The Omnipotence of God stirred up the storm at sea, and instantly calmed it; made the lot to fall on Jonas, sent the fish to swallow him, kept him alive inside it, made it cast him up on dry land, and caused the rapid growth and as rapid decay of the plant which gave shelter to the prophet. Everything is in the hands of Almighty God; the elements obey Him, and the animals do His will.
The Goodness and Holiness of God. God loves little children, because they are innocent, and have not committed any actual sin; and for the sake of them He had mercy on the whole city.
The Justice of God. God punished the disobedience of Jonas by stirring up the storm on his account, by letting him be devoured by the fish and keeping him shut up inside it in a state of mortal fear.
The Mercy of God. He showed His mercy to Jonas first; and then to the Ninivites. “As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ez. 33, 11).
The faith and repentance of the Ninivites was very edifying. In spite of the wonderful words and deeds of Elias, most of the Israelites had remained impenitent. Then God turned to the Gentiles, who showed more good-will and faith than the chosen people. The Ninivites believed the word of the Lord as soon as the prophet announced it to them; and they practised penance with prayer and fasting when he quoted his own miraculous deliverance as a sign that God had sent him (Luke 11, 30). Our Lord Himself held up the Ninivites as an example to the hard-hearted Israelites, when He said: “The men of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas is here” (New Test. XXVII). How disgraceful would it be for Christians if they allowed themselves to be outdone in faith and penance by the Ninivites!
True conversion. Jonas sinned by refusing to obey God’s command. But he saw, confessed and repented of his sin, and in his repentance declared himself willing to suffer death by drowning. His conversion was sincere; for immediately after his miraculous deliverance he set off for Ninive to execute God’s commission. The surest proof of conversion is to be willing to do God’s will, no matter how hard it may be.
Fasting is, as we can see by this story, a work of penance well-pleasing to God. Therefore the Church, in order to kindle and increase our ardour for penance, has prescribed fixed fasting days.
The good works of sinners. The Ninivites were not in a state of grace when they performed their good works of prayer, fasting &c., for they were great sinners. Nevertheless, these good works were not useless, for they availed to avert the threatened judgment, and to win for many of the inhabitants the grace of conversion.
