Story 42 of 100 · Based on Jonah 3–4
Jonah in Nineveh
God spoke to Jonah a second time.
—Get up and go to Nineveh, the great city. Announce what I tell you.
This time, Jonah got up and went. He entered the city and began to walk through it, announcing:
—In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed.
And the people of Nineveh believed in God. All of them, from the greatest to the smallest, decided to change their lives. The king came down from his throne, took off his robe and had it announced:
—Let everyone turn from their evil ways. Who knows, God may change his mind and not punish us.
God saw what they did, saw that they changed their way of life, and did not send the punishment.
But Jonah became extremely angry. He spoke to God.
—Lord, that is why I wanted to run away. I knew that you are a compassionate and merciful God, slow to anger and full of kindness.
Jonah sat down outside the city. God made a plant grow to give him shade, and Jonah was very glad. But the next day, God sent a worm that made the plant wither, and Jonah became angry again.
—You feel sorry for the plant —God said to him—, which cost you nothing? And am I not to feel sorry for Nineveh, the great city, where there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, and also many animals?
God loves all people, and the animals too.
Let's talk: God has compassion on everyone. Whom can you have compassion on this week?
God loves you just as you are, and he loves everyone. Goodnight.