John Calvin Commentary Jonah 4

Jerome commends this grief of Jonah and compares it to the holy zeal of Paul, who wished himself to be an anathema for his brothers (Romans 9:3). For Jerome denies that Jonah grieved because God had shown mercy to so illustrious a city, but rather because the conversion of the Gentiles was a certain presage of the destruction of the chosen people.

According to Jerome, Jonah perceived the near ruin of Israel as if in a mirror and grieved on this account. But this notion is extremely frivolous, for immediately afterward, God reproved Jonah. What then will the foolish and puerile apology of Jerome benefit the Prophet, since God Himself has declared that Jonah acted perversely in grieving?

Indeed, Jerome's dullness has thus become evident (and thus indeed I speak of a man who, though learned and laborious, has yet deprived himself of the praise he might otherwise have justly earned). His wayward disposition revealed itself everywhere, and he is clearly refuted in this very context, where Jonah plainly shows that the cause of his grief was different—namely, that he was unwilling to be considered a false or a lying prophet. This was the source of his great grief and bitterness. And we see that this motivation was unjust and inconsistent with all reason, even if God had not expressed His mind on the matter.

We may then conclude that Jonah was influenced by false zeal when he could not bear with resignation that the city of Nineveh had been delivered from destruction. He himself also amplifies the greatness of his sin. He might have said, in one word, that it displeased Jonah. But not satisfied with this simple statement, he adds that he felt great displeasure or grief, and he afterward adds that he was very angry.

Though the initial feeling might not have been wrong, the excess was certainly sinful. But Jonah himself confesses that there was excess and a lack of moderation in his grief. Since he then accuses himself in plain words, what good is it to try to cover with false and invented pretenses what we clearly see cannot be excused? However, so that it may be more evident why the deliverance of the city of Nineveh displeased Jonah, let us continue with the context.

It seems by no means fitting that Jonah should have said here that he prayed, for prayer ought to be calm; but he confesses that his mind was in a state of excitement. Since anger was burning within the Prophet, how could he come before God and offer a suitable prayer?

Furthermore, what is the purpose of praying, but to confess that whatever good is to be obtained resides in God, and is to be sought humbly from Him? But Jonah here, on the contrary, expostulates and clamors against God, for he seems, in a way, to be contending that he had a just reason for his flight, and also that God ought not to have pardoned the Ninevites.

He then accuses God, so that he might free himself from all blame. But all this is foreign and remote from what is required in prayer. How then must we understand this passage, in which he says that he prayed? My answer is—that the faithful often approach God with a desire to pray while in a disturbed state of mind, and that their prayers are not wholly rejected, though they are not altogether approved and accepted.

And from this it also appears more evident how the works of the godly are regarded by God, though they are sprinkled with many stains. Whenever the Papists read that any work has pleased God, they imagine that all was perfection and purity; but there is no work which is not infected with some pollution, unless it is purified by a free pardon.

This, I say, is evident to us in this prayer, which was not so rejected by God as if it did not retain the character of prayer. And yet it is certain that Jonah was by no means rightly influenced when he prayed so clamorously, finding fault, as it were, with God, and still retaining some portion of his own obstinacy, for he boasted of his flight. But this flight, as we have stated, was a proof of manifest rebellion, since, by shaking off the yoke, he despised the call of God.

We must therefore acknowledge that there was some piety in this prayer of Jonah, as well as many faults. It was an act of piety that he addressed his complaints to God. For though hypocrites may pray to God, they are still wholly averse to Him and freely give vent to their bitterness against God. But Jonah, while he here complains and observes no moderation, but is carried away by a blind and perverse impulse, is still prepared to submit to God, as we will see later.

This is the reason why he says that he prayed: for he would not have been ashamed to confess any grievous sin of which he might have been conscious. He did not then lessen his fault by using the word "prayer" as hypocrites are accustomed to do, who always set up some pretenses or veils when they seek to cover their own baseness; this was not Jonah's purpose. Therefore, when he says that he prayed, he generally declares that he did not speak against God in such a way, but that he still retained some seed of piety and obedience in his heart.

Jonah then prayed. Hence it follows, as I have stated before, that many of the prayers of the saints are sinful (vitiosas—faulty), which, when tested by the right standard, deserve to be rejected. But the Lord, according to His own mercy, pardons their defects so that these confused and turbulent prayers still retain their title and honor.

