Repentance: True: Nineveh
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Introduction

Repentance is a central theme in the Bible, representing a sincere turning away from sin and turning towards God. The city of Nineveh provides a profound biblical example of true repentance, as recorded in the Book of Jonah. This entry explores the nature of Nineveh's repentance, its significance, and its implications for understanding genuine repentance.

Biblical Account

The account of Nineveh's repentance is found in the Book of Jonah, specifically in Jonah 3. God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, a great city known for its wickedness, and proclaim a message of impending judgment: "Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 'Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.'" (Jonah 3:1-2, BSB).

Upon hearing Jonah's proclamation, the people of Nineveh believed God. Their response was immediate and collective: "The people of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least" (Jonah 3:5, BSB). This act of fasting and wearing sackcloth was a traditional expression of mourning and penitence.

The King's Decree

The repentance of Nineveh was not limited to the common people; it extended to the highest levels of leadership. The king of Nineveh, upon hearing the message, rose from his throne, removed his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He issued a decree that everyone, including animals, should fast and be covered with sackcloth, urging them to "call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands" (Jonah 3:8, BSB).

God's Response

The sincerity of Nineveh's repentance is underscored by God's response. Seeing their genuine change of heart and their turning from evil ways, God relented from the disaster He had threatened: "When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them" (Jonah 3:10, BSB). This divine response highlights the power of true repentance to avert judgment and restore a right relationship with God.

Significance

Nineveh's repentance serves as a powerful example of the elements of true repentance: belief in God's message, acknowledgment of sin, collective and individual acts of contrition, and a decisive turning away from evil. The account illustrates that repentance is not merely an emotional response but involves concrete actions and a transformation of behavior.

Theological Implications

The account of Nineveh emphasizes God's mercy and readiness to forgive those who genuinely repent. It underscores the biblical principle that God desires repentance rather than punishment, as reflected in Ezekiel 18:23: "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn't I prefer he turn from his ways and live?" (BSB).

Nineveh's experience also serves as a warning and a call to repentance for all nations and individuals. Jesus Himself referenced Nineveh's repentance as a rebuke to the unrepentant generation of His time: "The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41, BSB).

Conclusion

The account of Nineveh's repentance remains a timeless testament to the transformative power of true repentance and God's boundless grace. It calls believers to examine their own lives, encouraging a heartfelt return to God and a commitment to righteous living.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Jonah 3:5-8
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Threefold Repentance
... We learn from the Ninevites what is true repentance They brought no sacrifices or
offerings ... Nineveh repented on a peradventure that their repentance might avail ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/threefold repentance.htm

Instances of God's Repentance, and Notably in the Case of the ...
... or demiurge, whom Marcion calumniated, is the true and good ... of Saul, it follows that
this repentance is to ... destruction against the people of Nineveh, He must ...
/.../the five books against marcion/chapter xxiv instances of gods repentance.htm

Nineveh.
... by the cry, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be ... wept, till God had mercy on their
repentance and ready ... instead of learning Who was his true Guardian, Ahaz ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson ix nineveh.htm

Manasseh's Sin and Repentance
... The story of Manasseh's sin and repentance may stand as a ... captivity also is specified,
not as Nineveh, as might ... that we may know Him that is true.' Then, if we ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/manassehs sin and repentance.htm

The Doctrines of Salvation A. Repentance. B. Faith. C. ...
... or even a single tear, accompanies all true repentance is evident ... very Gospel which
calls for repentance produces it ... experience of the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3 ...
/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrines of salvation a.htm

Meditations against Despair, or Doubting of God's Mercy.
... as sure as God is true, he will not. Though Nineveh's sins had provoked the Lord
to send out his sentence against them, yet upon their repentance, he recalled ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/meditations against despair or doubting.htm

Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
... Jonah was shown to be a true prophet of ... Nineveh's privilege may be counted thus:
a sign-accredited ... accompanying miracles, and a forty-day period of repentance. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xlix sign seekers and the.htm

