“SHOULD I NOT PITY NINEVEH?”

The last verse of the book of Jonah as found in Jonah 4:11 is a question. This question is an interesting end to the whole book. This question is very enlightening to us, revealing the very heart of God, and His deep and committed love for the people of the whole world. These are the last words in the book of Jonah. The question is asked by YAHWEH, the LORD God Almighty, in response to a position taken by Jonah the prophet, and there is no record of any answer for this question.
– “11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left – and much livestock?” – Jonah 4:11

The question *”SHOULD I NOT PITY NINEVEH?”* which the LORD asks Jonah, is born out of deep anguish, that His prophet doesn’t seem to grasp God’s heart, but tries to argue and defend himself with all his heart, soul and mind. The question is an unambiguous reflection of…
– His HEART
– His LOVE for His people
– the SCOPE of His love
– His deep concern for the lost

The question speaks clearly and unmistakably speaks about God and His character. This question of our LORD reminds me of the statement that the LORD Jesus makes when Nicodemus, another Jew, asks Him a question. Both the responses of God, dismantle the existing concepts about God and God’s love as an “exclusive instrument” for a “chosen” few. It also enlightens the reader about who truly are God’s “Chosen People” and why is it so.
– “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” – John 3:16-21

The words of YAHWEH, the LORD Almighty in Jonah 4:11 and the words of the LORD Jesus in John 3:16-21 are an indictment of all who reject the gracious and merciful offer of the Almighty God to forgive us our sins – Jew and Gentile alike. *For in the sight of God our Creator, there is no difference between a Jew and a Gentile; there never was and there never will be.* Hence the written Word of God records that God’s righteousness is made available to sinners – Jew and Gentile alike – only through faith in the finished work of the LORD Jesus Christ, and in nothing else and in no one else…
– “21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” – Romans 3:21-26

What love is this that came seeking for His people – the people of the whole world – Matthew 18:11, Luke 9:56, John 3:16-17. The ones God chose for this task, were not faithful to God, nor were they faithful to the responsibility entrusted to them. The attitude of prophet Jonah is a very fine example of such a heart, and its discrimination towards Gentiles. The tag of God’s  “Chosen People” always included all who will follow Him – Jew and Gentile alike – it is not, and it never was some exclusive and privileged ethno-racial grouping. 

Such a universalist thinking is not an AFTERTHOUGHT of God, as Plan B, because His efforts through the Jews have “failed.” It is also not some “alteration” of the original concept of Chosen People, presented as an adjusted and adapted afterthought, in the New Testament. God’s plans don’t fail, even though people may fail Him. Sadly many Christians wish to continue in the spirit of prophet Jonah, and the dismantled Jewish tradition of exclusive and privileged ethno-racial supremacist thinking. I say this with no pleasure whatsoever, nor any prejudice towards the Jews. It is a plain and simple reading of the Scriptures given to us, both the Old and the New Testaments. They make it abundantly clear, but for some strange reason, we are wanting to walk the path that is rejected. It is rejected because, it is wrong, and is in direct opposition to what God had always intended.

The first promise of a Saviour in Genesis 3:15, and the subsequent use of Noah in Genesis 6:5-8, to save the world, are a very fine example of God’s heart for the whole world, and His love for the people of the whole world, and His efforts to redeem the lost sinners of the whole world. God’s heart was, and is, and will ever be, for the whole world. God’s “Chosen People” were and will ever be, the whole world, and not some narrow ethno-racial group of people. It never was even with Hebrew children – they are a mixed group of people, with blood from everywhere. Genesis 48, which records about Joseph’s two sons, born to an Egyptian mother, and the blessing of Jacob, and making them as his own sons, last two of the twelve tribes, is a fine example of God, divinely drafting other racial groups into the promise made to Abraham. It should be noted carefully, for it reflects God’s love for the whole world.

Let us not ascribe to the holy God, our sinful, bigoted, wicked and evil ways and methods of thinking and dealings. Let us always remember the question that YAHWEH the LORD God Almighty asked Jonah, “SHOULD I NOT PITY NINEVEH?” and reflect upon it to know the heart of the LORD our God. Even so the LORD help us.