What is God talking about when He says these people cannot tell their left hand from their right hand?
(Our lesson (Monday)suggests this means the Ninevites did not have the kind of moral direction that the Lord gave to the Israelites. Perhaps that is what is meant. A number of commentaries interpret this to mean this is the number of children in the city who are under the age of accountability. They place the total population of Nineveh at 600,000. Thus, about 20% are children. I like the children interpretation because the adults in Nineveh showed their ability to tell right from wrong when they repented. The Today’s English Version of the Bible actually translates this “120,000 innocent children.”) • Why should God be especially concerned about the children? (They would be destroyed without having the opportunity to make a proper moral choice.) • Why should Jonah be especially concerned about the children? (Remember our conclusion that Jonah did not care about the Ninevites because, in part, they were the enemy? This should remind him that not everyone in that great city was a danger
