3:1–4:11 In this second division of the book Jonah preaches the message God commanded, and the people of Nineveh respond with genuine repentance (ch. 3). When the Lord turns from threatened judgment, we learn the real reason why Jonah had fled the first time: he feared that God would show mercy to the hated Assyrians (4:2). In the object lessons that follow, the wideness of the Lord’s mercy and compassion is revealed (4:5–11).