Now he says, I pray You, Jehovah, is not this what I said? Here Jonah openly declares why he so resented the deliverance of Nineveh from destruction: because he was thus shown to be false and lying. But it may seem strange that the Prophet had more regard for his own reputation than for the glory of God; for in this especially shines forth the glory of God, that He is reconcilable as soon as people return to the right way, and that He offers Himself to them as a father.

Should Jonah then have preferred his own honor to the glory of God? I answer—that the Prophet was not so devoted to himself; on the contrary, a concern for the glory of God held the first place in his soul; this is certain. For he connected, and justly so, his own ministry with the glory of God, as it proceeded from His authority. When Jonah entered Nineveh, he did not cry out as a private man, but declared that he was sent by God. Now if the preaching of Jonah is found to be false, reproach will recoil on the author of his call, even on God.

Jonah then, no doubt, could not bear that the name of God should be exposed to the reproaches of the Gentiles, as though God had spoken deceitfully, now opening hell, then heaven; and there is nothing so contrary to the glory of God as such deceit. Thus we see why Jonah was seized with so much grief: he did not primarily regard himself, but because he saw that an occasion would be given to ungodly blasphemers if God changed His purpose, or if He did not appear consistent with His word, he felt much grieved.

But however specious this reason may be, we still learn how much good intentions avail with God. Whatever good intention can be imagined, it was certainly a good intention in Jonah, worthy of some praise, that he preferred dying a hundred times rather than to hear these reproachful blasphemies—that the word of God was a mere sport, that His threatenings were no better than fables, that God made this and that pretext, and transformed Himself into various characters.

This was certainly the very best intention, if it is estimated by our judgment. But we shall soon see that it was condemned by the mouth of God Himself. From this let us learn not to arrogate to ourselves judgment in matters which exceed our capacities, but to subject our minds to God, and to seek from Him the spirit of wisdom.

For why was it that Jonah so fretted against God, except that he burned with a desire for His glory? But his zeal was inconsiderate, for he wished to be himself the judge and arbitrator, while, on the contrary, he ought to have subjected himself altogether to God. And the same rule ought to be observed by us also.

When we see many things happening through a divine intervention, that is, through the secret providence of God, and things which expose His name to the blasphemies of the ungodly, we ought indeed to feel grief. But in the meantime, let us ask the Lord to eventually turn these shameful reproaches to His own glory; and let us by no means raise an uproar, as many do, who immediately begin to contend with God when things are ordered differently from what they wish or think to be useful.

Let us learn by the example of Jonah not to measure God’s judgments by our own wisdom, but to wait until He turns darkness into light. And at the same time, let us learn to obey His commands, to follow His call without any disputing. Though heaven and earth oppose us, though many things occur which may tend to turn us away from the right course, let us still continue in this resolution—that nothing is better for us than to obey God, and to go on in the way which He points out to us.

But by saying that he hastened to go to Tarshish, he does not altogether excuse his flight; but he now more clearly explains that he did not shun trouble or labor, that he did not run away from a contest or danger, but that he only avoided his call because he felt a concern for the glory of God.

The meaning, then, of Jonah’s words is—that he makes God here, as it were, his witness and judge, that he did not withdraw himself from obedience to God through fear of danger, or through idleness, or through a rebellious spirit, or through any other evil motive, but only because he was unwilling that His holy name should be profaned, and would not of his own accord be the minister of that preaching which would be the occasion of opening the mouths of ungodly and profane men, and of making them laugh at God Himself.

“Since then I cannot hope,” he says, “for any other outcome of my preaching than to make the Gentiles deride God, yes, and to revile His holy name, as though He were false and deceitful, I chose rather to flee to Tarshish.” Then Jonah does not here altogether clear himself; for otherwise that chastisement, by which he ought to have been thoroughly subdued, must have failed in its effect.

He had recently been restored from the deep, and shall we say that he now so exalts himself against God that he wishes to appear wholly free from all blame? This certainly would be very strange. But, as I have said, he declares to God that he fled at the beginning for no other reason than because he did not expect any good fruit from his preaching, but, on the contrary, feared what now seemed to be happening—that God’s name would be ridiculed.

For he immediately adds, For I know that You are a God full of grace, and merciful, slow to wrath, etc. It is a wonder that Jonah withdrew from his lawful call, for he knew that God was merciful, and there is no stronger stimulant than this to stir us on when God is pleased to use our labor. And we know that no one can with alacrity render service to God unless he is allured by His paternal kindness.