Jonah and Micah.
... and on Nineveh. (4) God's care for heathen nations. (4-11), and its bearing upon
the Foreign Mission enterprise. (5) The nature of true repentance and God's ...
/.../the way of salvation in the lutheran church/chapter xx jonah and micah.htm

Guilty Silence and Its Reward
... Jonah's repentance saved his life. ... The subsequent action of the Prophet in Nineveh,
and the effect of it, were true types of the preaching of the Gospel by ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/guilty silence and its reward.htm

The Same is Taught from the History of Jonah.
... was more wicked and more adulterous than the city of Nineveh; for the ... and beasts,
with sackcloth, and with earnest lamentation, with true repentance from the ...
/.../chapter cvii the same is taught.htm

Resources
What is cheap grace? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of sackcloth and ashes? | GotQuestions.org

Why had the disciples in Ephesus not received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7)? | GotQuestions.org

Repentance: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

Repentance

Repentance by the Operation of the Holy Spirit

Repentance by the Preaching of Haggai

Repentance by the Preaching of Oded

Repentance in Asking for a King

Repentance in the Time of Asa, by the Preaching of Azariah

Repentance of Their Idolatry, when Afflicted by the Philistines

Repentance of Worshiping the Golden Calf

Repentance: Achan, Because of his Theft

Repentance: After Hearing the Law Expounded by Ezra

Repentance: Ahab, when Reproved by Elijah for Ahab's Idolatry

Repentance: At the Dedication of the Second Temple

Repentance: Attributed to God

Repentance: Balaam, of his Spiritual Blindness

Repentance: Because of Their Idolatrous Marriages

Repentance: Because of Their Oppressive Usury

Repentance: Called Repentance to Life

Repentance: Called Repentance to Salvation

Repentance: Christ Came to Call Sinners To

Repentance: Christ Exalted to Give

Repentance: Commanded by Christ

Repentance: Commanded to all by God

Repentance: Condition of God's Favor

Repentance: Conviction of Sin Necessary To

Repentance: Danger of Neglecting

Repentance: David, at the Rebuke of Nathan, for his Sins of Adultery and Murder

Repentance: Denied to Apostates

Repentance: Exemplified

Repentance: Exhortation To

Repentance: Exhortations To

Repentance: False: Ahab

Repentance: False: Judas

Repentance: False: Saul

Repentance: Given by God

Repentance: Hezekiah, at the Time of his Sickness

Repentance: Illustrated

Repentance: Illustrated: Paul

Repentance: Illustrated: The Prodigal Son

Repentance: Illustrated: The Repentant Son

Repentance: Jehoahaz

Repentance: Jonah, After his Punishment

Repentance: Joseph's Brothers, of Their Maltreatment of Joseph

Repentance: Josiah, when he Heard the Law of God Which had been Discovered in the Temple by Hilkiah

Repentance: Judas

Repentance: Manasseh, when he Was Carried Away Captive to Babylon by the King of Assyria

Repentance: Ministers should Rejoice Over Their People on Their

Repentance: Necessary to the Pardon of Sin

Repentance: Neglect of, Followed by Swift Judgment

Repentance: Not to be Repented of

Repentance: Peter, Because of his Denial of Jesus

Repentance: Pharaoh, of his Hardness of Heart

Repentance: Preached by Christ

Repentance: Preached by John the Baptist

Repentance: Preached by the Apostles

Repentance: Preached in the Name of Christ

Repentance: Rehoboam, when his Kingdom Was Invaded, and Jerusalem Was Besieged

Repentance: Repentance of Their Complaining Because of Lack of Bread and Water

Repentance: Saul, at the Rebuke of Samuel for not Destroying the Amalekites

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Confession

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Conversion

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Faith

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Greater Zeal in the Path of Duty

