“And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”  Jonah 4:11

This verse is the last verse in the book of Jonah, but it captures the heart of God in this story, and shows His purpose: to redeem and restore those who have been against Him, and to have mercy upon all.

The story of Jonah follows a prophet who receives a call from God to go the most heathen of heathen: the Ninevites, idol worshippers living in the Assyrian capital.  Jonah’s message is one calling for repentance from wickedness, that God might be gracious to them and relent from the calamity He planned to bring on them.  Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah decides to flee in the opposite direction and hopefully dodge his duty.  In an interesting side note, Jonah flees to the city of Tarshish, the name of which means “refinement.”  God had to refine Jonah in the belly of the whale, where he learned afresh to trust God and willingly come into agreement with Him.  After three days in the whale, God gives Jonah a second chance to go and preach to the Ninevites, and he goes and proclaims God’s message.

When the Ninevites hear Jonah’s message, they immediately turn to God in fasting and repentence, from the king down.  And it says in verse 10, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” 

Jonah actually gets upset with God for His mercy on these people, but fittingly describes God’s handling of the Ninevites: “I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (4: 2).

Jonah unfortunately responded in the way many people do today at the thought that God actually could and would redeem all people.  We wonder how people as horrible as Hitler could ever come into the kingdom of God.  But here we see how God’s heart is to bring all people, especially the worst, to Himself.  Jonah’s name means “dove”, which is a symbol of peace, restoration, and the Holy Spirit.  God plans to bring restoration to even the worst of the worst.  He is ABUNDANT in lovingkindness, having compassion on those who “do not even know their right hand from the left.” God is saying that these people are spiritually dead: they are too spiritually “dumb” to even know one hand from the other.  Paul calls these kind the “natural man”-those who have no spiritual discernment whatsoever: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Cor. 2:14

We are all dead in our trespasses and sins until God in His mercy makes us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).  He came and opened our darkened minds and hearts so that we could be aware and understand the things of the Spirit of God.  God extended mercy to the Ninevites in kindness. He did not immediately bring calamity on them, for He does not delight in that.  What He DOES delight in is a contrite heart.  And it was His kindness that led them to repentence (Rom. 2:4). 

Does God have to correct and discipline? Yes.  We can choose to rebel and take the long way around, as Jonah did. But ultimately, God’s will prevails.  Nineveh was a glimpse into the plan of God to bring all people to Himself, because of His unfailing love.

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