Arabic Version   

Nineveh was the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria.  It was situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, 550 miles from its source and 250 miles north of Babylon (modern day Iraq).  It was founded by Nimrod after the flood (Gen. 10:11) and was known to the Jews as “the land of Nimrod.”  (Mic. 5:6)  After the mentioning the foundation of Nineveh in Genesis, no further mention of it is made until the time of Jonah.

    Nineveh was 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, surrounded by five great mighty walls, which could accommodate four chariots side by side.  The height of each wall was 100 feet, and contained 1,500 towers for surveillance.  There were three water channels, which passed beneath the walls.  Within its confine, it contained many palaces, castles, temples, gardens, parks and many wide streets.  At the time of Jonah, 120,000 people inhabited it.  The Assyrians used thousands of their war slaves to build this great city.

    Shalmaneser established a great library at Nineveh in 860 BC, containing stone tablets (books), some of which were written as early as 2,000 BC.  This library was more than doubled by Sardanapalus.

    Shalmaneser besieged Samaria, for three years and destroyed the kingdom of Israel in 721 BC.   Sennacherib invaded also the kingdom of Judea afterwards, dividing the reign of Hezekiah.
 
    It is possible that this was the cause of Jonah’s reluctance to respond to the call of God to go to Nineveh and lead the people to repentance, because he knew how merciful God is, that He may accept their repentance and will not destroy the city.  According to an old Jewish saying, “the heaven will be pleased by the perishing of one sinner, that the earth will avoid his evil.”  Thus, Jonah was disappointed with God’s mercy for this people, since they were the enemies of the people of God.  Perhaps Jonah resented the Ninevites because he realized that the acceptance of this peoples’ repentance would condemn his people who went astray without repentance.

The Ninevites’ Repentance
    Being a great city in power, civilization and glory, Ninevites were also great in their wickedness and evil, but also became great in their faith and repentance through which they gained the mercy of God, avoiding divine wrath and punishment.  (Jon. 3:5 – 9)
    These people were not Jews and never hear knew God’s commandments, yet they believed in God and decided to repent, to avoid God’s divine wrath, which hanged over them.  They repented, despite the fact that Jonah did not teach them about the mercy of God or even gave them any hope for salvation nor did he teach them how to repent.
    The Ninevites gave us an example of how to repent a true repentance, which leads to the mercy of God.

    Their fasting was characterized by:
Submission and humility before God by putting on sackcloth and sitting in ashes. (Jon. 3:6)
Fasting accompanied with continuous strong prayers, they cried mightily to God.  (Jon. 3:8)
Fasting accompanied with good deeds and correcting their evil ones, with a conviction not to return to their evil ways, “let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.”  (Jon. 3:8)
Congregational fasting – all of them fasted without excuses, even the king, the infants, the beasts and the flock, “let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything, no do not let them eat, or drink water.”  (Jon. 3:7)
Complete abstinence – fasting without drinking or eating for the duration of the fast.  (Jon. 3:7)
The characteristics of their fasting gave their repentance power and efficacy (Jon. 3:7) such that God accepted their repentance and forgave them.  This indicates that repentance is:

A returning back to God, since sin separates us from Him, “ ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you.’  Says the Lord of hosts.”  (Mal. 3:7)
A complete and long-term change in our life, not ephemeral emotions.  Repentance marks a change in our way of life, characters, thoughts, deeds, relations with others and even in our relation with God, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  (Rom. 12:2)
A beginning of an enriched relation with God – it is the first step on a long way to reach to purity, holiness and perfection.  For the one who does not begin this journey by repentance, how and when will he reach the destination – of purity, holiness and perfection?
A letting go of sin, a struggle against it, and an avoidance to return to it.  This is the case of all the saints, like Augustine, Mary of Egypt, etc.

The Destruction of Nineveh
    Nineveh’s repentance was true and strong after Jonah’s words.  However, it did not remain steadfast in their lives, as after many years had passed, they turned away from God to their earlier life and committing even more evil.  (2 Kg. 18:25 – 30; 19:10 – 13)
    Nahum the prophet prophesied against Nineveh 150 years after Jonah.  He called it, “the bloody city” saying, “Woe to the bloody City!  It is all full of lies and robbery.”  (Nah. 3:1)  This indicates their hard heartedness and wickedness.  He also prophesied about its eternal destruction and the end of its empire.  (Nah. 3: 18, 19)  This prophesy was fulfilled 68 years earlier in 612 BC.  The city was then laid waste, its monuments destroyed, and its inhabitants scattered or carried away into captivity.  It never rose again from its ruins.  Nahum mentioned the details of this destruction previously.  (Nah. 3:12 – 18)
    It is easy for a person to repent one day, but it is important to keep this repentance throughout his life, without going back to sin.
    The beginning of repentance is to leave sin, while the fullness of repentance is to hate sin.  Before leaving sin, you should have the will to repent, since many believe they are not in need of repentance.  Others refuse to transform their characters and principles believing they are in the right or because they fall into despair.

    Repentance is not only essential at the beginning of our spiritual life, but also throughout our whole life – every day, all the day.