Jonah 2:4 ASV and Jonah 2:9 ASV

Did Jonah repent? If you read to the end of the book, you may have your doubts. However, if you only read chapter two, it certainly appears that he did.

We ought to remember:
Even those who set the worst example will occasionally do something for which they should be commended.

Everyone of us should be slow to judge, quick to forgive, and devoid of held grudges... (oof!)

JONAH'S REPENTENCE:

1) Jonah acknowledged the rightness of God's judgment.
(vs. 4) Even though, we know that Jonah was a complainer, he didn't complain that God had "banished" him. The implication is that he considered God's judgment to be deserved. Thus, Jonah's first step toward repentance is an acknowledgment of wrong-doing.

2) Jonah was thankful.
Thanksgiving is not commonly considered to be an element of repentance. Yet Jonah identifies his prayer of repentance as a "song of thanksgiving"(vs.9). Because true repentance brings us from a very bad place to a very good place, we should be thankful!

3) Jonah committed to doing the right thing.
(vs.9) Having been duly chastised and wonderfully saved, Jonah commits himself to obedience. Even though his heart never quite gets there, his repentance leads him to ACT in a new way.

TRUE REPENTANCE:
--> Begins with a new perspective. It is an acknowledgment of our greivous sins and our severe shortcomings.
--> Leads us to a new attitude. Repentance begins with sorrow (2 Cor.7:9-10), but ends with thanksgiving (Jonah 2:9)
--> Results in new activities. Jonah reversed direction and headed back toward Ninevah (3:3). John the Baptists said that true repentance will bear fruit (Mt 3:8).