One day, Jehovah commanded Jonah to leave Israel and travel to Nineveh, the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire. His assignment? To warn its inhabitants that their great city was going to be destroyed. (Jonah 1:1, 2)

6. Why did Jehovah choose Jonah to go to Nineveh?

⁶ What comes to your mind when you think of Jonah? Do you think of him as a disobedient prophet? A superficial look at him might yield such a conclusion. But did God appoint Jonah as a prophet because he was disobedient? Of course not! Jonah must have had some desirable qualities. Consider his record as a prophet.

7. Under what circumstances had Jonah been serving Jehovah in Israel, and how does knowing this affect your view of him?

⁷ Jonah had actually labored faithfully in Israel, a very unreceptive territory. The prophet Amos, who lived at about the same time as Jonah, described the Israelites of the day as materialistic pleasure-lovers.b Bad things were taking place in the land, but the Israelites were totally indifferent to them. (Amos 3:13-15; 4:4; 6:4-6) Yet, day after day Jonah faithfully carried out his commission to preach to them. If you are a proclaimer of the good news, you know how difficult it is to speak to people who are self-satisfied and apathetic. So, then, while acknowledging Jonah’s weaknesses, let us not overlook his qualities of faithfulness and endurance as he preached to the faithless Israelites.

8. What challenges would confront an Israelite prophet in Nineveh?

⁸ The assignment to go to Nineveh involved an even more difficult challenge. To reach that city, Jonah had to travel some 500 miles [800 km] on foot​—an arduous journey that would take about a month. Once there, the prophet would have to preach to the Assyrians, who were noted for their cruelty. Sadistic torture was a frequent feature of their warfare. They even boasted about their savagery. No wonder Nineveh was called “the city of bloodshed”!​—Nahum 3:1, 7.