Hence no one will be a willing Prophet or Teacher unless he is persuaded that God is merciful. Jonah then seems here to reason very absurdly when he says that he withdrew himself from his office because he knew that God was merciful.

But how did he know this? By the law of God; for the passage is taken from Exodus 33:1, where that remarkable and memorable vision is described in which God offered Moses a view of Himself. And there was then shown to the holy Prophet, as it were, a living representation of God, and there is no passage in the law which expresses God’s nature more vividly, for God was then pleased to make Himself known in a familiar way to His servant.

Since then Jonah had been instructed in the doctrine of the law, how could he discharge the office of a Prophet among his own people? And why did not this knowledge discourage his mind when he was called to the office of a Teacher? It is then certain that this ought to be confined to the sort of preaching that we have explained before.

Jonah would not have shrunk from God’s command had he been sent to the Ninevites to teach what he had been ordered to do among the chosen people. Had then a message been committed to Jonah, to set forth a gracious and merciful God to the Ninevites, he would not have hesitated a moment to offer his service.

But as this express threatening, Nineveh shall be destroyed, was entrusted to him, he became confused and eventually sought to flee away rather than execute such a command. Why so? Because he reasoned with himself in this way: “I am to denounce a near ruin on the Ninevites; why does God command me to do this, except to invite these wretched people to repentance?

Now if they repent, will not God be instantly ready to forgive them? He would otherwise deny His own nature: God cannot be unlike Himself; He cannot put off that disposition of which He has once testified to Moses. Since God, then, is reconcilable, if the Ninevites will return to the right way and flee to Him, He will instantly embrace them: thus I shall be found to be false in my preaching.”

So now we perceive how this passage of Jonah is to be understood, when he says that he fled beyond the sea, at least that he attempted to do so, because he knew that God was gracious. For he would not have deprived God of his service had not this contradiction disturbed and discouraged his mind: “What!

I shall go there as God’s ambassador, and in a short time I shall be discovered to be a liar. Will not this reproach be cast on the name of God Himself? It is therefore better for me to be silent than that God, the founder of my call, should be ridiculed.” We see that Jonah had a distinct regard for that sort of preaching to which we have already referred.

And thus it appears that Jonah gave to the Ninevites more than he thought, for he supposed that he was sent by God only that the Ninevites might know that they were to be destroyed. But he brought deliverance to them. Indeed, he partly suspected or knew this before, for he retained this truth—that God cannot divest Himself of His mercy, for He remains ever the same.

But when he went out to execute the duty enjoined on him, he certainly had nothing to expect but the entire ruin of the city Nineveh. God in the meantime employed Jonah’s ministry for a better end and purpose. There is indeed no doubt that he exhorted the Ninevites to repentance, but his own heart was, as it were, closed up, so that he could not allow them the mercy of God. Thus we see that Jonah was seized with perplexities, so that he could not offer deliverance to the Ninevites, and yet it was offered to them by God through his instrumentality.

So now we understand how God often works through His servants, for He leads them as the blind by His own hand where they do not expect. Thus, when He stirs up any one of us, we are sometimes ὀλιγόπίστοι—very weak in faith; we think that our labor will be useless and without any fruit, or at least attended with small success.

But the Lord will let us see what we could not have expected. Such was the case with Jonah; for when he came to Nineveh, he had no other object but to testify about the destruction of the city, but the Lord was pleased to make him the minister of salvation.

God then honored with remarkable success the teaching of Jonah, while he was unworthy of so great an honor; for, as we have already said, he, in a way, closed up every access to the blessing of God. So now we apprehend the meaning of this passage, in which Jonah says that he fled from the call of God because he knew that God was ready to be gracious and merciful.

I come now to the great things which are said of God. חנון, chenun, properly means a disposition to show favor, as if it were said that God is gratuitously benevolent; we express the same in our language by the terms benin, gratieux, debonnaire. God then assumes this character for Himself; and then He says, merciful; and He adds this so that we may know that He is always ready to receive us, if indeed we come to Him as to the fountain of goodness and mercy.

But the words which follow express more clearly His mercy and show how God is merciful—namely, because He is abundant in compassion and slow to wrath. God then is inclined to kindness; and though the people on whom He looks are unworthy, He is still merciful; and this He expresses by the word רחום, rechum.

It is at the same time necessary to add these two descriptions: that He is abundant in compassion and slow to wrath. Why so? For we always seek in ourselves some cause for God’s favor; when we desire God to be kind to us, we inquire in ourselves why He ought to favor us; and when we find nothing, all the faith we previously had regarding God’s grace at once vanishes.

The Lord therefore does here recall us to Himself and testifies that He is kind and merciful, inasmuch as He is abundant in compassion; as though He said, “I have in Myself a sufficient reason why I should be accessible to you, and why I should receive you and show you favor.” Hence the goodness of God alone ought to be regarded by us when we desire His mercy and when we have need of pardon.

It is as though He had said that He is not influenced by any regard for our worthiness, and that it is not for merits that He is disposed to mercy when we have sinned, and that He receives us into favor; but that He does all this because His goodness is infinite and inexhaustible.

And it is also added, that He is slow to wrath. This slowness to wrath proves that God provides for the salvation of mankind, even when He is provoked by their sins. Though miserable people provoke God daily against themselves, He still continues to have a regard for their salvation. He is therefore slow to wrath, which means that the Lord does not immediately execute such punishment as those who thus provoke Him deserve. So now we see what the meaning of these words is.

Let us now return to this—that Jonah thrust himself from his office because he knew that God was slow to wrath, merciful, and full of grace. He even had recourse to this reasoning: “Either God will change His nature, or He will spare the Ninevites if they repent. And it may be that they will repent; and then my preaching will be found to be false, for God will not deny Himself, but will afford an example of His goodness and mercy in forgiving this people.”

We may again remark that we act perversely when we follow our own zeal without discrimination; it is indeed a blind fervor which then hurries us on. Though a thousand inconsistencies may meet us when God commands anything, our eyes ought to be closed to them, and we ought always to follow the course of our calling, for He will so regulate all events that all things shall redound to His glory.

It is not for us in such a case to be overly wise; but the best way is to leave the outcome of things in God’s hand. It becomes us indeed to fear and to feel concerned, but our anxiety ought, at the same time, to be in submission to God, so that it is enough for us to pray. This is the meaning of the whole matter.

Now as to what he says that God repents of the evil, we have already explained this: it means that though God has already raised His hand, He will still withdraw it as soon as He sees any repentance in people, for evil here is to be taken for punishment. The Lord then, though He might justly inflict extreme punishment on people, still suspends His judgment, and when they come to Him in true penitence, He is instantly pacified. This is God’s repentance; He is said to repent when He freely forgives whatever punishment or evil people have deserved whenever they loathe themselves.

We see here how angry Jonah was in his zeal, for this prayer cannot certainly be ascribed to his faith, as some think, who say that Jonah took a flight, as it were, in his soul to heaven when he made this prayer, as though he did not dread death but, having been freed from all fear, being free and disengaged, he presented himself to God.

I do not think that Jonah's mind was so heroic. Indeed, there is no doubt, as I have already said, that he still retained some seed of piety; and this, I said, is sufficiently proved by the word prayer, for if Jonah had burst out like one in despair, it would not have been a prayer.

Since he prayed by speaking thus, it follows that it was not the cry of despair, but of too much displeasure, which Jonah did not restrain. In short, this prayer proceeded from a pious and holy zeal, but Jonah sinned in its measure or excess, for he had, in a manner, forgotten himself when he preferred death to life.

You Jehovah, he says, take me away. First, he was not free from blame in hastily wishing to die, for it is not in our power to leave this world; but we ought with submissive minds to remain in it as long as God keeps us in the station in which we are placed.

Whoever, then, hastens to death with such great ardor undoubtedly offends God. Paul knew that death was desirable in his case (Philippians 1:22), but when he understood that his labor would be useful to the Church, he was content with his lot, and preferred the will of God to his own will. Thus, he was prepared both to live and to die, as it seemed good to God.

It was otherwise with Jonah. Now, he says, take away my life. This was one fault, but the other was that he wished to die because God spared the Ninevites. Though he was touched with some grief, he ought not to have gone so far as this, or rather to rush on, so as to desire death on account of the weariness of his life.

But we learn from this to what extremes men are carried when once they give free rein to inconsiderate zeal. The holy Prophet Jonah, who had recently been tamed and subdued by such heavy chastisement, is now seized and carried away by a desire to die—and why? Because he thought it was hard that he had denounced destruction on the Ninevites, and yet their city remained safe.

This example ought to check us, so that we do not express our opinion too boldly regarding the doings of God. On the contrary, we should hold our thoughts captive, lest we manifest any presumption of this kind. For there is no one among us who does not condemn Jonah, just as he also condemned himself; for he does not recount his own praise here, but intends to show how foolishly he had judged God’s work.