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Humility

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Prayer

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Self-Abhorrence

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Shame and Confusion

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Turning from Idolatry

Repentance: should be Accompanied by Turning from Sin

Repentance: should be Evidenced by Fruits

Repentance: The Burden of the Preaching of Jesus

Repentance: The Burden of the Preaching of John the Baptist

Repentance: The Disobedient Son

Repentance: The Ephesians, by the Preaching of Paul

Repentance: The Jews, by the Preaching of John the Baptist

Repentance: The Ninevites, by the Preaching of Jonah

Repentance: The Present Time the Season For

Repentance: The Prodigal Son

Repentance: The Wicked: Averse To

Repentance: The Wicked: Condemned for Neglecting

Repentance: The Wicked: Neglect the Time Given For

Repentance: The Wicked: Not Led to by the Judgments of God

Repentance: The Wicked: Not Led To, by Miraculous Interference

Repentance: The Woman Who Anointed Jesus With Oil

Repentance: There is Joy in Heaven Over One Sinner Brought To

Repentance: True: Corinthians

Repentance: True: David

Repentance: True: Israelites

Repentance: True: Job

Repentance: True: Manasseh

Repentance: True: Nineveh

Repentance: True: Peter

Repentance: True: Thief on the Cross

Repentance: True: Zacchaeus

Repentance: Unavailing: To Esau

Repentance: Unavailing: To Israel

Repentance: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To

Repentance: Under the Influence of Hezekiah

Repentance: we should be Led To, by Godly Sorrow Works

Repentance: we should be Led To, by The Chastisements of God

Repentance: we should be Led To, by The Goodness of God

Repentance: we should be Led To, by The Patience of God

Repentance: What It Is

Repentance: when Rebuked by an Angel for not Expelling the Canaanites

Repentance: when Reproved by the Prophet Micah

Related Terms

Leads (64 Occurrences)

Remission (18 Occurrences)

Righteous (407 Occurrences)

Goodness (83 Occurrences)

Baptize (19 Occurrences)

Contrition (1 Occurrence)

Sinners (132 Occurrences)

Worthy (92 Occurrences)

Preached (75 Occurrences)

Sins (351 Occurrences)

Conversion (1 Occurrence)

Repent (74 Occurrences)

Leading (101 Occurrences)

Jonah (30 Occurrences)

Region (96 Occurrences)

Keeping (282 Occurrences)

Opponents (11 Occurrences)

Long-suffering (23 Occurrences)

Leaves (55 Occurrences)

Godly (50 Occurrences)

Fruits (109 Occurrences)

Finally (29 Occurrences)

Regretted (5 Occurrences)

Renew (16 Occurrences)

Repentant (3 Occurrences)

Repenting (6 Occurrences)

Eternal (166 Occurrences)

Election (6 Occurrences)

Persons (156 Occurrences)

Produces (27 Occurrences)

Produce (140 Occurrences)

Bringeth (313 Occurrences)

Baptizing (16 Occurrences)

Lamentations (6 Occurrences)

Forgiveness (124 Occurrences)

Longsuffering (17 Occurrences)

Nonimmersionist

Non-immersionist

Infinite (8 Occurrences)

Grant (87 Occurrences)

Preach (72 Occurrences)

View (86 Occurrences)

Judges (117 Occurrences)

Excommunication

Gehazi (14 Occurrences)

Foundation (82 Occurrences)

Baptismal (1 Occurrence)

Fruit (318 Occurrences)

Baptized (52 Occurrences)

Covenant (309 Occurrences)

Loss (90 Occurrences)

Baptist (16 Occurrences)

Jesus (10891 Occurrences)

Meet (281 Occurrences)

Manasseh (140 Occurrences)

Sorrow (277 Occurrences)

Samuel (129 Occurrences)

Bring (1372 Occurrences)

Beginning (187 Occurrences)

Joy (422 Occurrences)

Bear (425 Occurrences)

Salvation (386 Occurrences)

Preaching (116 Occurrences)

Regeneration (2 Occurrences)

Lead (192 Occurrences)

You-ward (9 Occurrences)

Quieted (8 Occurrences)

Ninety-nine (6 Occurrences)

Nine (55 Occurrences)

Ninety (27 Occurrences)

Namely (81 Occurrences)

Netherworld (1 Occurrence)

Unaware (16 Occurrences)

Undoing (7 Occurrences)

Us-ward (4 Occurrences)

Oppose (29 Occurrences)

Opposition (22 Occurrences)

Objections (1 Occurrence)

Repentance: True: Manasseh
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