do, and because of that the people of Nineveh, including the king are paying attention to him and acting in a way that will bring glory to the Lord. I would definitely call this a planned revival by the Lord, and that is the only kind of revival that counts. There were two great revivals in the early part of the United States, one before the Revolutionary War and on before the Civil War and these were true “Holy Spirit Revivals.” The church that I attend goes back before the civil war, and so I have to believe that God is still using it to bring glory to the Lord.
Now think back to the sailors that are in the first chapter of Jonah, and remember that they came to know the true God because of the storm and because of what Jonah told them. Ironically, the Gentile king and the Gentile sailors responded to the prospect of divine judgment with far more urgency than Jonah had done on the ship.
We can see in our verses that the king immediately issued a desperate decree, beginning with, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles.” We can see that the king understood that drastic measures were very necessary, involving everyone in Nineveh. There was no one who was exempt from this royal mandate. Now because this command was sow sweeping, it was backed by the decree of the king and his nobles. John MacArthur writes “The word decree is actually the Hebrew word for ‘taste,’ any food…This association reinforced that the king’s taste (i.e., his decree concerning repentance) dictated what others could or could not taste (i.e., his decree concerning repentance) dictated what others could or could not taste (i.e, the food prohibited during a fast to demonstrate repentance). Such an edict can not only from the king the highest authority in the land, but also the nobles, the officials who would execute the decree. The term nobles is literally ‘great ones,’ reinforcing that truly those ‘from the greatest to the least of them’ turned from their wickedness to God (Jonah 3:5). With the backing of all those in authority, no one would dare defy the king’s order, lest they face fearsome punishment.”
Spiritual Meaning for My life Today: A few years ago I, of course with the desires of the Lord, began a prayer group in our church after our Wednesday evening Prayer Meeting. There were not a lot of people who came, but that was ok as we just wanted to pray for revival in our country. A couple of years ago the Wednesday evening’s were changed as people went to different homes to talk over Sunday’s sermon and this pretty much stopped our prayer time for revival. Those who did not want to join a group came to the church like before. I miss that time together and it has caused me to not pray as much for revival, something that I need to do. I wonder how many people were praying for revival during the two great revivals in our country. I have read that there were small groups who did pray for revival, which God answered. I wonder how many, if any, were praying for revival in Nineveh before Jonah came to town.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Pray for revival in our country as it seems the death of Charlie Kurk has caused some revival in our country, and for that I give thanks to the Lord.
10/31/2025 12:47 PM
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