Jonah had already run from God once, and a great fish had brought him back. Now the word of the LORD came unto him the second time, with the same call: go to Nineveh, that great city. This time Jonah went.
A whole city turned from its evil way, from the king down. But Jonah was exceedingly displeased and very angry. The last chapter of Jonah is a conversation between an angry prophet and a merciful God, and it ends with a question.
The Story of Jonah and Nineveh
After the great fish brought Jonah to the dry land, the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. Jonah went a day’s journey into it, and he cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
So the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He and his nobles sent out a decree: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing. Man and beast were to be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God. Let them turn every one from his evil way, the decree said, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. He prayed, and his prayer finally told why he had fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Then he asked God to take his life, for it is better for me to die than to live. The LORD answered with a question: Doest thou well to be angry?
Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of it. He made himself a booth and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. The LORD God prepared a gourd and made it come up over Jonah, to be a shadow over his head, and Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah until he fainted. Again he wished to die.
God asked him, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? Jonah said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then the LORD said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? The book ends there, with God’s question.
Key Verses
“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” Jonah 3:4
“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way” Jonah 3:10
“For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” Jonah 4:2
“Doest thou well to be angry?” Jonah 4:4
“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city” Jonah 4:11
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Jonah and Nineveh Teaches Us
God gives second chances. The word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time after he had run away, and God gave Nineveh a chance too. Jonah’s message had no promise in it at all, only Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, yet when the people believed God and turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil and did it not.
True repentance shows up in what people do. The king did not only feel sorry; he left his throne, sat in ashes, and told the whole city to turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. The text says God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.
God’s mercy is bigger than our anger. Jonah knew God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and that was exactly what upset him. God answered with a gourd that Jonah did not plant or grow. If Jonah could pity a plant that came up in a night and perished in a night, God asked, should not I spare Nineveh, a city of people and much cattle? The book leaves that question for every reader to answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happened when Jonah preached to Nineveh?
Jonah cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, and the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth (Jonah 3:4-5). God saw that they turned from their evil way and did not bring the destruction (Jonah 3:10).
Why was Jonah angry that God spared Nineveh?
Jonah said he had fled to Tarshish because he knew God was a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil (Jonah 4:2). He did not want God to spare the city.
What is the gourd in the story of Jonah?
The LORD God prepared a gourd to grow over Jonah and shade his head, and Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd (Jonah 4:6). The next morning God prepared a worm that smote the gourd that it withered (Jonah 4:7).
How many people lived in Nineveh?
God said Nineveh had more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle (Jonah 4:11). Sixscore thousand is 120,000.
What did the king of Nineveh do when he heard Jonah’s warning?
He arose from his throne, laid his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, then ordered a fast for man and beast (Jonah 3:6-8).
How does the book of Jonah end?
It ends with God’s question to Jonah: should not I spare Nineveh, that great city… and also much cattle? (Jonah 4:11). The Bible does not record Jonah’s answer.