Was Jonah a False Prophet?

We have heard the story of Jonah and the whale since we were children.  Jonah was to go to the city of Nineveh and proclaim that in forty days Nineveh would be overthrown ( Jonah 3 ).  After running as far as he could, and an encounter with a large fish, Jonah finally gave God's message to the Ninevites.

So after 40 days what happened to Nineveh?  Was the king overthrown?  Were the people destroyed? No! Doesn't that make Jonah a false prophet?  Was God wrong to say that Nineveh would be overthrown?

God is a God of mercy and love.  People point to this event to say "See, God was wrong!" instead of pointing to the fact that out of God's mercy 120,000 people had repented and were saved.  Those men, women and children would live because they had turned from the wickedness they had committed.

Was God still wrong to say that Nineveh would be overthrown when after 40 days the city still stood? The Hebrew word for overthrown is hafak.  Hafak means overthrown, but it also means overturned, changed and converted.  The wickedness of the city was overthrown by the Spirit of God.  The people changed their lives and were converted to follow God instead of the evil that had been in their hearts.

God desires to be merciful more than He desires judgement.  He is willing to appear wrong if it means the salvation of a person. When you have a choice to believe God or believe man's logic, always choose God.

Photo Credit: the Story of Nineveh by Joe More