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| Sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) illustration by Uko Gorter |
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| To Part 1 |
(Jon 3:2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and preach to it the message that I tell you.
(Jon 3:3) 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.
(Jon 3:4) And Jonah began to enter the city on the
first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown!
(Jon 3:5) So the people of Nineveh believed God….
____________
Jonah,
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, records Yahweh as describing Nineveh, that great city [lit., unto God] three times: Jon 1:2;
3:2; 4:11. Yahweh further expanded its size as an exceedingly great city, a three-day
journey,
Jon 3:3; He accounted, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock, Jon 4:11 (that latter accounting
we embrace the natural understanding of referring to children).
It was indeed a very sizeable city of colossal
dimensions in ancient times. Jonah referred to the king as the king
of Nineveh rather than the king of Assyria which tipped the apple cart for some liberals. Yahweh referred to their wickedness (Jon 1:2) and their destruction in forty days (Jon 3:4) to be heralded among the inhabitants of
Nineveh. We learn from history that the Assyrians were polytheistic and a very
violent people, but don’t take my word for it; read what the king of Nineveh
said,
But
let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let
every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands (Jon 3:8).
These
are very interesting words from the king. The king knew they had slid off the
morality and ethic scales. They were steeped in idolatry and violence, and now
those who inflicted violence on others are forty days out from being destroyed
by the Almighty as preached and prophesied by His messenger.
The
expression of violence, particularly of their captives of conflict, had to have
been considered an offering and an expression of worship and service to the
Mesopotamian goddess of war (among other things), Ishtar, aka, Inanna, by the
Assyrians. A temple of Ishtar was said to have been located in Nineveh, but
there were other temples to meet their polytheistic needs.
You
can only imagine a perverted mindset that is actually inspired by demons behind
the persona of Ishtar and was able to tap into the duped worshipers’ total
depraved nature and find expressions of service to Ishtar through their notorious
and inhumane violence to its captives. Not only were they able to weaponize
their service to Ishtar through the expansion of Assyrian territories, but
promoting psychological warfare by inflicting violence on its captives as well.
Anachronistically speaking, it would go something like this, “If you defend
yourselves from the Assyrians or if you go to war with them, do not be taken alive!”
I
believe the message by Jonah was short, but they had to have known that Jonah was not a
messenger of Dagon once he opened his mouth. But is it not unreasonable to
think that Jonah’s message, Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown, in and of itself, would naturally
generate questions unless more was given (cf. Jon 3:5)?
If
you go to Nineveh on the east bank of the Tigris river and look at what is
remaining of this once great ancient city, or take a cheaper and far less
dangerous route by paying a visit to “Nineveh ruins (Ninive), Mosul, Iraq” via
Google Earth (Imagery date: 12.28.2004, at the time of this writing or just stay
tuned), you immediately think, “This was the mighty city of Nineveh?” It was
probably jaw-dropping in its day.
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| Google Earth |
Now,
I cannot recall the name of this famous archaeologist who mentioned that
erosion alone is extremely detrimental to archaeological sites over thousands
of years (duh). I think in the season of ISIS, their distaste for ancient history increased
the erosion rate of important archaeological sites with its bulldozers. Erosion,
vandals, and encroachment on developments do not help preserve ancient sites (another duh).
We
cannot expect to see Nineveh in the shape Jonah saw it back in the 8th
century B.C., right? It looks like a big empty spot on Google Earth. Nineveh
was utterly destroyed in the late 7th century (612 B.C.) and was
abandoned and we get a top view of a late 2004 satellite image. Sennacherib
spruced it up a bit in the late 8th century (ca. 705 B.C.). Nahum
teaches us that one generation's repentance is not sufficient for the next-gen.
We cannot afford to live off the spiritual laurels of the past. Sufficient unto the day
is the evil thereof (Mt 6:34b, KJV), right?
(Jon 3:4) And
Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and
said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!
And
Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk.
For
the Assyrian record, there is no record of Jonah’s visit to Nineveh. This is
stunning, not really. The legacy of the Assyrians could not reveal that their
capital city converted over to a “god” of the Hebrews!
This
clause, Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk, does not mean that Jonah began to preach after walking one
day in the city, but it does mean upon his reaching the villages within the
“city limits,” Jonah began preaching. His walk is a testament to God’s grace,
mercy, and compassion in reaching out to all of the sons of Adam, including the very wicked Assyrians!
