Excerpt from the chapter:God´s Mercy of the book: Q – God Wins. (Available on Amazon)
God's Mercy
“Who knows? Perhaps the true God will change his mind and relent of his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” 10 When the true God saw what they did and that they turned from their wicked ways, he changed his mind about the disaster and did not bring it on them." (Jonah 3:9-1
God's mercy meets a hard heart
How did Jehovah react to the repentance of the Ninevites? Did Jehovah make a mistake in his judgment? Absolutely not, because his righteousness is described in the Bible as perfect. (Deuteronomy 32:4) God's righteous anger at the Ninevites had simply subsided. He had observed the inner repentance of these people and no longer considered the intended punishment necessary. Therefore, he was able to be merciful to them.
Jehovah is not the strict, cold, or even relentless God as portrayed by many religions. On the contrary, he is forgiving, flexible and merciful. Before he calls the wicked to account, he repeatedly warns them through his servants on earth. It is very important to him that bad people repent and change - like the Ninevites once did (Ezek. 33:11). To his prophet Jeremiah, he said: “At any time when I speak against a nation and against a kingdom to exterminate it, to pull it down, and to destroy it, and if that nation repents of its wickedness, against which I spoke, I will feel regret for the disaster that I had intended to carry out against it.” (Jer.18:7- 8).
Jonah's prediction did not come true, but it was not wrong. It served its purpose as a warning, because the Ninevites did change. However, should they fall back into their old ways, God would bring the announced punishment upon them. This is exactly what happened later (Zeph. 2:13-15).
How did Jonah react when the destruction did not come? “But Jonah was very displeased, and he was angry” (Jonah 4:1). He even said a prayer that sounds as if he was complaining to the Almighty. Jonah wished he had stayed at home, on his “own ground.” He knew from the outset that Jehovah would spare Nineveh. That is precisely why he wanted to run away to Tarshish. He would prefer to die! (Jonah 4:2-3)
What was bothering Jonah? Of course, we don't know what was going through his mind. But we do know one thing: He had announced the downfall of Nineveh before the eyes of everyone and they had believed him. And now nothing happened! Was he afraid of being ridiculed or called a false prophet? The fact is, he was not happy about the repentance of the Ninevites or about Jehovah's mercy. Instead, he apparently fell into a mire of self-pity, bitterness, and wounded pride. Yet his compassionate God must have seen the good in him. He did not hold Jonah accountable for his disrespect, but simply asked him kindly, “Are you angry for a reason?” (Jonah 4:4) Did Jonah answer this question? The Bible does not say.
Part 2 It is easy to condemn Jonah. But it is not unusual for humans to see things differently from God. Some think that Jehovah should have prevented a particular disaster, intervened immediately against certain wrongs, or destroyed the present system long ago. As Jonah's experience makes clear, when we disagree with Jehovah, we always have to change our thinking - not his.
3:10 – The Hebrew word translated as “felt regret” means to change one's mind about an earlier or intended action. So Jehovah can “feel regret” or change his mind about punishing people who are guilty of wrongdoing if they repent.
However, there were also times when Jehovah God condemned people but then regretted it. The cause of this was a change of heart on the part of those involved. One example is the Ninevites at the time of Jonah. The prophet Jonah was sent to them to say, “Only forty days more, and Nineveh will be turned over.” (Jonah 3:4) The people, including the king, took the warning to heart and repented. “And when the true God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and the true God repented of the disaster that he had spoken to do unto them; and he left it not do” (Jonah 3:1.
In a sense, the repentance of the Ninevites made them no longer the same people to whom Jehovah had announced judgment through his prophet. The judgment had been for people who had done evil, but the Ninevites had stopped doing it. Therefore, Jehovah regretted, that is, rightly changed his attitude toward the Ninevites because they had changed their ways. So when God the Most High pronounces a judgment of punishment, the pronouncement of it gives people an opportunity to change. His pronouncements of future blessings are also conditional.
But that does not mean that Jehovah God gives individuals and entire nations unlimited time and opportunity to choose for or against the right course of action. When his patience is exhausted, he executes his unchanging judgment. That is what happened to unfaithful Jerusalem in Jeremiah's time. Wickedness had become so much a part of the population's flesh and blood that they were unwilling to repent. Therefore, Jeremiah was told: “For who will show you compassion, O Jerusalem, and who will declare sympathy to you, and who will turn aside to inquire about your welfare? You yourself have forsaken me,” is the utterance of Jehovah. Backward goes the way you continually walk. And I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you. I have grown weary of repenting." (Jer.15:5-6)
The way Jehovah deals with mankind assures us that he never repents of his unchanging purpose. His Word will prove true, and he will fulfill the conditions of his promises in every detail. However, if individuals take a wrong path, Jehovah will change his attitude toward them. He has no desire to take action against them, but their actions force him to act according to his unchanging standard of justice. Therefore, let us always endeavor to be loyal to God.
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