We read pertaining to the overthrowing of Nineveh:

Jon 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown <02015>.

The Hebrew word for "overthrown" is never translated "destroyed", not even once in the KJV:

02015 Kph haphak haw-fak’

AV-turn 57, overthrow 13, overturn 5, change 3, turn... 6, become 1, came 1, converted 1, gave 1, make 1, perverse 1, perverted 1, retired 1, tumbled 1; 94

Please note that the predominant translation is “turn” but that it is also translated converted once in a verse that is clearly speaking of being saved eternally:

Isa 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted <02015> unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Below are usages where “turn” is used in the KJV and the context is indicating grace:

De 23:5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned <02015> the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

Ne 13:2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned <02015> the curse into a blessing.

Es 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned <02015> to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)

Es 9:22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned <02015> unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

Ps 30:11 Thou hast turned <02015> for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

Jer 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn <02015> their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Zep 3:9 For then will I turn <02015> to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

So God deliberately forced Jonah to use a word that could mean both judgment and salvation and Jonah knew this fact and did not know which way it would turn out so he did the following after arguing the matter with God and trying to change God’s mind:

Jonah 4: 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? {Doest…: or, Art thou greatly angry?}

5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

Thus God used a Hebrew word that can mean both judgment and salvation or grace. The fact is that before Nineveh or anyone of us became saved, we were enemies of God spiritually. God had to overthrow us and convert us before we can become saved and become His friends:

Ro 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled {in…: or, by your mind in}

The following verses show the judgment focus of this Hebrew word <02015>:

Ge 19:21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow <02015> this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

Ge 19:25 And he overthrew <02015> those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Ex 10:19 And the LORD turned <02015> a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

Okay, we have seen that Jonah understood the dual meaning of the Hebrew word for “overthrown”, what about the king of Nineveh, did he also have the understanding of the dual meaning of the word? Yes, indeed! The king of Nineveh (who was a wicked king and in all likelihood did not know Jehovah God at the time of Jonah’s preaching) also was familiar with the Hebrew term used by Jonah in regards to its dual meaning. Here is some proof of this conclusion:

Jonah 3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: {published: Heb. said} {nobles: Heb. great men}

8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Can we see the clear indication of what the king of Nineveh understood by what Jonah said in using the Hebrew word for “overthrow”: 1. It could be understood in terms of fierce anger that leads to perishing, or 2. It could be understood in terms of turn away from fierce anger and repent thus providing salvation?

Well, if both Jonah and the king of Nineveh both understood the term for “overthrow”, most certainly God also understood:

Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

So we see again the dual meaning of “overthrown” and that is why God chose such a word allowing Him to completely fulfill His promise and not a word that would be limited only to judgment.

Now, Jonah wanted Nineveh to receive only judgment and not salvation, so he sat and watched until the expiration of the forty days to see which way it would go:

Jonah 4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

Of course, he was exceedingly disappointed and very angry when God spared Nineveh and saved them. Now was Jonah right or wrong for his behavior?

Now, let us come full circle to our time. We have superabundant circumstantial evidence from the Bible only that God could bring final judgment upon this world in 2011 (see study “Spiritual Synopsis of the Parable of the Ten Virgins”). But, what if it does not happen? Our situation is very similar to that of Jonah’s because of the word “overthrown” that was used—God could very well bring judgment after the forty days had expired or He could spare the people. The question therefore is which way do we wish it to go. We can take our watch like Jonah and hope the judgment will take place or we can hope that it will not occur. Which way is correct and glorifies God?

Conclusion:

The point is that God did as He promised to do within the 40 days, He brought judgment and salvation:

Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

To illustrate this point, when we look at the volume of the Bible, we find that God knew He had elected the Ninevites from the foundation of the world and He knew the time for their salvation had come and He used the gospel through a vehicle (Jonah) to preach to these wretched Ninevites who were then children of wrath (Eph 2:1-10). He carefully chose a word (as He does in all of scripture) that would suit His purposes--one with a dual meaning of overthrowing to bring judgment and overthrowing to bring salvation to illustrate more fully His salvation process. He is the one who worked the repentance in their lives (2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth) according to His divine purposes so that He himself could repent (turn around) from the judgment that He should exact on them because of Christ's payment for their sins as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world (in eternity) and on the cross (in time). So God was able to more completely illustrate His nature in the whole process. So in the end, God did what He had planned from the very foundation of the earth and the Ninevites will be resurrected along with all the dead in Christ and will be judging the unsaved with Christ in the judgment process:

Lu 11:32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

The end.

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