Jonah 3:4

GOD'S MESSENGER RUNNING WITH GODTHE CRY FOR REPENTANCE

TEXT: Jonah 3:4

4

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

QUERIES

a.

How far did Jonah go into the city in a day?

b.

Why did Jonah give a time limit of forty days?

PARAPHRASE

When Jonah began his day's journey into the city, he found a suitable place and a fitting opportunity for beginning his preaching, so he began to preach, saying, Forty days from now and this great city of Nineveh will be destroyed by Jehovah God!

SUMMARY

Jonah begins his doom song to Nineveh.

Jonah 3:4. HE CRIED. YET FORTY DAYS, AND NINEVEH SHALL BE OVERTHROWN. Jonah did not go into the city one full days-' journey and then begin to preach. The text definitely indicates that he started on his first days-' journey and then sometime during that beginning of the journey he began to preach. The word overthrown is from the Hebrew word which means literally, destroyed from the very foundations, and is the same word used in speaking of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,

Lange says of the forty days: Forty days are here a round number, meaning after a short time, whose term Jonah measures by the period of the deluge. K & D say: The respite granted is fixed at forty days, according to the number which, even as early as the flood, was taken as the measure for determining the delaying of visitation of God. What purpose God had in assigning exactly 40 days to Nineveh's period of probation it is idle to speculate. He most certainly would extend His grace long enough for all to hear the message and make response, but His grace would not be extended forever. Furthermore, Nineveh's cup of sin was running overGod's cup of wrath was filled to the brim and about to overflow. Nineveh had had many opportunities to know and repent and now their judgment was fixed and announcedif repentance did not come with haste, the sentence would be executed.

QUIZ

1.

How far did Jonah go into the city before he began to preach?

2.

Why did God assign the time of 40 days for repentance?