Jonah said “ God will destroy this city in 40 days” The people believed Jonah. He despises the Lord's mercy. Knowing this helps us understand why Jonah did not want to obey God and go to Nineveh, Assyria’s capital, to preach against it (Jonah 1:1-3). Correspondingly, why did Jonah flee from Nineveh? Jonah obeyed. He relented on destroying Nineveh because the entire town repented after Jonah preached what the Lord wanted him to preach to them. And if you were there, my guess is that you wouldn’t feel much different either. Jonah didn’t want to do it, so he ran away from the plan and presence of God. Jonah never did make it to Tarshish. Jonah was well aware of the terrible things the Assyrians were famous for. Now Jonah reveals why he actually ran from God in the first place. 1 The Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. The king was also sorry. And here’s the thing. 3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, [] a three-day journey in extent. Throughout its over 3,000 year history, Nineveh was not known to be kind and gentle. The story of Jonah begins innocently enough in the Old Testament, with these few words: “One day the Lord spoke to Jonah, son of Amittai. And if you were there, my guess is that you wouldn’t feel much different either. Jonah knew of the Lord's love for His creation, and he didn't want the people of Nineveh to experience God's forgiveness. Grace because the word of the Lord comes a second time; warning because God’s will has not been changed by Jonah’s delay. I. Other than his book and those opening lines, we do not know that much about the man. From the foregoing, it is easy to understand Jonah’s reaction to God’s directive to go to Nineveh and call the people to repentance knowing full well if they did, God would withhold His hand of judgement. Nineveh is well-known as the place where the prophet Jonah was sent by God to preach (Jonah 1:2). God really wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh – he sent him twice! Around 631 B.C., the Assyrians dominated many kingdoms that were located in the Middle… To help each child understand that Heavenly Father forgives all who truly repent. Jesus speaks of Jonah in Luke 11:28–29, saying he will not give people a sign of who he is except for Jonah. The book of Jonah, despite its brevity, gives some verifiable information regarding Nineveh, a very old city, which disappeared completely after its destruction in 612 BCE. Jonah Preaches to the Ninevites Jonah 3:1-4 And the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid you. Nineveh was the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire. The people showed that they were sorry. Jonah 3 Jonah goes to Nineveh. He returned to Nineveh and was later killed in the temple of the Assyrian god Nisrok (2 Kings 19:35–37). Jonah would be risking his death by a gruesome form of execution known as impaling by proclaiming such a message to Nineveh. Deep sounding at Nineveh uncovered soil layers that have been dated to early in the era of the Hassuna archaeological culture.. By 3000 BC, the area had become an important religious center for the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. Jonah 1 God called Jonah to be a prophet to Nineveh. But the fear of this was not Jonah’s motivation. He wanted the people of Nineveh to change their behavior. Tell the people there the message that I will give to you.’ 3 Jonah obeyed the Lord and he went to Nineveh.. Nineveh was a very large city. This page is also available in: العربية (Arabic) हिन्दी (Hindi) Question: Why did Jonah run away from God although he was a prophet?. '” To us, that sounds like an easy instruction; sort of like God saying “Go to Omaha,” or “Go to Denver.” But to Jonah… This city was used by Assyrian kings as their primary location to rule their territories. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knew the power of God’s Word. Answer: God commanded Jonah to go preach to the wicked inhabitants of Nineveh (the capital of Assyria) the message of repentance (Jonah 1:1-2) or they will be destroyed by fire. In Jonah 3:1-4 the Lord told Jonah again to go to the city of Nineveh and he reached the city this time. But Jonah did want the people of Nineveh to die, and he didn’t want to preach to them. He didn't want to go to Nineveh because he knew the power of God's Word. You see, Jonah did not want the Lord to have compassion on Nineveh. While preaching against Nineveh seems to be what Jonah would want to do, the prophet understood that the point of this preaching was not to seal the city’s condemnation, but rather to offer it the opportunity to repent. The idea that God was willing to allow them the opportunity to repent and be saved from destruction was intolerable to Jonah. 4 On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”… Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey. A … And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17.) Chapter 2 is a beautiful prayer to God – but it’s focused on God’s relationship to Jonah, not God’s rejection of Nineveh’s ways. Purpose. They wore black clothes and didn’t eat. So, he got on a boat and went far away from Nineveh instead of going to Nineveh as God told him to. The ‘King of Nineveh’ The Hebrew phrase melek nînĕveh (‘king of Nineveh’) is found in the Old Testament only in Jonah 3:6. Except during the Jonah era. It never occurs in any contemporary documents. fact that the book of Jonah says the ‘city’ was a three day walk (3:3). He did not think that the people of Nineveh deserved to be given a chance for forgiveness for the terrible crimes they committed. It was destroyed around 612 BC which is when this event appears on the Old Testament Timeline. