Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"
I. Jonah despised the Gentiles, being perfectly happy and satisfied, enjoying the favors and privileges that undoubtedly came to him as a popular prophet of God, holding the status of a national hero for having prophesied accurately the recovery of Israel's lost cities by Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:15).  This typifies perfectly the self-satisfied attitude of Israel, whether in Samaria or Jerusalem.  Their hatred of the Gentiles was a national characteristic.  When the apostle Paul made his speech upon the steps of the fortress of Antonio in Jerusalem, the great mob listened until Paul used the word Gentile, that single word exploding a riot that shook the whole city: