Matthew Henry Commentary Jonah 3:5-10

"And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not." — Jonah 3:5-10 (ASV)

There was a wonder of Divine grace in the repentance and reformation of Nineveh. It condemns the people of the gospel generation (Matthew 12:41). A very small degree of light can convince people that humbling themselves before God, confessing their sins with prayer, and turning from sin are means of escaping wrath and obtaining mercy. The people followed the example of the king. It became a national act, and it was necessary for it to be so, as it was to prevent a national ruin.

Let even the brute creatures' cries and moans for want of food remind their owners to cry to God. In prayer we must cry mightily, with steadfastness of thought, firmness of faith, and devout affections. It is important for us in prayer to stir up all that is within us. It is not enough to fast for sin, but we must fast from sin; and, for our prayers to be successful, we must no longer regard iniquity in our hearts (Psalms 66:18). The work of a fast-day is not done with the day.

The Ninevites hoped that God would turn from his fierce anger, and that thus their ruin would be prevented. They could not be as confident of finding mercy upon their repentance as we can be, who have the death and merits of Christ, in which we can trust for pardon upon repentance. They dared not presume, but they did not despair. Hope of mercy is the great encouragement to repentance and reformation.

Let us boldly cast ourselves down at the footstool of free grace, and God will look upon us with compassion. God sees who turn from their evil ways, and who do not. Thus he spared Nineveh. We read of no sacrifices offered to God to make atonement for sin; but a broken and a contrite heart, such as the Ninevites then had, he will not despise.