GOD of the Old Testament vs. GOD of the New Testament Part V

Nineveh (Jonah 1-4)

¹ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. –Jonah 1:1-3

Nineveh was an un-Godly Assyrian city. These people were known for their brutality and they had oppressed Israel for years. So why did God want Jonah to go and preach to them?

Because as bad as they were, God loved them!

He loved them and He knew they would repent. He could have chosen to destroy them but in love, He sent a means of escape. Jonah did not want to go; he knew that if they repented, God would save them. He hated them but God chose to send him anyway.

⁵ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,

   Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. ⁸ But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

¹⁰ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. –Jonah 3:5-10

In chapter four we see how angry Jonah became over God sparing the city. We also see how the Lord sought to teach Jonah about His love. This book ends with verse 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

What does this say about God?

If you still see God as a mean, overbearing tyrant, you are either deceived or your heart is so hard you can’t see the truth. Over and over God has shown His great mercy, why would you not want to see Him as He really is?