America and the Conversion of Nineveh

Christian people are mourning, and rightly so, the moral degeneration in American society today. Our country is run (mis-run) by a Congress that doesn’t encourage Christian charity, but rather rewards sloth and punishes self-reliance and hard work. One of the major leaders of the House of Representatives is an open homosexual, and some states are agitating to let them “marry.” Not many months ago, a famous Senator, a blatant adulterer and moral miscreant, passed on to his eternal reward and yet was eulogized as one of the greatest statesmen of our time. Our President from 1993-2001 was caught in a vile sexual scandal—and was defended almost unanimously by the Democratic party and suffered no consequences except maybe some embarrassment. He hasn’t gone into hiding yet. And these examples are only from our supposed “leaders,” those who should be setting an example of moral rectitude and virtue for our people, and especially our youth. Hollywood, of course, spews out virtually nothing but putrid, filthy, immoral rot, pouring it daily into the minds of amenable, simple-minded Americans. Is it any wonder that drugs, sex, alcohol, homosexuality, feminism, divorce, covetousness, greed, laziness, and a whole host of sins plague a once-great nation, a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles? (And, concomitantly, is it any wonder why Muslims in the Middle East are fighting so hard to keep American influence out of their region of the world?)

But America isn’t the only country/empire in history that has suffered from moral decay and putrefaction. Indeed, tragically, such is the rule, not the exception. Take ancient Assyria, for example. Emperor Ashurbanipal (ruled 669-626) had no qualms about doing to his enemies what Barack Obama would love to do to the “tea party” people:

“The severed head of the Elamite king was brought to Ashurbanipal as he feasted with his queen in the palace garden; he had the head raised on a pole in the midst of his guests, and the royal revel went on; later the head was fixed over the gate of Nineveh [the capital], and slowly rotted away. The Elamite general, Dananu, was flayed alive, and them was bled like a lamb; his brother had his throat cut, and his body was divided into pieces, which were distributed over the country as souvenirs” (Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, p. 269).

Prisoners of war were nearly always dispatched after a battle; feeding them was too expensive and guarding them during a long campaign was dangerous and a nuisance. So their heads were beaten in with clubs or cut off with swords; scribes stood by to count the number of prisoners taken and killed by each soldier and booty was apportioned accordingly. The nobles among the captives came in for special treatment, however: their ears, noses, hands, and feet were sliced off, or they were thrown from high towers, or their children were beheaded, or flayed alive, or roasted over a slow fire. Ashurbanipal boasted, “I burned 3,000 captives with fire. I left not a single one among them alive to serve as hostage…These warriors who had sinned against…me…I [tore[ out their tongues…their lacerated members have I given unto the dogs, the swine, the wolves…” Well, dogs, swine, and wolves have to eat, too, I suppose. Interestingly, abortion was a capital crime in Assyria, but for practical reasons, not spiritual. Warrior societies need lots of sons so killing babies was discouraged. Most of the emperors died violent deaths, killed either by their own offspring or some ambitious general who could raise an army behind him. As Durant wrote, “The nations of the Near East preferred violent uprisings to corrupt elections, and their form of recall was assassination” (ibid, p. 273). Religion did nothing to mollify this—or perhaps it did.

At least in one case it did. The book of Jonah tells the fascinating story of God sending the prophet to preach to Nineveh—“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Most of us know that Jonah was reluctant to go, but the Lord finally persuaded him to do so by forcing him to spend three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish (read Jonah chapters 1 and 2). In chapter 3, the Lord again commands Jonah to “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee” (Jonah 3:2). This time Jonah obeyed. The message was “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (v. 4). Now, Jonah was preaching in the late 9th or early 8th century B.C. (800s-700s; note the date of Ashurbanipal’s reign, given above). His preaching was successful. The prophet’s message came to the king, who clothed himself in sackcloth (a sign of repentance) and commanded all his subjects to do the same, and also to “cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one 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 fierce anger, that we perish not” (Jonah 3:8-9). And sure enough, when “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” (v. 10). This was one of the most successful preaching missions in history, because Nineveh had a population of at least 120,000 (Jonah 4:11)—huge for ancient times. What a great story.

And an encouraging one. We don’t know the circumstances behind Jonah’s preaching; in other words, what God had done to prepare the people of Nineveh for repentance. Something was going on that had gotten the king and citizens of that city ready to receive God’s message of doom—and salvation. The groundwork had been laid before Jonah had arrived—the Lord saw to that. His providence had been at work; the people of Nineveh were disposed to reformation; the preacher was sent; a wonderful salvation was effected. A wicked, wicked city had turned to Jehovah.

Can it happen in America today?

Why not?

As noted in the first paragraph, we have an exceedingly ungodly nation today, though there are, of course, many good, decent people who are aggrieved by the debauchery that is so rampant and open. But who knows what the Lord is doing behind the scenes, in His providence? Is He preparing America for a Ninevite conversion? We can hope and pray that He is. And we can—we must—continue to proclaim His word, a message akin to that which Jonah delivered in Nineveh: “soon America will be overthrown.” And perhaps the country will turn from its wicked ways and return to the Lord Jehovah.

It happened once—a great, wicked empire humbling itself before God. Who can tell whether it may happen again? Let’s keep our faith in God, not in ourselves, and we may see the salvation of our beloved country yet.