Bible Commentaries
Jonah 3

Verse 1

Jon 3:1. Having "learned his lesson” and been restored to the land, Jonah was ready to receive renewed instructions from the Lord; accordingly the divine word came to him the second time. There is no mention in the text of the event just closed, and as far as the record is concerned the Lord delivered his command just as if nothing had happened to the prophet.

Verse 2

Jon 3:2. We are given the added detail that Jonah was to say whatever was stated to him when he arrived in the city of Nineveh. The report does not show any objections to his preaching hence we must conclude that the declaration Jonah made was what the Lord had bidden him to deliver.

Verse 3

Jon 3:3. This time Jonah went in the direction of his duty according to the word of the Lord. Three days' journey might have referred to the distance round the city or across it either, as far as the expression of the text goes. But the rule of consistency indicates that the latter is meant, for the same days’ journey is used in the next verse in connection with Jonah’s entry into the city and across it. As to what a day’s journey is would depend upon the means of journeying that is being used at a given time. Journey is from mahalak which Strong defines, “A walk, i.e. a passage or a distance.” It is the word for "walk” in Eze 42:4 where we know it was a place in which men traveled on foot. So the conclusion is that a man would walk across the city of Nineveh in three days at the ordinary speed of such a mode of travel.

Verse 4

Jon 3:4. Jonah waited until he got to the more thickly populated portion of the city before be began his preaching. The only thing he said according to the text was the announcement that the city would be destroyed in forty days. Verse 2 says he was to preach what the Lord told him and all the reports of the event indicate that he was faithful to his commission. Nothing said about why it was to be destroyed, and we know that no specific proviso such as repentance was stated by which the city could avoid destruction. We get this from the announcement of the king who had commanded his people to perform acts of penitence, and then expressed the hope that God would be thereby induced to change the decree of destruction. Had the condition of reformation been stated In connection with the threat made by Jonah, there would have been no occasion for the "wishful thinking” of the king.

Verse 5

Jon 3:5. Voluntary fasting and wearing of sackcloth was a custom in ancient times on occasions of grief or anxiety. The only reason this verse assigns for the acts of these people is that they believed God. This justifies us if we "read between the lines,” for the preceding verse says nothing about God or of any reason why the city was to be overthrown; but some following verses report the acknowledgement of the evil way of the citizens. A mere prediction of some calamity to come upon a place would not have to mean that it was to be a punishment for sin. hence there was some-thing said or done that informed these Ninevites what it was about.

Verse 6

Jon 3:6. This verse tells us that the foregoing actions of the people had been by the direction of the king. He also set the example of penitence by temporarily deposing himself and putting on the customary sackcloth and sitting in the ashes.

Verse 7

Jon 3:7. The king even went so far as to include their service beasts in the fasting. They were dumb creatures and could not be morally responsible for any wrongdoing, so why penalize them? It was not for that purpose, but as a further restriction upon the people. If the beasts were deprived of food it would render them unable for work, and hence the condition would actually be a sacrifice for the owners.

Verse 8

Jon 3:8. This verse is a direct confession that the people of Nineveh, from the greatest of them even to the least of them (including the king), were guilty of wrong doing. Moreover, they were told what they had been doing that, was wrong, else they could not know what "evil way” it was from which they were to turn.

Verse 9

Jon 3:9. See the comments on verse 4 for the explanation of this.

Verse 10

Jon 3:10. Gad repented means he changed his mind or plan as at first threatened. However, even that was no change in His established principles of dealing with mankind. He has always given man the opportunity of repenting and "making his wrongs right,” with the promise that if it was done, the punishment threatened would be remitted. The reader should see Jer 13:7-10 on this important subject.