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.” 3 This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. He said ‘Go to Nineveh. Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. The first time Jonah fled but after a stormy time, he repented and said he was ready to serve God again. The Lord did, then caused that the fish “vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” . Jonah was reluctant to go, probably because of the Assyrians’ great wickedness, and he tried to run from the Lord’s command. So when God said, “Go to Nineveh,” Jonah boarded a ship heading in … After all, a lot of Assyrians lived there, and they did not like Hebrews and often made war with the Israelite nation. When God called Jonah to Nineveh he told him to speak out I’m pretty confident that if I were in Jonah’s shoes, I might feel just like he did. God now speaks to Jonah again, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ’Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’” There is both grace and warning in those words. God rebuked Jonah and prompted him to examine his heart. Jonah 3 New King James Version (NKJV) Jonah Preaches at Nineveh. Historians consider the biblical account about Jonah's warning against Nineveh as a pious fiction, however, the Gospels refer to it as a real story (Lk 11:29-32). Jonah was a prophet of God and in his book and the first chapter we read that the command of God came to Jonah to go preach to the city of Nineveh. Jonah also saw that in the future the King of Ashur, Sancheriv, would go to war against Israel and exile the Ten Tribes. What we conclude from this is that God message to Nineveh was really important to him. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. And here’s the thing. In other words, Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh, and he likely had a pretty good reason for it. Zephaniah 2:13-15 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness… preach. While in the fish, Jonah cried unto the Lord. Yahweh came to Jonah and asked him to go to Nineveh and preach there. ‘Nothing’s changed – see previous instruction’. Jonah 3:2 says that God told Jonah to “go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Yet I haven’t seen what that message was, yet. He was to decry the wickedness of the city. Prayerfully study: Jonah 1:1–2—Jonah is called to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the people.. Jonah 1:3–17—Jonah flees on a ship, is cast into the sea, and is swallowed by a great fish.. Jonah 2:1–2, 10—Jonah prays to the Lord, and the fish vomits him onto dry ground. Do you think it was good for Jonah to go far away from Nineveh when God told him to go to Nineveh? And what did God say? In other words, Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh, and he likely had a pretty good reason for it. The area it occupied was originally settled as early as 6000 BC during the late Neolithic period. Preparation. Nahum 1:1 - The burden of Nineveh. This was to be done by Yahweh, the God of Israel. The book of Jonah is the story of a called man fleeing his calling, and what God does to correct his course. I’m pretty confident that if I were in Jonah’s shoes, I might feel just like he did. He again told the prophet to go to Nineveh. [Vocation of Jonah; escape and punishment of the prophet] Now the word of GOD came to Jonah the son of Amitai saying: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.”. God told Jonah “ Go to Nineveh” (Jonah 3 questions) Jonah obeyed. So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Jonah 3:5 - So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. In Jonah 2:10 the fish spit up Jonah on the beach. He wanted God to strike it down for all their wickedness, but God had a better plan. He left Jonah—and the reader—with a question to consider: “Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh?” (Jonah 4:11). Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. Jonah 3:2 - Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. Jonah refused to love the people of Nineveh, even when God did. He knew that he had disobeyed, and he wanted the Lord to forgive him. Jonah Goes to Nineveh. 2 He said, ‘Now go to that great city, Nineveh. Jonah’s reaction to God’s directive. Nineveh was one of the oldest and greatest cities in antiquity. But Jonah was reluctant to go. Why shouldn’t they suffer Yeshua’s punishment? Most literature proceeds on the assumption that the author Jonah or Jonas is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BCE.He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, in which he is called upon by God to travel to Nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath.Instead, Jonah boards a ship to Tarshish.Caught in a storm, he orders the ship's crew to cast him overboard, whereupon he is …