Second Commission, Second Chance

God in his sovereignty could have chosen anyone to give his message to Nineveh. That may have been Jonah’s secret hope so that he would be released from the responsibility. God chose to use Jonah and He went to great effort to bring Jonah back to a point where God would give Him a second chance to proclaim His message. That is the point: God graciously gives Jonah a second chance for obedience to the LORD.

Nineveh was about 550 miles NE of Samaria, the capital city of the kingdom of Israel. Travel time for Jonah would be a little more than a month if he walked, a little less than a month if he rode a camel or donkey.

God instructs Jonah to proclaim the precise message that He would give Him. It was the Lord’s message, not Jonah’s ideas.

v. 3 — Nineveh was a “great” city as a leading city of one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time. Nineveh was a city that God was concerned for, one that was not insignificant to Him.

The lesson that Jonah had learned thus far is to do what God says or suffer the most unpleasant consequences. Jonah was not quite sure what to expect. Would he end up impaled on a pole or skinned alive, being perceived as an enemy to the Assyrians, or would he be received positively as a diviner who came with a message from their god(s)?

He may have felt this was better than divine discipline for disobedience again.

The Hebrew syntax suggests that by the time Jonah came to Nineveh, it was already a great city, but it would later become the capital of the Assyrian nation under Sennacherib, about 50 years later. It is estimated to be at least four times larger that Samaria during this period of time.

The phrase “three days’ walk” is somewhat obscure. Suggestions are that it took three days to walk through the city from one extremity to the other. However the ruins of Nineveh are not that large.

A second view is that it took three days to travel its’ circumference, but this seems unlikely as well. The wall was eight miles long.

A third view is that it would take Jonah three days to accomplish his task.

It is most probable that “Nineveh” refers to the city itself and a complex of four cities including Nineveh, much as we speak of Los Angeles as one city and as a region of cities which include Los Angeles the city. Nimrod as the founder of Nineveh also founded nearby cities: Genesis 10:8-12

Genesis 10:8–12 NASB95

Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Note that together they were called “the great city.”

Some have suggested that the literal meaning of the phrase is describing the protocol involved in visiting an important city such as Nineveh as an emissary. Day 1 would be spent in meetings and enjoying the hospitality of the host. Day 2 is when the discussion of the primary reason for the visit wold take place. Day 3 would be saying his farewells. This may be a possibility, especially with the events surrounding the king in verses 6-9.

All of this points to the importance of Nineveh to the LORD.

v. 4 — Jonah’s short message was an announcement of impending doom. He did not call them to repent and believe in the God of Israel. Jeremiah 18: 7-8

Jeremiah 18:7–8 NASB95

“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

Prophecies of impending judgment assumed there would be no repentance. If they repented , they might avoid the judgment, cf. Joel 2:12-14

Joel 2:12–14 NASB95

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?

Historically, Assyria was in a weaker period, and there were hostile tribes to the north of Nineveh which were threatening the residents at this time.

It is a five word message in Hebrew, basic in its simplicity but powerful in its effect. The word of the Lord is able to change even a complex, sophisticated urban population.

But do note this: Jonah apparently was not passionate about the message he was sent to declare, evident from the way his delivering of the proclamation was described. It is as if Jonah was only going to do the bare minimum; after all, he only covered a third of the area of Nineveh. Maybe there is a reason? Did Jonah give his message, seeking the destruction of Israel’s foes, desiring to withhold mercy from the Ninevites?

2. The “turning” of Nineveh, vs. 5-9.

v. 5 — The message that the LORD brought through Jonah had a quick response from those that heard it: they believed and repented. This is evidenced by their fasting and wearing sackcloth. This involved self-affliction and would demonstrate an attitude of humility in the culture of the day.

