NOTES for Jon 3:10

Can God revoke His decision? And if He can, in what cases? What are fate, doom, predestination? Do they exist? Prophetic experience gives the best answer to this question. Prophets are often considered predictors of future events, to whom God Himself reveals His plans so that people may learn about them.

But is that so? The biblical language has no word that in other languages is conveyed by concepts such as doom, fate, or destiny. The Bible does not use them at all. In that case, naturally, there is no reason to speak of any predestination, since predestination is impossible if nothing is programmed in advance. Nineveh was supposed to perish; it seemed doomed. But its inhabitants repented of their sins and turned to God, and He, seeing their repentance, canceled what even Jonah himself thought was already the inevitable end.

The natural question arises: what about God's plans and purposes? How can one plan anything at all if one never knows exactly whether events will happen as planned? Meanwhile, when the matter concerns us ourselves, we, being in just such a position, are still able to plan our actions and often to carry out what we have intended, provided, of course, that nothing goes completely contrary to what we were counting on. The goal remains the same; only the ways of reaching it change. Why, then, should we be surprised that God too often acts in the same way?

He could act differently. He could simply carry out His plan without paying any attention to us or to our choices. He could forgive us nothing and give each of us only one chance. But He does not want merely to carry out what He has conceived; He wants to do it in such a way that we are drawn as deeply as possible into His works. Not because He cannot manage without us, but because being drawn into His works also means becoming participants in His plans and, in the end (if, of course, we do not leave on our own), inhabitants of His Kingdom. The Kingdom without which there can be no talk either of salvation or of life.

Can God cancel His decision? And if yes, then in which cases? What is destiny, fate, predetermination? Do they exist? The prophetic experience answers best to this question. The prophets are often considered as predictors of the future events, by which God Himself opens His plans so that they are known to people. But is it like that? An interesting fact: the biblical language does not know the word, which in other languages is transmitted by such notions as rock, fate or destiny. The Bible doesn’t use them at all. In such case, naturally, one doesn’t have to speak about any predetermination: because it is impossible, if there is nothing preprogrammed. Nineveh had to perish, it seemed, it was condemned, but its inhabitants repented of their sins and turned to God, and He, seeing the repentance, cancelled already, as thought Jonas himself, the inevitable end.

A natural question arises: and what about the plans and intentions of God? How can one generally plan, if he never knows exactly, if the events will happen as planned? However, when it comes to ourselves, being in particular in such position, we are all the same in the state and to plan our actions, and very often to realize what was conceived, if of course something will not go wrong as we had hoped. The goal remains the same, only the means of its acquisition change.

Why then in such case we have to wonder because God also acts so often like that? Certainly, He could just act differently; He could simply realize His plan, without paying attention on us and our choices. He could not to forgive us and give each of us only one chance. But He does not simply want to realize what He conceived; He wants to do it such that we are involved in His works the most profoundly as possible. Not because without us He will not make it, but because to be involved in His works also means participating in His plans, and finally (if of course we do not leave ourselves), the inhabitants of His Kingdom. Kingdom, without which one can speak neither about salvation, nor about life.

The repentance of the Ninevites enters a new, more powerful stage when the impulse to repent reaches the king. Although we know of no historical kings of Assyria who repented, it is important to see something else here: the king does not stand aside from the movement of repentance that has seized the people and does not reject this “initiative from below.” As head of the people, he does not separate himself from those who repent and acknowledges his own sins, which are inseparable from the sins of all his subjects. The example of one who holds power can influence his subjects in either direction. Just as we should not reject the possibility that hardened sinners may change their ways, neither should we think that rulers are incapable of being guided by considerations other than purely utilitarian ones.

The Lord revoked the calamities He had foretold because their repentance was genuine. This means that we too may hope that the calamities which frighten us today need not happen if we change our ways. If only our repentance does not turn out to be a mere formality.