A Fresh Look at Jonah – Part 3

The meaning of Ninevah's repentance.

Was Nineveh’s repentance one that led to eternal salvation, or just being saved from imminent destruction? Our previous articles answered this question. However, further examination of the record reveals a beautiful parable about the basis of repentance to true salvation and repentance that is loosely associated with God but does not contain the essential elements.

A Parable of True and False Salvation

The repentance of the Assyrian people of Nineveh is remarkable from any angle. Apart from a man surviving being swallowed by a fish, the repentance of the Ninevites is probably the most striking feature of the message. Both these aspects are mentioned by the Lord in the gospels. 

• The survival of Jonah as a sign. (Matthew 12:40, 16:4, Luke 11:30). 
• The repentance of the people of Nineveh. (Matthew 12:41, Luke 11:32).

In these records, the Lord says that the men of Nineveh will “rise in judgment”1 with the men of his generation and condemn it because the men of Nineveh repented. What does the Lord intend by this statement? Is it possible that the city of Nineveh, who repented, would be raised in the resurrection, and by their presence at that time, they would condemn the Jewish people of the time of the Lord, who had rejected him? They repented at the preaching of Jonah under the most unlikely circumstances. However, the people of the Lord’s Day rejected the Son of the Creator and would do so even after the sign of the prophet Jonah. Three days in the belly of the grave, then resurrection.

Does the Lord mean this literally or in a manner of speaking? It becomes apparent that it is a manner of speaking. There are three ways we examine this: 

• The nature of Jonah’s message.
• The etymology of the passage.
• How the Lord uses similar figures of speech.
• A parable of true and false salvation within the prophecy of Jonah.

The Nature of Jonah’s Message

What was the “gospel message” of Jonah to Nineveh? In Chapter 1:2, God instructs him to “cry against it.” Cry in Hebrew carries the idea of “accosting a person met, to call out.” This same word, qara, is used in Jonah 3:2-4 and translated as “preaching” and “cried.” So, the message was a cry to the city. Hardly a message of hope and Good News.

The Etymology of the Passage

Etymology: to “rise” is to “stand or stand up.” “Judgment” is in Greek krisis, which indicates a tribunal or condemnation. It is not a word used concerning the tribunal of Jesus Christ at his return. In fact, the two most common passages referring to the “judgment seat” are Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10, where we read, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” In these passages, the word “judgment” is assumed to be a single Greek word, bema, referring only to the seat or throne. It is literally, “We must all appear before the seat of Jesus Christ.” The fact we appear before Christ is undisputed.

However, to use the judgment of krisis (condemnation) as it appears in relation to the men of Nineveh would be against the spirit of what is intended by the fair and just tribunal of the Lord. It is not found in other places regarding Christ’s tribunal when he returns. A suggested rendering is: “The men of Nineveh stand in judgment of the men of this generation and shall condemn it.” In other words, the men of Nineveh condemn the men of the Lord’s generation because their response was so much better than those of The Lord’s generation.

How the Lord Uses Similar Figures of Speech

Note the use of Sodom and Gomorrah in Matthew 10:15, Mark 6:11, and Luke 10:12. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. Are we to assume that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah reformed and somehow received a tolerable assessment at the judgment seat? Or is it a manner of speaking, a condemnation against the people of the Lord’s Day?

A Parable of True and False Salvation 

By far, the most revealing and satisfying reason is a consideration of an example of true salvation contained within the prophecy. This example becomes a counterpoint to the repentance of the men of Nineveh. By this contrast, we see that the repentance of the men of Nineveh is not a repentance to salvation but merely a repentance to have the city saved from imminent destruction. In fact, a consideration of Nahum shows that Nineveh is the original harlot on which the harlot of Revelation 17 is based. See Nahum Chapter 3. The religiousness that the men of Nineveh show is an admixture of paganism and belief in the God of Israel. This fusion is just like apostate Christianity, as depicted by the harlot of Revelation 17. On the other hand, there is an example of true repentance from idolatry and belief to salvation by the individual mariners in Chapter 1 of Jonah. 