Wearing sackcloth, normally reserved for the poor and slaves, was a visible sign that the entire population viewed themselves as needy of God’s mercy and as slaves (in this case, of God). Their attitude and the actions of the people were without respect of their social status or age. Just as the sailors in chapter 1, the Ninevites did not want to suffer and perish.

v. 6-9 — In verses 6-9, we have a more detailed account of what happened. Here the king is probably the king of Assyria, Nineveh being a leading city of that nation. Other examples of this same usage is King Ahab of Israel, who is called “the king of Samaria” (the capital of Israel) in 1 Kings 21:1, and King Ben-Hadad of Aram, called “the king of Damascus” in 2 Chron. 24:23.

Who this king was, was not necessary to the writer of Jonah. He was probably one of the Assyrian kings who ruled during or near the regency of Jeroboam II in Israel (793-753 B.C.).

The actions of the king:

When he heard,

he arose from his throne.

he laid aside his robe from him.

He covered himself with sackcloth

he sat on the ashes/dust.

He issued a proclamation

The animals were to reflect the spirit of their owners. The decree tells us how seriously the king and nobles regarded their situation now that Jonah has proclaimed God’s message regarding Nineveh. The command to “call on God” is a phrase that in this context means to cry out with intense effort, to call on God with the same intensity as they would argue for their side in an argument and like a warrior uses every bit of his strength and ability to fight.

They themselves made the connection of the impending judgment with their own conduct. They may have thought if they abandoned their wickedness they might obtain some mercy from God. That’s the idea of of the command “that each may turn” The king’s proclamation is telling the people to stop living in a wicked way and stop doing violent things.

The term “violence” (Hebrew word hamas) refers to the overbearing attitude and conduct of someone who has obtained power over another and misuses it. Discrimination against minorities because they are less powerful manifests this sin. God had previously destroyed the world in Noah’s because it was so violent; Genesis 6:11

Genesis 6:11 NASB95

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Genesis 6:13

Genesis 6:13 NASB95

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Verse 9 expresses the hope of the people. Ancient Near Eastern people viewed all of life as under the sovereign control of divine authority: the gods. Pagans and polytheists though they were , they believed in some deity of justice who demanded justice of humankind. They also believed that their actions affected their god’s actions. If we excluded their polytheism, their worldview is essentially correct as far as it goes. Their repentance here should not be viewed as issuing in conversion to follow Jewish monotheism or to become Gentile followers of the LORD. They trusted that their repentance would lead to God having compassion on the people and that He would decide to treat them differently, avoiding destruction.

Look, God had brought the whole city to believe what Jonah proclaimed and turn from their wicked ways and the violence which is in their hands through the preaching of a man who did not love the people to whom he preached. Ultimately, salvation is of the LORD, not dependent on the attitudes and actions of His servants. It is our attitudes and actions, however, which will affect us as we carry out the will of God.

3. The “turning” of God, v. 10.

v. 10 — The LORD observes our actions and can tell that which is real from that which is show. He noted for Himself the genuineness of the Ninevites’ repentance in their actions, which moved Him to withhold the judgment that He would have brought against them had they persisted in their wicked ways. Repentance is essentially a change in ones’ thinking. Changes in ones’ behavior, indicates that repentance has taken place but behavioral change is the fruit of repentance and not all there is to repentance.

Nineveh final experienced overthrow in 612 B.C., about 150 years later.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 7: Daniel and the Minor Prophets B. Nineveh’s Repentance (3:5–10)

We may know the character of God only from what he does and the words he uses to explain his actions. When he does not do what he said he would, we as finite men can say only that he has changed his mind or repented, even though we should recognize, as Jonah did (4:2), that he had intended or desired this all along.

Note that Jonah did not present God — and the Ninevites did not fear God— as the covenant-keeping God of Israel, but as the universal Supreme Being. Likewise, God did not deal with the Ninevites as He dealt with His own covenant people, but as He deals with all people generally. The Point: God will be merciful to anyone who lives submissively to natural divine law (cf. Genesis 9:5-6).

Genesis 9:5–6 NASB95

“Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

What was the violence that brought God’s warning of judgment unless the Ninevites repented? The rejection of natural divine law. what brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? The same.

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