Jonah then confesses his own folly. Therefore, his experience is evidence to us that there is nothing more preposterous than for us to decide this or that according to our own wisdom, since true wisdom alone is this: to submit ourselves wholly to the will of God.

Now, if anyone raises a question here—whether it is lawful to desire death—the answer may be briefly this: death is not to be desired on account of the weariness of life. This is one thing. By the weariness of life, I understand that state of mind when either poverty, or lack, or disgrace, or any such thing, makes life hateful to us. But if anyone, through weariness on account of his sins and hatred of them, regrets his remaining on earth and can adopt the language of Paul,

Miserable am I, who will free me from the body of this death! (Romans 7:24)

—he entertains a holy and pious wish, provided the submission I have referred to is added, so that this feeling does not break forth in opposition to the will of God. But he who has such a desire should still allow himself to be detained by God’s hand as long as God pleases.

Furthermore, when anyone wishes to die because he fears for himself regarding the future, or dreads undergoing any evil, he also struggles against God. Such was the fault of Jonah, for he says that death was better to him than life—and why? Because the Lord had spared the Ninevites.

We therefore see how he was blinded, even carried away by a mad impulse to desire death.

Let us then learn to love this life in such a way that we are prepared to lay it down whenever the Lord pleases. Let us also learn to desire death, but in such a way as to live to the Lord and to proceed in the race set before us, until He Himself leads us to its end. Now follows the reproof of God—

There is no doubt that God, by thus reproving Jonah, condemns his intemperate anger. But since God alone is a fit judge of human conduct, there is no reason for us to boast that we are influenced by good intentions, for there is nothing more deceptive than our own scales. When, therefore, we weigh facts, deeds, and thoughts by our own judgment, we deceive ourselves. If anyone were disposed to rhetorically defend Jonah's conduct, he might certainly gather many specious pretenses; and if anyone were inclined to offer excuses for Jonah, he could be made to appear entirely innocent to us. But though the whole world absolved him, what good would it do, since he was condemned by the mouth of God himself, who alone, as I have already stated, is the judge? We ought then to feel assured that Jonah had acted foolishly, even if no reason was apparent to us, for the authority of the Supreme Judge ought to be more than sufficient.

Now God expressly condemns his wrath. Had Jonah modestly expostulated and unburdened his griefs to God, it would have been excusable; though his ardor would not have been free from blame, it might still have been borne with. But now, when he is angry, it is past endurance; for wrath, as someone says, is only a short madness. And then it blinds people's perceptions and disturbs all the faculties of the soul. God then does not here condemn Jonah in a slight manner, but he shows how gravely he had fallen by allowing himself to become so angry. We must at the same time remember that Jonah had sinned not only by giving way to anger; he might have sinned, as we have said, without being angry. But God, by this circumstance—his becoming so turbulent—enhances his sin. And it is certainly a most unseemly thing when a lowly creature rises up against God and in a boisterous spirit contends with him: this is monstrous, and Jonah was in this state of mind.

We therefore see why an express mention is made of his anger: God thus intended to bring conviction home to Jonah, so that he might no longer seek evasions. Had he simply said, "Why! How is it that you do not leave to me the supreme right of judging? If such is my will, why do you not submissively acknowledge that what I do is rightly done? Is it your privilege to be so wise as to dictate laws to me, or to correct my decisions?"—if the Lord had spoken thus, some excuse might still have remained. Jonah might have said, "Lord, I cannot restrain my grief when I see your name so profaned by unseemly reproaches. Can I witness this with a calm mind?" He might thus still have sought some coverings for his grief. But when the Lord brought forward his anger, Jonah must necessarily have been silenced. For what could be found to excuse Jonah when he thus perversely rebelled, as I have said, against God, his Judge and Maker? We now understand, then, why God expressly declares that Jonah did not do well in being so angry.

But I wonder how it came into Jerome's mind to say that Jonah is not here reproved by the Lord, but that something neutral is mentioned. He was indeed a person who was by nature a sophist (cavillator—a caviler), and thus he deliberately trifled with the work of falsifying Scripture; he had no scruples about perverting passages of Holy Scripture. For instance, when he writes about marriage, he says that those who marry do not do evil, and yet they do not do well. What sophistry this is, and how vapid! So also concerning this passage, "God," he says, "does not condemn Jonah, neither did he intend to reprove his sin; but, on the contrary, Jonah brings before us here the person of Christ, who sought death that the whole world might be saved; for when alive he could not do good to his own nation, he could not save his own kindred; he therefore preferred to devote himself and his life for the redemption of the world." These are mere childish notions, and thus the whole meaning of this passage, as we clearly see, is distorted. But the question is more emphatic than if God had simply said, "You have sinned by being so angry," for an affirmative sentence does not have as much force as one in the form of a question.

