At the start of chapter 3 Jonah is given a second chance to carry out the Lord’s command.  This he does, and we get the gist of the message in verse 3.  The message is a simple message of judgment. This is not surprising when we consider that the Lord had commanded Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh because: ‘their evil has come up before me’  (1:2) and historically we know the atrocities that the Assyrian nation was capable of.  Yet there is a subtle difference here as the verb that is used for the word: ‘call’ infers that he is to preach ‘to’ the people of Nineveh rather than: ‘against’ them as in chapter 1.  It could be argued that this subtle change is in the light of Jonah’s experience in chapter 2.  But it is also possible it is to prepare the reader for a change of emphasis from the judgement of God to his compassion that we see at the end of this chapter and in chapter 4.[1]  Some commentators feel that Jonah must have shared with the Ninevites his judgment and deliverance by the hand of God, and this is not unlikely as we have almost certainly only been given a summary of his message.[2]  In this sense, as Jesus makes clear, Jonah acted as: ‘a sign to the people of Nineveh’ (Luke 11:30).  The point maybe that now Jonah should have a new understanding of the depths of God’s compassion and forgiveness when it comes to those who rebel against him and then repent, and this should be reflected in his preaching!

The proclamation of Jonah’s message is very thorough.  Some scholars have tried to make the case that the book of Jonah is a parable rather than an actual historical account.  One of the reasons given for this is the: ‘three days’ (v3) mentioned in relation to the city being improbable as archaeological discoveries do not suggest a city of that size.  However, it is more likely that Nineveh was made up of a large central city and the many towns and villages that surrounded it.  That being the case the indication is that Jonah’s proclamation soon spreads around the region reaching everyone whether that is by first-hand or by people passing it on to others.

However, whatever the case, the Ninevites believe his message and the equivalent of ‘revival’ breaks out with mass repentance.  But what caused such a reaction?  The answer is clearly spelt out in verse 5: ‘And the people of Nineveh believed God.’  There’s nothing to make us doubt that this was genuine repentance and belief as their attitude exhibits the ‘Ancient Near East’s’ culture of mourning!  Their repentance is summed up by the words of the King of Nineveh which illustrate the Ninevities acceptance of their sinful attitude.  The phrase: ‘Let everyone turn from his evil ways and from the violence that is in his hands’ (v8) being particularly appropriate to them as a nation!  There’s an understanding that they are completely dependent on God’s mercy as there is no reason why he should forgive them (v9).  The chapter ends with the Lord relenting from the disaster that he had threatened to bring upon them.

Jonah must be in the running as possibly the most successful prophet’s of the Old Testament era in terms of his message being believed and people repenting, so his anger might surprise us!  But his dodgy theology (which we will take a look at in the next part) does give us an opportunity to explore and understand the character of God.  In verse 2 of chapter 4 Jonah gives us the summary of Exodus 34:6-7: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”  His summery of the Lord’s compassion is illustrated by the plant that God cause’s to grow and give him shade.  Much has been written about this, but essentially the lesson is very simple.  Jonah had benefited from the plant, but the point was the Lord had caused it to grow, not Jonah, so why was he so cut up about it when it died?  Likewise, if the Lord decided to spare Nineveh, then that was his business, not Jonah’s.  After all, it was his message that had caused them to repent not Jonah’s.  What he was doing now only illustrated his character and that being the case, Jonah really had no say in it as whether he approved or disapproved had no bearing on what the Lord did, or, as Jonah saw it, should do!

Yet in the unquestionable compassion and mercy of God there is a real sense that Jonah is as much a beneficiary as the Ninevites.  O. Palmer Robinson points out that in chapter 3 verses 1-2 it’s pretty much as if God says: “Let’s start from the first. – Let’s forget about the past and act as though it never happened.”[3]  If he has applied the same principle to the Ninevites then who was Jonah to question him as he too has been the beneficiary of this aspect of God’s nature?  The point, and it’s a very simple one, is that in God there is nothing remotely akin to our human temperament.  When true repentance is expressed, he, unlike us, feels no need to revisit the former misdemeanours of that person.  This is something that Jonah has only really understood on one level, and that is when it applied to him.

Secondly, it is worth noting that the phrase in verse 6: ‘the LORD God’.  This combination of the names of God (Yahweh, Elohim) is first found in reference to God placing Adam in the Garden of Eden.  ‘Yahweh’ is the covenant name for God whereas as ‘Elohim’ is a reference to his creative power.  So it demonstrates his special care for Adam by placing him in a special environment with the command that he is to serve God (the Hebrew verb illustrates this), as well as stipulations he is to follow and keep if he is to prosper (Genesis 2:15-17).  The use of this combination of names shows that the Lord will extend the same love and care towards Jonah, who has gone as far as to have to question the rightness of his actions towards the Ninevites!  The Ninevites had been ignorant of God’s Law, but repented, but Jonah, who could probably recite it perfectly, needed to be educated to understand that it was a reflection of God’s love and compassion.  So God continues to instruct Jonah despite his anger and stubbornness.

The book ends with the Lord questioning Jonah about the rightness of his compassion towards Nineveh.  We are left hanging as to how Jonah answered the question.  O. Palmer Robinson asks how we should answer it in the light of the Lord’s compassion towards us.  ‘Should not you have the compassion that reflects your Lord’s?  Considering how graciously he has had compassion on you and yours, should you not show the same compassion towards others?  Should not you have compassion even towards sinners that in some ways (but not in all ways) be worse than yourself?’[4]

Coming Soon: A Successful but very Bitter Prophet!   Another look at Jonah 3-4.

[1] T Desmond Alexander, Jonah (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1988). 118.  (As part of a commentary on Obadiah and Micah by David W.  Baker and Bruce K.  Waltke respectively).
[2] Hugh Martin, Jonah, The Geneva Series of Commentaries, (London, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1870), 221-2.
[3] O.  Palmer Robinson, Jonah, A Study in Compassion (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1990), 41.
[4] Robinson, Jonah, 63-4.