This chapter only has 10 verses, but within this short chapter two things jumped out to me.
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” Jonah 3:1 NIV
We know what Jonah did in round 1 when the word of the Lord came to him, and now he is given a second chance to obey. God is a God of mercy who does not give up on us. He welcomes us back from no matter what we have done. God knows that we are not perfect so He is not expecting perfection from us, but He does expect our hearts to be devoted to Him.
“Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed and all of them, from the greatest to least, put on sackcloth.” Jonah 3:3-5 NIV
In reading this – yes, Jonah obeyed, but his effort seemed half-hearted. It was a very quick and blunt message, which showed very little to no concern towards the Ninevites and their repentance. However, that type of message may have been just what the Ninevites needed to hear in order for them to turn from their evil ways.
Once again, we read how God will use various people with varying gifts and abilities (who are not perfect) for His glory.

This stood out for me: “On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.”
Jonah 3:4-5 NLT
It stood out partly because of what you mentioned- seemed like a half hearted obedience and also because even a half hearted obedience can accomplish BIG things. We don’t always have to do it perfectly, we don’t always need to do it right, we don’t even have to even fully believe that what we have to say can change someone because it’s not us doing the work but God.
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