Jon 3:8 | KingComments | STEP | According to , all have already covered themselves with sackcloth. Their appearance reflects their inner change. But also the beasts must be covered with a sackcloth. They share in the grief of the people. Think of the horses in front of a hearse that are covered with black rugs. It is assumed that the calling of beasts does not belong in the biblical text, because beasts neither call to God, nor repent. Of course, beasts cannot repent, but beasts can call to God, and God hears them too. They will do this even more when they do not receive food and drink ( ; ). The deep awareness of the impending disaster and its righteousness is evident in the call to cry to God ‘earnestly’. A general, thoughtless spoken prayer has no effect. Nor is it the expression of someone who is convinced of the state of emergency in which he finds himself. Those who are convinced of this state of emergency will do everything in their power to bring about a change in their fate. The actions of God that are noticed to work this will result in God being constantly faced with prayers. The Lord Jesus Himself invites such persistent, continuous prayer in the parable of a widow who persistently appeals to an unjust judge ( ). He expresses this parable in response to the emergency situation He has painted in the verses before ( ). Conversion only occurs when someone honestly says to God, for example: ‘I have lied.’ This is called confessing the sins. Out of conviction, such a person agrees that he is indeed not to be trusted. It is the acknowledgment that it is not good inside, in the heart. There is also the acknowledgment that such sin deserves the punishment of God, that it is righteous if God throws man into hell for his sins. Conversion is therefore not a superficial matter, but a profound work. It is not about feeling, but about conscience that must come in the light of God. We could say that repentance is that we go to God to condemn ourselves before Him. It also means confessing to Him that there was no obedience to Him so far and that life was thoroughly wrong as a result. There will also be repentance for living in this way so far and that one distances oneself from it. These aspects of conversion can be seen in the inhabitants of Nineveh. We see the repentance to God in earnestly calling to God. We also see the call that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands, that is, to distance himself from the former walk and trade, “way” and “hands”. With ‘violence’, one could think of the many extortions that the inhabitants of Nineveh have apparently been guilty of.

‏ Jonah 3:8

Calling on God

According to Jona 3:5, all have already covered themselves with sackcloth. Their appearance reflects their inner change. But also the beasts must be covered with a sackcloth. They share in the grief of the people. Think of the horses in front of a hearse that are covered with black rugs.

It is assumed that the calling of beasts does not belong in the biblical text, because beasts neither call to God, nor repent. Of course, beasts cannot repent, but beasts can call to God, and God hears them too. They will do this even more when they do not receive food and drink (Job 39:3; Psa 104:21).

The deep awareness of the impending disaster and its righteousness is evident in the call to cry to God ‘earnestly’. A general, thoughtless spoken prayer has no effect. Nor is it the expression of someone who is convinced of the state of emergency in which he finds himself.

Those who are convinced of this state of emergency will do everything in their power to bring about a change in their fate. The actions of God that are noticed to work this will result in God being constantly faced with prayers. The Lord Jesus Himself invites such persistent, continuous prayer in the parable of a widow who persistently appeals to an unjust judge (Lk 18:1-8). He expresses this parable in response to the emergency situation He has painted in the verses before (Lk 17:20-37).

Conversion only occurs when someone honestly says to God, for example: ‘I have lied.’ This is called confessing the sins. Out of conviction, such a person agrees that he is indeed not to be trusted. It is the acknowledgment that it is not good inside, in the heart. There is also the acknowledgment that such sin deserves the punishment of God, that it is righteous if God throws man into hell for his sins. Conversion is therefore not a superficial matter, but a profound work.

It is not about feeling, but about conscience that must come in the light of God. We could say that repentance is that we go to God to condemn ourselves before Him. It also means confessing to Him that there was no obedience to Him so far and that life was thoroughly wrong as a result. There will also be repentance for living in this way so far and that one distances oneself from it.

These aspects of conversion can be seen in the inhabitants of Nineveh. We see the repentance to God in earnestly calling to God. We also see the call that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands, that is, to distance himself from the former walk and trade, “way” and “hands”. With ‘violence’, one could think of the many extortions that the inhabitants of Nineveh have apparently been guilty of.