God on Both Sides of the Issue
In the Old Testament there are two entire books based on two very different prophets of God who lived just a few generations apart. Both spoke for God and faithfully carried His message however one called for repentance and the other for God's judgment. Jonah wanted justice for the people of Nineveh hoping that God would give them retribution for their sins as they deserved. Instead, He gave them mercy and a chance to repent- and they accepted His grace. Jonah was later mad at God for mishandling the Assyrian situation and for failing to judge "those people" for their clear violation of God's Word after they relented. That was a kind of mercy Jonah just couldn't accept. Fast forward 150 years and enter the prophet Nahum who decreed the pending destruction of Nineveh- the very same message of justice to the very same people that Jonah wanted to preach 150 years earlier. Of course God again later fulfilled His promise and destroyed Nineveh as He broug...