If we were to ask what are the requirements of true repentance and salvation which could be universally applied (that is, across the whole span of humankind’s history before God), it would be represented by the following components: 

• Calling by Yahweh (often associated with a sign or visitation).
• Recognition of the futility of mortal existence. 
• Recognition of sinfulness of human nature. 
• Recognition of Yahweh as the true God and of His righteousness.
• Repentance from sins and previous wayward life. 
• Belief in Jesus Christ in prospect (Seed of the woman) or as the Son of God. 
• Baptism or practical act of initiation.
• Entering into a covenant through the shedding of blood.
• Understanding that a Godly way of life needs to be pursued.
• Living a life that brings forth fruit to the Father.

A consideration of the repentance of the mariners in Chapter 1 instead provides an example of true repentance to salvation, containing all the essential aspects listed above. These men were idolaters, individuals drawn out of the sea of nations (almost literally). They show true repentance and a symbolic association with the death and resurrection of Christ through the “death and resurrection” of Jonah.

Additionally, note the startling way Jonah concludes his prayer in Jonah 2:9: “Salvation is of the LORD.” In other words, salvation is through understanding and acknowledging the truth about Yahweh, “the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9).

The use of the memorial name of Yahweh here is very significant. The name is mentioned seven times in the dialogue between Jonah and the mariners. Twice, it comes from the mouth of Jonah and five times by the mariners. You might conclude that the mariners were saved outside of the law by the grace of Yahweh. On the other hand, the use of the special title of Yahweh is entirely absent from the proclamation to Nineveh. It is merely the more generic expression “God.” In fact, it mirrors the incident of the mariners in that “God” (elohim) is mentioned five times in the record concerning the Ninevites. 

Modern Christianity liberally refers to “God,” but do they truly understand His memorial name and purpose? 

But “Salvation is of the LORD.” (Jonah 2:9). In other words, salvation only comes through acknowledging and understanding the special revelation of the God of Israel. The mariners progressed from ignorance in calling to their pagan gods to calling on, fearing, and sacrificing to Yahweh. In stark contrast, the Ninevites never progressed in their understanding at all, to our knowledge. Note how in Hosea 13:1-4 understanding the singular claim of Yahweh to be the only God is connected with salvation. “Ephraim… sin more and more, and have made molten images… Yet I am the LORD thy God… and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.” Salvation is only of Yahweh. 

Jonah’s pivotal confession in the belly of the fish mirrors the enlightenment of the mariners:

• 2:2 I cried unto the LORD.
• 2:9 Sacrifice with thanksgiving.
• 2:9 Pay (make good) my vows. 
• 2:9 Salvation is of the LORD.

The Ninevites believed in God (elohim) (Jonah 3:5) and showed great repentance through fasting and sackcloth and ashes (for which they became a witness to Israel and to the men of Jesus’ generation). Then, their understanding stalled, and they took a backward step. In the confusion of their minds, they command that their beasts be covered with sackcloth. No sacrifice, no shedding of blood, no acknowledgment of Yahweh, no association with the work of Christ, no vows of ongoing commitment. The difference is pointed and remarkable. In this, the enigmatical final words of the prophecy begin to make sense. Jonah is told that the Ninevites “cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and also much cattle.” (Jonah 4:11).

Summary 

There must be a reason for the sudden and unusual dispatch of a prophet of Israel to a city of an enemy nation. Is it to save that city? What is the context that would demand such an unexpected and unprecedented extent? Or is there a context and a Scriptural reason laid out centuries before in the divine record? 

I believe that the strange song of Deuteronomy 32 is the key to understanding the purpose of Jonah’s prophecy. Additionally, when the contemporary prophets of Amos and especially Hosea are considered, it becomes clear. Yahweh is jealous because of his people’s stubborn idolatry. He turns to Ninevah not for its sake but to provoke His own covenant people to repent and turn back to Him.

David Carroll,
Blue Mountain Ecclesia, NSW