How long, or did Ninevah truly repent?

[Neogaia777]

Ninevah's repentance? was it genuine, did they put away their sins and change, or did some go back to the same old sins, the same old behavior patterns as before, If Ninevah, and the Ninevites did change how long did that change last

Did Ninevah change it's ways, or not, and if so, how long did that last?

 

[Neogaia777]

I posted this in another thread:

We must keep in mind what really saved Ninevah, was that all of them from the least to the greatest, took the warning of Jonah to heart, (and probably acknowledged that Jonah's God was the superior to their god's for the God of Israel had a reputation by then, and they feared Jonah's Israelite God) and put on sackcloth and ashes, fasted, and repented from the smallest to the greatest of them, of all the bad deeds they have done...

My question would be though, how long did the repentance of Ninevah last, did some go immediately back to their sins, Did some, or all truly change their ways? Does the Bible tell us, if it does I can't find it...

God Bless!

 

[BryanW92]

My question would be though, how long did the repentance of Ninevah last, did some go immediately back to their sins, Did some, or all truly change their ways? Does the Bible tell us, if it does I can't find it...

God Bless!

Zephaniah 2:13

And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.

For more info: Topical Bible: Nineveh

 

[Neogaia777]

Zephaniah 2:13

And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.

For more info: Topical Bible: Nineveh

How long between the events of God sparing Ninevah, to God swearing to devastate it?

 

[BryanW92]

How long between the events of God sparing Ninevah, to God swearing to devastate it?

About a century.

 

[Neogaia777]

About a century.

So their repentance didn't last through the generations, but did the people of that generation (of Jonah's time) truly repent, or did they go back to their sinful ways?

Does true repentance involve a change or not?

God Bless!

 

[BryanW92]

So their repentance didn't last through the generations, but did the people of that generation (of Jonah's time) truly repent, or did they go back to their sinful ways?

Does true repentance involve a change or not?

God Bless!

A century would be about 6 generations in those days. Who knows what those in Jonah's generation (or the ones immediately after it), but in 6 generations anything could happen. Did you read the article I linked? It talks about the history of Ninevah.

 

[Neogaia777]

A century would be about 6 generations in those days. Who knows what those in Jonah's generation (or the ones immediately after it), but in 6 generations anything could happen. Did you read the article I linked? It talks about the history of Ninevah.

It doesn't tell me about Ninevah's repentance at Jonah's words, whether or not there was a real change that it produced in them or not?

God Bless!

 

[BryanW92]

It doesn't tell me about Ninevah's repentance at Jonah's words, whether or not there was a real change that it produced in them or not?

God Bless!

Nothing does. It's not recorded.

 

[Neogaia777]

Nothing does. It's not recorded.

I wish it did, it might tell us more about true repentance...

God bless!

 

[BryanW92]

I wish it did, it might tell us more about true repentance...

God bless!

It might, but what is repentance really? Obviously, people can't force their descendants to "repent" for things done 100 years earlier. If I repent for a repetitive sin, it really won't flow to my great-grandchildren. We each have our own sins and we each are called to repent for those sins.

The OT is full of stories of one generation repenting and then future generations repeating the same mistakes, and being taken back into bondage or being punished exactly as another generation was punished for the same sort of thing.

Since each generation is a generation of sinners, each one has to find its own repentance.

 

[Neogaia777]

It might, but what is repentance really?

I don't know, does it mean a changing of heart, and if so does that include putting away sin, or is true repentance just being sorry and admitting your weakness, and acknowledging God' greatness, when you sin, for sins that you feel you cannot change.

Is their a difference between fleshly sins, and behavioral, what I would call sins of the spirit? And are we to change the behavioral ones first, in the hopes that it will give us the strength to give up the fleshly ones?

Do behavioral changes start happening when you confess and acknowledge your sin before God, and say you repent of them...

What is true repentance?

God Bless!

 

[JLR1300]

Here is the story. The people of Nineveh were very sinful but probably believed that nothing bad would happen to them. Jonah's message was simple. It was just this..."Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The very next verse says..." So the People of Nineveh believed God" They changed their minds about being safe and and believed God that they were going to be destroyed. (they repented and had faith) So we have a simple message... then repentance and faith... then the fruits of that repentance and faith was works..... Jonah 3:10 "God saw their works that they turned from their evil ways"... and God repented (changed His mind) of the disaster that He had said that He would bring upon them.

Now there are four things that to me are interesting about this story....

1. It goes along with salvation or conversion stories. (by that I mean... people think that their sins are not that bad and therefore they won't be punished.... they hear a message that they are wicked and that God is going to punish them.... they change their minds (repent) and believe the truth (that they are sinners and God will punish them) and seek for mercy (faith) .... then works follow (they fast and turn from different sins and evil)

2. The second thing that is interesting is that this story most likely has absolutely nothing to do with justification or eternal life. Jonah's entire message seems to be "in forty days Nineveh will be overthrown". Did the people trust in a coming Messiah to forgive their sins and take them to heaven? Most unlikely. This was just a story about how God was going to destroy a city and the people did what they needed to do to avoid it and so God didn't destroy it. Nothing to do with salvation except for physical or earthly or political salvation.

3. Notice that it says that God repented. (KJV) God didn't turn from His sins (because He doesn't have any) He changed his mind. (Which is a figure of speech or an anthromorphism) Repent means to change your mind. Some versions say God "relented" but it is the same hebrew word that means to change your mind and is often translated repent.

4. That turning from sin is considered "works" by God. "Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way"

God bless.

 

[Neogaia777]

Here is the story. The people of Nineveh were very sinful but probably believed that nothing bad would happen to them. Jonah's message was simple. It was just this..."Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The very next verse says..." So the People of Nineveh believed God" They changed their minds about being safe and and believed God that they were going to be destroyed. (they repented and had faith) So we have a simple message... then repentance and faith... then the fruits of that repentance and faith was works..... Jonah 3:10 "God saw their works that they turned from their evil ways"... and God repented (changed His mind) of the disaster that He had said that He would bring upon them.


So, there was real change, but out of fear, wonder how long it lasted?



Now there are four things that to me are interesting about this story....

1. It goes along with salvation or conversion stories. (by that I mean... people think that their sins are not that bad and therefore they won't be punished.... they hear a message that they are wicked and that God is going to punish them.... they change their minds (repent) and believe the truth (that they are sinners and God will punish them) and seek for mercy (faith) .... then works follow (they fast and turn from different sins and evil)


But we shouldn't serve or come to God out of fear, right? Love, if possible, right?


2. The second thing that is interesting is that this story most likely has absolutely nothing to do with justification or eternal life. Jonah's entire message seems to be "in forty days Nineveh will be overthrown". Did the people trust in a coming Messiah to forgive their sins and take them to heaven? Most unlikely. This was just a story about how God was going to destroy a city and the people did what they needed to do to avoid it and so God didn't destroy it. Nothing to do with salvation except for physical or earthly or political salvation.

3. Notice that it says that God repented. (KJV) God didn't turn from His sins (because He doesn't have any) He changed his mind. (Which is a figure of speech or an anthromorphism) Repent means to change your mind. Some versions say God "relented" but it is the same hebrew word that means to change your mind and is often translated repent.

4. That turning from sin is considered "works" by God. "Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way"


So, again true repentance includes true change, right?

God bless.

.