Nineveh, the ancient Assyrian city, is prominently featured in the biblical narrative of the prophet Jonah. Located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, Nineveh was one of the largest and most powerful cities of its time, serving as the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city's significance in the Bible is primarily tied to the account of Jonah, a prophet called by God to deliver a message of repentance to its inhabitants.

The Call of Jonah

The Book of Jonah begins with the word of the LORD coming to Jonah, son of Amittai, instructing him to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of its wickedness. Jonah 1:1-2 states, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.'"

Jonah's Initial Flight

Instead of obeying God's command, Jonah attempts to flee from the presence of the LORD by boarding a ship bound for Tarshish. This act of disobedience leads to a series of divine interventions, including a great storm and Jonah being swallowed by a great fish, as described in Jonah 1:3-17. After three days and nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah prays to God, who commands the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah's Mission to Nineveh

Following his deliverance, the word of the LORD comes to Jonah a second time, reiterating the command to go to Nineveh. Jonah 3:1-2 records, "Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 'Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.'"

This time, Jonah obeys and travels to Nineveh, a city so vast that it takes three days to journey through it. Jonah 3:3-4 describes his mission: "Jonah set out on the first day of his walk and proclaimed, 'Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!'"

The Repentance of Nineveh

Remarkably, the people of Nineveh believe Jonah's message and respond with repentance. From the greatest to the least, they fast and put on sackcloth as a sign of their contrition. The king of Nineveh himself rises from his throne, removes his royal robes, covers himself with sackcloth, and sits in ashes. He issues a decree for all to fast and call urgently on God, turning from their evil ways and violence. Jonah 3:5-9 captures this profound transformation: "The Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: 'By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.'"

God's Mercy on Nineveh

In response to their repentance, God shows mercy and spares the city from destruction. Jonah 3:10 states, "When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them."

Jonah's Reaction

Despite the city's repentance and God's mercy, Jonah becomes displeased and angry. He expresses his frustration to God, revealing his understanding of God's compassionate nature. Jonah 4:1-2 records his complaint: "But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. So he prayed to the LORD: 'Please, LORD, was this not what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.'"

The Lesson of the Plant

God uses a plant to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion. He causes a plant to grow and provide shade for Jonah, only to wither it the next day. When Jonah laments the loss of the plant, God challenges him to consider the value of the lives in Nineveh. Jonah 4:10-11 concludes with God's rhetorical question: "But the LORD said, 'You cared about the plant, which you neither tended nor made grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night. So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?'"

The account of Jonah's mission to Nineveh highlights themes of divine mercy, repentance, and the universal scope of God's concern for humanity.Jonah 1:1,2
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Nave's Topical Index

Jonah 3:1
And the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,
Nave's Topical Index

'A Greater than Jonas'
... know what Nineveh became. Jesus is greater than Jonah or any prophet in this respect,
that His message is to the world, and in this, that what He preaches and ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/a greater than jonas.htm

War! War! War!
... left, and one man went against it"Jonah"and as he ... be overthrown," "Yet forty days
and Nineveh shall be ... with so many children; our minister preaches so many ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/war war war.htm

The Note of Pity.
... It was no very natural thing for Jonah to look ... tenderness on that great, debauched,
besotted Nineveh, reeking in ... when it is pleasant, never preaches a sermon ...
/.../jackson/the message and the man/chapter ii the note of.htm

Two Ancient Proverbs
... Jonah tried to escape from going to Nineveh because he ... search us, and try us, and
find out our errors?" And the preacher, if he really preaches the truth ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/two ancient proverbs.htm

Letter Liii. To Paulinus.
... Jonah, fairest of doves, whose shipwreck shews in a figure the passion of the Lord,
recalls the world to penitence, and while he preaches to Nineveh, announces ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter liii to paulinus.htm

When will the peace of Nahum 1:15 come? | GotQuestions.org

Do we ever reach a point that we cannot be forgiven (Nahum 3:19)? | GotQuestions.org

Why were infants dashed to pieces (Nahum 3:10)? | GotQuestions.org

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