Outward vs Inward Change (Jonah 3:3-10)
Jonah obeyed God’s call in the end, but only grudgingly and with as little energy as possible. He walks into Nineveh a short way and the entirety of his sermon was, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
But this is God’s message; Jonah is just a tool. And the message hits home. The people repent. All the way from the King down to the animals in the city, all fast and cover themselves in ash. The hope is that God will relent.
And God does. Later, in Jeremiah 18 (7-10) God tells us that He deals with people and nations according to their actions. Those destined for punishment can be saved if they repent. Likewise, those who are a part of God’s plan to be chosen and built up can face destruction if they choose to do evil.
Here in Jonah, we see true repentance from the Assyrians, not a pious reaction like that of Jonah. They didn’t merely show signs of humility, they changed their ways. That is why God changes his mind regarding them. Jonah has likely forgotten, but Assyria is better in this instance than Israel was when God was going to destroy them for building the golden calf in Exodus 34.
But this is God’s message; Jonah is just a tool. And the message hits home. The people repent. All the way from the King down to the animals in the city, all fast and cover themselves in ash. The hope is that God will relent.
And God does. Later, in Jeremiah 18 (7-10) God tells us that He deals with people and nations according to their actions. Those destined for punishment can be saved if they repent. Likewise, those who are a part of God’s plan to be chosen and built up can face destruction if they choose to do evil.
Here in Jonah, we see true repentance from the Assyrians, not a pious reaction like that of Jonah. They didn’t merely show signs of humility, they changed their ways. That is why God changes his mind regarding them. Jonah has likely forgotten, but Assyria is better in this instance than Israel was when God was going to destroy them for building the golden calf in Exodus 34.
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