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.
Some folk struggle with the fact that God often does things that may seem to question His ability to read the future, and for this reason some folks have erroneously come to the conclusion that God might at times be caught off-guard, or blindsided by a turn of events that He probably did not cater for.
Nothing can be further from the truth, because for everything that takes place, or has taken place, God knows, and knew it all long before it ever occurred. That is what our first passage states unequivocally, for when it says that His counsel will stand, it means that His foreknowledge of events is perfect, and can be depended upon by all concerned.
When the people of Nineveh repented, The God of heaven was not surprised, nor did He have to make any last-minute adjustments to His plans, for in His foreknowledge, He saw their repentance, and that’s the reason why God sent Jonah in the first place, to facilitate what He saw in advance, the people would do.
Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!