Jonah
knew this of Yahweh quite well (cf. Jon 4:2b), for apparently, He saw this time
and time again in his prophetic ministry to Yahweh, for I knew, he said (Jon 4:2). What a
contrast to the erroneous tunnel vision view that the main attribute of the God
of the OT was wrath! Since He is eternally immutable (Mal 3:6), He was; He is,
and He will always be a God of love as well, for He is the great eternal, the I
AM; all of His perfections are eternal, without limitations, unchangeable. Yahweh
is such a cool God.
Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!
Yet forty days
This was without a doubt a period of grace; Yahweh did
not have to give them this time, nor send His prophet, but He did. This is
uncharacteristic of the supposed “God of wrath in the Old Testament?!”
As stated earlier, this is the only prophetic element
in the book of Jonah. I believe his message was brief, but not limited exclusively
to “forty days/destruction,” for it doesn’t adequately explain the transition
from polytheistic belief to monotheism (Jon 3:5). Questions would naturally be
generated for clarification. Whatever was said was effective as we learn from
v5.
(Jon
3:5) So
the people of Nineveh believed God….
This
is a precious thing to read or hear about! This repentance is often
characterized as short-lived because of what happened down the road with Assyria in
its actions against Samaria. If Jonah did enter Nineveh ca. 759 B.C., on the
tail end of a known plague, then it was about 37 years later that Assyria was
pressuring tribute from Samaria and finally destroyed the city in 722 B.C.
The
clause, Nineveh
believed God,
does not demand that every single soul in Nineveh believed God. We should not assume
God relented from destroying Nineveh because everyone repented; this would be
naïve. However, I do believe there was a significant number of Ninevites who believed in God, not all, and the primary reason Yahweh did not destroy Nineveh was because of
those who believed
God.
There
is no doubt in my mind that there were those who humbled themselves and went
through the motions but did not believe. They didn’t understand that Yahweh was all-knowing (Jer 17:10).
Hmm. Dying in unbelief is still associated with condemnation then as well as
now.
The
ultimate destruction, the greatest of all tragedies, is for a soul going out into
a godless eternity (hell, ultimately the lake of fire in the future). Unlike
Nineveh, an inanimate thing, the second death pertaining to the soul is a perpetual,
eternal destruction without remedy for all eternity.
This
was not what Jonah wanted to see (cf. Jon 4:1); he hated the Assyrians! Isn’t
it ironic that God sent a missionary that didn’t love the Assyrians (I doubt
that there were any from the two kingdoms, Israel or Judah) in order to give
them an opportunity to repent! I don’t know what to make of it, but that is
precisely what God did. It turned out to be one of the greatest evangelistic results
in the OT and unrivaled today; all conducted by a man who hated the very people he
was sent to give a warning of impending destruction, knowing all too well that Yahweh preferred that
they repent and live! You can’t make this stuff up!
While blessed to be living
in a republic, we Americans are witnessing in our day that democracy is the best thing going in the world as a form of government “of the people, by the people, for the people” as opposed to all other earthly rules, but it is far from perfect, for it is subject to abuse and exercising injustice against its
citizens because all of its citizens are sinful
in nature by birth.
So, there is a deep-rooted issue within the heart of every man (Rom 3:23; 5:12). That is not excusing
responsibility before God Almighty and our fellow man but calling to our
attention the urgent need for personal accountability before God and taking the offer of salvation seriously! That answerability begins with each one of us for such
a government to work for its people for the glory of God.
With Yahweh, the ultimate and
absolute power, there is no abuse of His strength or injustice to others for
He is holy. His power cannot be defined or comprehended or corrupted, and His justice is pure
and righteous beyond understanding. But of a certainty, He will prosecute sin and sinner alike in His holiness
in Nineveh, our nation, and anywhere else,
if they do not repent of their sins even though, according to Jonah under inspiration (2 Tim 3:16), He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abundant in lovingkindness, and One who
relents from doing harm (Jon 4:2).
We must not belittle the need or the power of
repentance in Jonah’s time or ours, the power of humility and prayer, the power
of obedience to the One and only true God, Yahweh. To worship and serve our
Creator God in spirit and truth, we must. Had not Nineveh repented, hundreds of thousands would have died on day forty! This was indeed the greatest
miracle in the Old Testament, in my humble estimation. <><
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| End of Jonah 3:2-5a |
