Useful Bible Studies > Jonah Commentary > chapter 3
In Isaiah 1:18 and Ezekiel 18:27-32, God declares that he wants to forgive even the most wicked people. However, he will not forgive them if they continue in their evil behaviour. They must turn from their wicked actions and attitudes for God to forgive them.
Unlike Jonah, the king of Nineveh did not know about the great kindness of God (Exodus 34:6-7; Jonah 4:2).
The king could not therefore declare God’s promise to forgive those people who truly turn to him. However, the king still chose to place his hope in God. The king could see that God had delayed the punishment of Nineveh for 40 days. When God delays his judgments, it is to give an opportunity for people to turn to him (2 Peter 3:9). During those 40 days, Nineveh’s people believed God (3:5) and they turned from their evil behaviour. So, the king urged his people to put their hope in God, even as he had done.
The king understood why God had made such a severe judgment against the city. Ancient kings also acted as the chief judges of their people. This king knew the fierce anger that he himself felt against guilty people. Those criminals had refused to obey the king’s law and they had completely failed to respect his authority over them. The king knew how selfishly and wickedly he, and all of Nineveh’s people, had behaved. Formerly, he and all the people had failed to understand that God in heaven is the judge of all people (Genesis 18:25; Revelation 20:11-15). They imagined themselves to have the right to do whatever they wanted. They had chosen to behave in an extremely cruel and evil manner (1:2).
So, the king knew that God’s judgment was right and proper. It would be foolish and evil to argue against it. However, the king and the people in Nineveh would pray for God to show kindness and to forgive them.
Next part: God forgives Nineveh's people (Jonah 3:10)
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