Nineveh

From the Encyclopaedia Britannica
'Nineveh, the oldest and most populous city of the ancient Assyrian Empire...'

First mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 10:11, where a chap called Cush 'built' it.

Not seen until Jonah, where the focus was on Jonah running away from a summons to preach against it.


'That man deserves to die for what he did.'
'Why do I do stuff like this to myself?'

Like Jonah, it's easy to pass judgement on everything, even on ourselves (probably why anyone could judge X-Factor!).

'But the Lord replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

The right to be angry is a given, what isn't is how we proclaim judgement and refuse to take God's considerations into account. Self-pity, jealousy, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness; all are part of the emotional spectrum implanted into us but if I let these take over my actions without allowing God any say, its not going to produce the best results.

But what stood out for me in this reading of Jonah 3 was how the king of Nineveh responded to Jonah's message.

The king of the city 'rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.'

No one responds to a wayward prophet like that, certainly not the king of an important city unless he recognises the God behind the man.