3
A message from the Lord came to Jonah a second time. The Lord said, 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce to its people the message I give you.’ 3 Jonah obeyed the Lord. He went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. In fact, it took about three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going one whole day into the city. As he went, he announced, ‘In 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed.’ 5 The people of Nineveh believed God's warning. So they decided not to eat any food for a while. And all of them put on the rough clothing people wear when they're sad. That's what everyone did, from the least important of them to the most important.
6 Jonah's warning reached the king of Nineveh. He got up from his throne. He took off his royal robes. He also dressed himself in the clothing of sadness. And then he sat down in the dust. 7 Here is the message he sent out to the people of Nineveh.
‘I and my nobles give this order.
Don't let people or animals taste anything. That includes your herds and flocks. People and animals must not eat or drink anything. 8 Let people and animals alike be covered with the clothing of sadness. All of you must call out to God with all your hearts. Stop doing what is evil. Don't harm others. 9 Who knows? God might take pity on us. He might not be angry with us anymore. Then we won't die.’
10 God saw what they did. He saw that they stopped doing what was evil. So he took pity on them. He didn't destroy them as he had said he would.
1:1–3:10 In 2 Kings 14:25 Jonah was described as a servant of the Lord. In the book of Jonah, God wanted Jonah to share a message of judgement. This message was against the city of Nineveh. But Jonah didn't obey God or show respect for God. He didn't go right away to share God's message with the Assyrians in Nineveh. Instead, he ran away. This was different from what the plants, animals and weather in this story did. God sent a strong wind and a huge fish. God caused a leafy plant to grow. He also sent a worm and an east wind. The plant, the animals and the wind all obeyed their Creator. The way that Jonah treated God was also different from how the sailors treated God. The sailors weren't Hebrew like Jonah was. They didn't worship only God. But they did show respect for God. They showed it by crying out to God for help and by offering sacrifices to him. Jonah's prayer was like many poems in the book of Psalms that give thanks to God. Jonah thanked God for saving him from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Yet Jonah didn't admit that he had done anything wrong. He didn't say that he was sorry for not obeying God. He didn't ask God to forgive him. This was different from what the king, the nobles and the people of Nineveh did. When Jonah announced God's message of judgement, they admitted that they had done evil things. Right away they went without eating. Fasting and wearing rough clothes were common practices in that time. They were ways that people showed that they turned away from their sin and repented. The Ninevites didn't allow their animals to have food for a time either. The king sat in the dust. This showed that he made himself humble before God. The people stopped harming others. They repented and prayed to God with all their heart. All of these actions showed how serious the Ninevites were about changing their ways. God's anger at their sin stopped. He showed them pity and mercy.