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The Word of the Lord Came a Second Time
The heart of the command hasn't changed, has it?
Jonah is still commanded to get up, go to Nineveh, and call out against it because of its evil.
There is one small addition this time around: Jonah is to call out against Nineveh the message that God gave Him.
Likewise, we are to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ without alteration: no edits and no additions.
Jonah Obeys and Calls out Against Nineveh
It's very interesting that God gave forty days' notice to the Ninevites.
What's the significance of forty days?
In Genesis 7:12 we read that the rain of the great flood fell for 40 days.
Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, both times (Exodus 24:18, 34:28).
The Hebrew spies spent 40 days spying on Canaan (Numbers 13:25).
Between the judgment of the prophets of Baal, and the judgment of king Ahab, Elijah was sustained by the Lord for 40 days (First Kings 19:8).
Jesus fasted 40 days and nights before His tempation (Matthew 4:2).
Jesus spent 40 days after His resurrection appearing to those who believed in Him (Acts 1:3).
God's message to Nineveh is that in forty days the city would be overthrown.
The people of Nineveh could not have known that forty days held meaning, but Jonah certainly knew about the flood, and the giving of the Law, and the spies, and probably the story of Elijah.
Nineveh Repents
Notice that the text doesn't say that "the people of Nineveh believed Jonah," but "the people of Nineveh believed God."
A work of the Lord takes place in the hearts of the Ninevites.
Paul wrote Timothy about dealing with those who hold to and teach false doctrines in Second Timothy 2. Paul writes at the end of the chapter,
God is always in charge of repentance, not only to uphold His own glory, but because the best sinful human being is utterly incapable of repenting on his or her own moral strength.
God did a work in Nineveh.
He granted them repentance, so that they knew and understood the truth of Jonah's message.
He enabled them to come to their senses.
The entire culture was drunk on violence and impurity:
But God granted them repentance.
And What a Repentance it Was
This repentance is personal.
The king himself changes his royal robes for sackcloth - cloth made from goat hair - and his royal throne for a heap of ashes.
This repentance is corporate.
All the people in Nineveh are ordered to fast, to eat and drink nothing, to dress in sackcloth, to call out mightily (or forcefully, or passionately) to God, to cease evil behavior and violence.
Even the animals are not to be fed.
This repentance is humble.
They acknowledge their own evil and violence, and admit that they have sinned against God.
This repentance is hopeful.
The fact that the city has 40 days means that there is a possibility of being spared.
They don't presume on God's mercy, but they hope for it.
Their repentance came upon them like the great wind upon the sea when Jonah was running from the presence of the Lord.
It was granted to them by the Lord, it swept through the city, it gripped every heart, it burst from every soul.
God Listened
Their repentance was real - they actually turned from their evil way.
It wasn't just words; it was visible, and God saw it.
And the city was not destroyed, not at this time.
Not long after, Nineveh would revert to her evil ways, and God would destroy the city.
But not now.
Can you imagine the joy when it dawns on these people that they aren't going to die after all?
The Scripture doesn't tell us how the time worked out, whether they had to wait the full forty days before realizing that they were spared, or whether the Lord made it clear through other means.
But Jonah realized what was taking place.
He is still in the city, and sees the response even while he is preaching.
Jonah Reaches His Breaking Point
The mercy shown Nineveh had a huge negative affect on Jonah.
It caused him to be overcome by anger and bitterness.
Jonah wanted Nineveh to pay the price for its evil, which was off the charts.
But he knew that Yahweh would show mercy if Nineveh repented.
That's why he ran in the first place.
And when he saw repentance taking place, he knew what the Lord would do.
We can see that Jonah didn't want Nineveh spared.
He didn't even want Nineveh to have the opportunity to repent.
He wanted them punished for their sin, punished for the evil and violence they had brought upon others, including Israel and Judah.
Jonah was so embittered by God's mercy to the Ninevites that he wants to die.
There's more than a little irony; the rebel doesn't want to live in a world where rebels are not destroyed.
He somehow misses the truth that HE wasn't destroyed when HE rebelled.
Jonah actually reaches the point of saying, "If You aren't going to destroy THEM, then destroy ME – I don't want to live in a world where sinners receive mercy."
Before we criticize Jonah too much, let's check our own hearts and attitudes.
Israel had been in existence for more than 700 years, and during much of that time they worshiped false gods.
The book of Judges records a period of 400 years in which the people sinned, God punished them, they repented, and God delivered them.
The same basic pattern continues unchanged when during the time of the kings.
Jonah was a man called by God to be a prophet at a time when the Word of God was being ignored and the people of God were engaging in idolatry.
For seven hundred years the people of God had sinned against Him, suffered the consequences, repented, and been delivered.
The prophets were already pointing to a devastating loss of both kingdoms, and captivity in a foreign land.
Why doesn't God do something about America and her sin?
Abortion kills an average 1.2 million babies every year, about 40% of all unintended pregnancies.
Homosexuality and other sexual perversions are legally protected; the time is quickly coming when it will be hate speech to disagree with any sexual activity at all.
Without question, America deserves judgment, and so does the entire world.
Should God simply destroy all the wicked, right now? I'll let you ponder that for a few minutes.
The fact that the Lord would show mercy to an openly rebellious, pagan, idol worshiping people was too much for Jonah.
He headed to the hills, and threw together a shelter made of whatever he could find, and waited for judgment day to begin.
God Reveals His Mercy
Notice all the appointing God does here.
He had already appointed a great fish (Jonah 1:17).
Now God appoints a plan, a word, and a scorching east wind.
We see that Yahweh is absolutely and unquestionably in control of the situation.
He is going to teach Jonah an important lesson about His own mercy and kindness; in order to give Jonah hope, not only for himself, but for Israel as well.
First, an appointed plant comes up, probably a climbing plant that covered the booth made by Jonah.
It would have increased the shade and added moisture to the hot, dry air.
It comes up out of nowhere in that dry, barren landscape.
And Jonah as glad for the plant as he was angry that God spared Nineveh; it was a huge relief to him.
But the next morning an appointed worm attacked the plant, and it withered.
The plant loses its moisture, the leaves fall, the plant hangs in tatters upon the booth.
And then, an appointed, scorching east wind dries the plant out further, tearing it to pieces and scattering it across the hillside, probably with the remains of Jonah's makeshift booth.
And the sun beats down on Jonah's head to the point that he was faint, dizzy, and sick from the heat.
And he asked that he might die and said, 'It is better for me to die than to live.'
Why?
Because he was completely exposed to the elements, unable to escape the harshness of that world.
The booth had done a small amount, and the plant had helped quite a bit, but he had lost the plant.
God asks a question which sets up the lesson: "Is it right to be angry because the plant died?"
Jonah answered, "Yes, it's right to be angry.
That plant was small, but it all the protection I had from the heat and scorching east wind.
Without it I am utterly exposed to the elements.
And the Lord presses the issue home: "You pity the plant which gave you, one person, just a little protection from the world.
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