God then not only declares as a Judge that Jonah had not done well, but he also draws from him his own confession, as though he said, "Though you are a judge in your own cause, you cannot yet make a cover for your passion, for you are angry beyond measure." For when he says לך, lāk, with, or, in yourself, he reminds Jonah to examine his own heart, as though he said, "Look on yourself as in a mirror: you will see what a boisterous sea your soul is, being seized as you are by such a mad rage." We now perceive, then, not only the plain sense of the passage, but also the emphasis contained in the questions, which Jerome has interpreted in a completely contrary manner. I will not proceed further, for what remains will be sufficient for tomorrow's lecture.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as you see us entangled in so many errors, so that we often fall through lack of thought, and as you also see that the violent emotions of our flesh completely blind whatever reason and judgment there is in us—O grant that we may learn to surrender ourselves completely to obey you, and so honor your wisdom as never to contend with you, though all things may happen contrary to our wishes, but patiently to wait for such an outcome as it may please you to grant. May we never be disturbed by any of the hindrances which Satan may throw in our way, but ever go on towards the mark which you have set before us, and never turn aside from you, until, having gone through all dangers and overcome all impediments, we shall at last reach that blessed rest, which has been obtained for us by the blood of your Son. Amen.

One might doubt here whether Jonah had waited until the forty days had passed and that time had arrived. For if we say that he went out of the city before the fortieth day, another question arises: how could he have known what would happen? For we have not yet found that he had been informed by any divine revelation.

But the words we have noticed indicate that it was then known by the event itself that God had spared the city from destruction. For in the last lecture, it was said that God had repented of the evil He had declared and had not done it. It therefore appears that Jonah had not gone out of the city until the forty days had passed.

But then another question arises: what need did he have to sit near the city, since it was evident enough that God’s purpose had changed, or at least that the sentence Jonah had pronounced was changed? He ought not, then, to have seated himself near the city as though he were doubtful.

But I am inclined to adopt the conjecture that Jonah went out after the fortieth day, for the words seem to support it. With regard to the question of why he still doubted the event when time seemed to have proved it, the answer may be readily given: though indeed the forty days had passed, Jonah stood, as it were, perplexed because he could not yet feel assured that what he had before proclaimed according to God’s command would be without its effect.

I therefore do not doubt that Jonah was kept perplexed by this thought: “You have declared nothing rashly; how can it then be that what God wished to be proclaimed by His own command and in His own name should now be in vain, with no corresponding effect?” Since Jonah respected God’s command, he could not immediately extricate himself from his doubts.

This, then, was the reason he sat waiting: it was because he thought that though God’s vengeance was suspended, his preaching would not yet be in vain, and that the ruin of the city was near. This, therefore, was the reason why he still waited after the appointed time, as though the event was still doubtful.

To make this more evident, let us bear in mind that God’s purpose was hidden, so that Jonah did not understand all the parts of his vocation. God, then, when He threatened ruin to the Ninevites, intended to speak conditionally. For what could have been the benefit of the word unless this condition was added—that the Ninevites, if they repented, should be saved?

Otherwise, there would have been no need for a Prophet. The Lord might have executed the judgment the Ninevites deserved if He had not intended to consider their salvation.

If anyone objects, saying that a preacher was sent to render them inexcusable, this would have been unusual. For God had executed all His other judgments without any previous warning (I mean, with regard to pagan nations). It was the unique privilege of the Church that the Prophets always announced the punishments that were near; but to other nations, God made it known that He was their Judge, though He did not send Prophets to warn them.

A condition was therefore included with regard to God’s purpose when He commanded that the Ninevites be terrified by such an explicit declaration. But Jonah was, so to speak, too literal a teacher, for he did not include what he ought to have done—that there was room for repentance and that the city would be saved if the Ninevites repented of their wickedness. Since Jonah had learned only half of his commission, it is no wonder that his mind was still in doubt and he could not feel assured as to the outcome; for he had nothing but the event, as God had not yet made known to him what He would do.